Hi Ed,
Tables and Collect are not compatible and solve different problems. Tables is part of ODK 2 and not as widely used as Collect. If you want to try Tables, https://opendatakit.org/use/2_0_tools/active-distribution is the place to start your exploration.
If you need to use something like Collect on a non-Android device, try Enketo. It's like ODK Collect but it runs in a web browser and it's great!
Finally, since you are focused on education, another option you can also try is Tangerine. It's built by @Mike_McKay and that's pretty much all you need to know about it! Mike has been building awesome (fruit-themed) data collection tools for years and it might be a great starting point for you.