Do you think that the ipad lacks ‘information production’ – the word processing capability that we are used to on PCs? There are couple of things to consider about the iPad before I tackle this question: We have been trained to over think and anticipate the needs of PCs. Fewer hardware choices are not a […]
Continue reading Discussion 3: Confessions of an Appoholic Posted in: Week 09: iPad Apps
Is there a market for this technology within education? I believe iPad would have a place in education. But, it needs support. The educators need to be creative in how to use iPad in their class. Without proper guidance and strategy, the learners might end-up taking class pictures and uploading them to Facebook. Secondly, […]
Continue reading D2 – Ipad Posted in: Week 09: iPad Apps
Hi SMC,
The presenting group discussed ‘the true cost of ownership’ and it was a really great way of conceptualizing how there are many other considerations beyond simply purchasing the tools.
You raise a good point that is echoed by others in their posts: iPads are not a blanket solution that will meet everyone’s needs. I think one of the clever things that Apple has done, is to require another computer for updating and some other tasks, which means that the user is going to be fooled into thinking the pad is a stand alone.
Cheers,
Kristopher
I so wish that my physics classes taught through angry birds! I think people would have showed up to class more.!
You raise a very good point – programming technology and what it does and does not support. Apple provides many good educational apps -although I am unsure of how it fits into educator’s lesson plans.There has not been a lot of comments on that this week. It would be great to see people create more lesson plans and have an open source platform where you could not only share these ideas but assist in collaboration projects. This would prevent educators from re-inventing the wheel and promote usage and collaboration amongst colleagues.
By the way – a better app for demonstrating gravity, balance and skill is definitely ‘glass tower’!
Hello, I currently work for a company that (among other things) trains high numbers of the public and workplaces in standard skills. The courses run from one to eight days. The delivery model is basically a third-party delivery model where the participants are taught by training partners. It would be challenging in this environment to […]
Continue reading Discussion 2: iPads Posted in: Week 09: iPad Apps
Wow! Sounds like you have lots of educational challenges in front of you.
The mobility of the ipad is certainly one of its main pluses. This enables connection to others in all sorts of circumstances, providing support and the necessary flexibility and facilitation that you describe.
Certainly the challenges are when third party partners are delivering the content to the end user – making control of the material and presentation difficult. The constant change of students combined with changing locations also factor in – but are surmountable if mobility devices are used. A great advantage of not only the ipad but others like the netbook as well.
Thanks for your comments.
That sounds *So Interesting*, Kristopher!! As I was imagining the conflict situations through which your (previous) learners are traveling and working, I couldn’t help but think that one really key part of the iPad is that it takes photographs… learners can share photographs which each other, but also that can be an important part of realtime feedback that they can provide to the instruction and facilitation teams.
Currently I do not have an iPad and personally, as of right now, anything that I would want to use the iPad for I can do on my android phone. It’s not that I don’t see the benefits to an iPad, I know there is a lot, it’s just that as of right now in […]
Continue reading Discussion #2: iPad Posted in: Week 09: iPad Apps
Hi Ashley,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Yo have provided a different perspective in which iPad can be useful. I have not think that iPad could be useful for children with disabilities, so I find very interesting the information you have provided. You are right about its disadvantage: the cost of this device is an issue because it is not available to everyone.
Angela.
Have you seen the app where three year olds can trace letters and learn to write? I am baffled.
For me, in my life right now the iPad wouldn’t meet my needs. I need to be able to sit and be prepared to work the long haul on assignments and that requires a different, more economic setup. When I graduate (hopefully shortly!!), I would be much more prepared to go to an iPad. Something makes me think I should send the link of this page to my partner as a subtle hint. 🙂
Cheers,
Kristopher
Discussion #2: Accessibility to Education For some, the iPad might be a luxury tool, but for others, it could be essential. I was watching a documentary about Steve Jobs the other day, and saw how iPad apps have helped learners with autism. The mom almost broke into tears of joy as she explained how […]
Continue reading Discussion #2: Accessibility to Educatio… Posted in: Week 09: iPad Apps
Carmen,
Great to hear about the success stories. You mentioned portability which is key to new technologies. Manufacturers are realizing that people are always on the go and need to do important things while doing so. I recently gave up my stationary modem for a portable one and it makes life so much easier. I think price is a major factor too and even durability and children using it as a tool. I think some special ones should be made for education purposes.
Everton
Hi Carmen and Everton,
thanks for sharing your thoughts and providing different ways in which iPads can be useful. Portability indeed is one of its major benefits. I think that new technologies are advancing so fast that maybe the new versions of iPads (or other tablets) will be everyday smaller until they become the same as the current smart phones, but with better capabilities. Thoughts?
Angela.
Hi all,
Carmen, thanks for sharing your thoughts on the potential for this market. It’s always easiest to think how we could use the technology ourselves (often an enhancer of our lives), but then to consider the same technology as a tool (such as a voice) for someone is a completely different way to conceptualize it.
Angela, I think that Apple did just that with the iPhone (a super powerful handheld machine), but eventually realized that our bodies (eye sight and input devices i.e. fingers) couldn’t use that much smaller a device and still be effective. I think that the machines won’t get smaller, but they will become increasingly power until just about the point of bursting legs:)
Kristopher
Hi Kristopher,
If it will be as you think, I will be really happy. I think that it is because my small mobile device that now I have to use glasses 🙂
Angela.
Hi Everton, Angela and Kristopher,
Thanks for your comments. I’m sure Apple and other tablets will improve in portability in the future. I agree with Kristopher that it probably shouldn’t get any smaller… but it’d be nice if we can roll up our screen and bring it everywhere we go…! It’s going to be a wise magic scroll that we can have conversation with! (Sorry, imagination running wild here.)
I do feel that the device will continue to improve. With more advanced tools, we will continue to think of new ways of solving problems to fill a need. However, sometimes I feel that I tend to “take things as it is” and miss the “pain point” which could be turned into a market niche. Maybe it takes practice. 🙂
carmen
Abel’s remark that one of the weaknesses of the ‘Pad – and by extension other tablets – is that it is weak on information production is particularly remarkable given that the defining feature of web 2.0 is user-produced content. If I were to fully believe his argument, then I’d be inclined to think that the […]
Continue reading D3: on information production Posted in: Week 09: iPad Apps
Hi Allie,
Great points. I found this article espousing the benefits of onscreen keyboards. I hadn’t heard of haptic before. http://typingtutorsoftware.org/news/screen_keyboard/
I agree with you on the point about information production going far beyond text only.
Emily
Thanks Allie.
I think there was still much skepticism surrounding the potentials of the iPad when Abel published this article in 2010. Since then, with the release of iPad 2 and a number of other tablet competitors entering the market people have begun to see the potential.
I think you are right in that tablets (not just the iPad) and applications will change our notions of knowledge production. The importance to education then I think is that information/knowledge is not quickly produced and then lost, but transfered/shared and learners are reflecting upon these new processes and how to maximize learning potential through it. This will require help from all stakeholders; ciriculum planners to design new cirriculums that incorporate new methods and meanings; educators to learn and understand the best methods for their teaching situation as some may be more able to benefit than others, as well as guiding students in developing critical skills to use devices such as the iPad effectively within learning.
Thank you Allie! Such an elegant way of taking on the concept of information production. If I were to build on this notion, I think that there might also be potential for authentic reflection (a fancy way of saying in the moment representations of the user’s thoughts) that hasn’t been filtered by the time we arrive at a keyboard. While there may be less content typed at one time, I believe that there is likely more content created overall.
Setting technology aside, this also links back to our traditional conception of ‘literacy’. As educators, we complain about the state of our learners’ grammar and ability to form sentences; these students have moved past perfect sentences to a point of more organic communication. These mobile devices that connect us to the world are making it much more challenging for there to be ‘standard’ rules of language.
Thanks for the thoughts!
Kristopher
Considering the high adoption of iPads by many students, it doesn’t surprise me that some may consider the iPad as an extremely useful tool in the classroom whether it be for a teacher or student. As for word processing features, I think the iPad is a great tool for this. It does take some getting […]
Continue reading Discussion #3: iPad lacking ‘information production’? Posted in: Week 09: iPad Apps
Thanks for your thoughts. You raise a key point in the end of your post in that the iPad and the abundance of apps are opening new (and possibly more efficient) ways for people to organize thoughts and still allowing for the use of what are quickly becoming traditional methods such as word processor. I think it will be important that cirriculums also change should these technologies be embraced and schools create spaces for students to organize and create work in different ways otherwise these new methods of information production and organization while efficient and opening creative space for students will be incompatible with a cirriculum that remains focused on word processor created work.
Jay,
Great points. It will only be a time before curriculum are rewritten to accommodate new technologies. The future of the classroom will be based on new technologies and it is only wise that schools and curriculum planners get the message earlier and start the transition. I have noticed that technology infusion is now more evident in a few of my course outlines and that is a good sign.
Everton
Ok. I will admit it. I was one of the first iPad owners and waited eagerly for the updates as my friends made the journey home from Seattle. In a Starbucks in Langley (free wifi and coffee), the four of us opened our shiny new iPads as a crowd of admirers looked on. And I […]
Continue reading Discussion #2: iPads in the workplace Posted in: Week 09: iPad Apps
Thanks for sharing! I loved your idea about iPad as any tool and our need to use it properly. I really believe that it is not the tool but the way in which we use it what might provoke changes in education.
Angela.
I have yet to purchase an iPad and when I do, I feel like I will have the same eagerness to unwrap and start exploring it. I agree with you that the iPad is a great device to use to help engage learners and promote exciting, new and differentiated learning. My only concern with this device is the way we teach students how to use it in the classroom and the student’s age at which it is being used at.
Jenaca
That’s a really cool story, and quite to clever student. I am constantly impressed how students have made technology part of their daily lives as we get past the novelty and see the tool as just that– a tool.
When considering the educational viability of tools, I find it challenging to consider both the learner using the machine and the instructor using the machine. Obviously they have different uses, but it’s difficult for me to remember to look at it from both sides. Thanks for highlighting some of the challenges from an educator’s perspective (e.g., wireless use, etc.).
Cheers,
Kristopher
I am choosing to address the ‘information production’ issue, and to do so I am going to extend my personal experience and opinions to a larger population. I have recently discovered (in the last few years) that any inclinations I used to have of thinking of myself as ‘original’ are pointless, and that if I’m […]
Continue reading Discussion 3: new production techniques Posted in: Week 09: iPad Apps
Hi Emily,
Thank you for responding the questions. This is quite an interesting post. You have me smiling after I read the last paragraph of your post. I agree with you that there is a place to develop a better way to interact with our computers to get our ideas out there. I think if people were not so busy more ideas could be born and grew into wonderful projects. Most times, I realize that a feature could be added or removed from particular software but I can’t find the time act upon it.
Indeed, Ipads offer a new approach to the digital electronic world but the gradual technological advancement may cause Ipads to become obsolete in the near future.
The ipad has a lot of potential to individualize learning in very specific ways. A student can access a lot of supplementary, near-instantaneous information to assist them in their learning. If they need help reading or understanding a word or concept, this help is there for them. This immediate help can yield increased motivation and […]
Continue reading Discussion 2: Individualization Posted in: Week 09: iPad Apps
Dear Emily,
Nice thoughts. Especially on the theft issue as we are currently discussing that in our school now. However, I tend to think of the iPad as a personal learning tool. And although it would be great to have enough technology for all of the students, I know our school district is leaning towards supporting student devices rather than providing school ones. That’s not to say we don’t have technology in the school, but the reality of the cost of replacing obsolete hardware is in a budget that is rapidly decreasing.
I’ve also used the iPad with the voice to text feature. It works well for some students to get down their ideas but I think some of the software has to get better in terms of voice recognition and so on.
Thanks.
I agree with you on the use of personal learning tools for students, rather than providing class sets of things. It may make more sense to redirect financial support for those students who otherwise couldn’t afford to buy a device. That way, many more students have a tool that moves with them.
Emily
Hi Emily, thanks for sharing these great ideas on how promoting individualized learning through iPads. I have seen on different postings that knowing how to organize the use of these devices within a community is an issue to consider.
Angela.
Hi Emily,
You have included some great ideas on how to promote learning through the iPad. I really think that using this device is a great way to assist students with their individual learning needs and helps promote a more interactive, engaged and fun way to learn.
Jenaca
Emily, I really like how you brought up individualization. This is a very important thing for sure, the role of differentiated instruction is crucial. Not only can it help slower learners, but tools like tablets allow outlets for gifted learners, which is just as important.
Before you publish your posting, please make sure that you select a category (eg. Introductions) as well as assign some meaningful tags (keywords).
jarvise 4:07 am on November 4, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Kristopher,
I think you have hit a very good point here regarding the PC/Apple divide. Often when we hear arguments of not wanting to switch platforms, it is regarding a switch away from PC and towards apple. Perhaps this avoidance of moving to a new platform comes from the long, hard work it took to become masters of the PC world. What is lost here is the ability to learn the new platform in very short order. I think that Apple has appealed (a-peeled haha) to us with their ability to design an interface that is simple and clean (yet still powerful). I also think that with tablets in general, we will start to see a move towards different styles of interaction with our computers. What we can learn from Apple here (even PC people) is that when designing for these new interactions, we keep things clean and simple. I often advise teachers that when trying out a new application to use with students, if they can’t use it in some capacity within 5-10 minutes, then they should forget it. Complexity should be embedded, rather than up front.
Emily
Jay 8:07 am on November 4, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Thanks for the post Kristopher,
The number of devices that one can choose from has made the investment decision a lot more difficult. As you pointed out, unless you are looking for a device for a specific purpose (gaming, video or music editing) the “discernible difference” is not a lot. The number of devices to choose from end up complicating the decision as to which product may be the better investment.