I didn't mean to get an iPad. I've even written rather cynical posts about it. But one sort of dropped in my lap.Sort of. So now I've got one.
My iPad arrived the day before my holiday in Mallorca; just enough time to allow me to get set up and download a few apps and to get my 3G connection up and running. I don't usually suffer from feelings of guilt but the sheer extravagance of a device which is so ill-suited to current e-learning - no Flash, no PowerPoint - and so hard to justify alongside my smart phone and laptop, meant that I was extremely sceptical about how the iPad would find any useful place in my life. How relieved I was, therefore, to discover that the iPad proved to be the ideal travel companion:
- It was fun to have all of my photo archive available on one device with a screen large enough to share with others. I was also able to easily load up my new pics for previewing.
- Having my whole music archive will prove equally useful, both for solo listening or for sharing through speakers. Similarly, it would be possible to bring along TV programmes and movies to fill any voids when all you've got on offer is local TV.
- I’m not going to read books on my iPad at the beach, but I could have extra books loaded up just in case I finish the one I’m carrying with me.
- In my role as a consultant, it is hard to completely cut yourself off from business-related communication while on holiday, so the ability to receive all my emails and blog feeds was useful, along with access to my Evernote database and Google docs.
- News apps make it easy to keep up-to-date with news from home without having to pay exorbitant prices for imported UK newspapers.
- Weather forecasts, maps and travel guides, with GPS support are all obviously useful. I know you're unlikely to get out an iPad to help you navigate on foot, but they can help you to prepare an itinerary or to navigate in-car.
- Of course there's web browsing as well, which somehow looks so much more impressive in portrait mode - why is that?
- But by far the most useful apps proved to be games, particularly collaborative ones, such as Scrabble and Boggle.
I know all of this functionality could also be achieved with a smart phone and laptop, but a laptop is so heavy and a smart phone is so, well, small. The iPad did find a place of its own and, for those with less technophile tendencies than myself, the usability of the touch interface was a very definite plus.
There is still a very definite question mark for me about the role the iPad can play in e-learning and in my own professional life. But as an all-in-one family media device all questions have already been answered.
Hmmmmm Clive, you are really not helping me resist this gadget. I'm trying very hard. My fingers are in my ears and I'm going la-la-la - nope, not helping either.
ReplyDeleteHaving tried one on display, it is a bit cooler than I expected as well. It is, on paper, just a realy big iPod Touch/phoneless iPhone. But it is quite a bit easier to read (if that's what you're doing) for obvious reasons. As for training, we'll see what happens. I think it'll be great for distance learning that lacks Flash-based elements but may include video and audio.
ReplyDeleteThe thing sells itself on the media points you mentioned Clive, and the size factor is a no-brainer when it comes to ease of viewing. It definitely won't replace a netbook/laptop though if productivity is what you need. The portable version of iWork is very neat, but being an owner of the full-size desktop iWork, it's still not as capable when it comes to getting things done. However, for very light users who want internet, media, and email, and don't want hassles associated with even thin and light laptops, this thing nigh-on perfect.
I'm still not sure I need it, but it makes a bit more sense than it initially did, having used one for a few minutes.
Having used an iPhone for the past year, I found myself acquiring an iPad last week, even though I had promised myself I would wait for the 2nd Gen - I love the touch screen for browsing and find the on screen keyboard surprisingly easy to use. I have a work laptop, which has all of the eLearning kit I need and, because I hate lugging it around, when it came to buying a personal laptop last year, I chose a netbook, a decision I have regretted since. However, now I have an iPad for browsing, and a netbook for "docking" and "syncing" I couldn't be happier.
ReplyDeleteIn addition, for lite users of spreadsheets, word processors etc. You can't do much better than the £5.99 pages and numbers applications. I also have an £8.99 project management tool which does everything I need it to.
Videos, TV, and Photos look awesome on it, web browsing is a pleasure, and it's really, really shiny! Now if they could just sort out the Flash argument...
So all in all is it functional? It seems like a handy toy for vacations or entertainment in your down time, but other than tv, movies, books, music has it proven itself useful at all as a tool?
ReplyDelete-Adam
EduPack
I have an iPhone and I hope that the battery performance is better otherwise it will spend a lot of time being charged!
ReplyDeleteIs the success of the device its functionality or is it the app store?
I'm not sure that the "It's just like..." comparisons that are peppered across the web help anyone understand what this device is about (in the same way that a glass is "just a see-through mug without a handle", and a van is "just a car without back seats"...).
ReplyDeleteQuite simply, it is what is is, and the only way to understand what an iPad is about and whether it's useful to you or not is to get hands on. And then you see that its relevance lies in its accessibility - love 'em or hate 'em, Apple has genuinely managed to create a device that will change the way people interact with content (whether directly, now, or via a competitor's product somewhere further down the line).
Lack of Flash and PowerPoint (which have arguably done as much damage as they have good for learning activiites) didn't seem to be a problem on the £2.99 learning apps that I bought for my kids - they picked them up easily and within 5 minutes were totally immersed in solving puzzles together.
But of course when it comes to being open minded about learning through new experiences, kids can teach us all a thing or two !