tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7029419017923677229.post7868927764252591126..comments2023-10-26T04:38:06.297-04:00Comments on TeachPaperless: Concerning the iPadAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14091328599818819777noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7029419017923677229.post-15435935134051745852010-01-29T20:57:11.282-05:002010-01-29T20:57:11.282-05:00I've been interviewing students about it for a...I've been interviewing students about it for a couple of days, and reaction has been mixed. Most of the students at my school aren't really readers, so the idea of having a book-reader is iffy at best. One kid really wants to take notes on it, but I dont know that we have a sense yet of how easy books on the iPad will be.<br /><br />The closed system nature of the iPad is also an issue. I've been thinking about developing an iPhone app or two, but now I wonder if I should get the developers' kit and work on an iPad version of the program instead. Even if I do succeed, though, I'm in the awkward position of having only one relatively limited market, and having to go through a single merchant who decides whether or not I can sell it, and for how much.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7029419017923677229.post-74460220704266407192010-01-29T07:01:46.046-05:002010-01-29T07:01:46.046-05:00It is not about the ease of reading of text...it i...It is not about the ease of reading of text...it is about wanting to use a digital device. Text is not hard to read on a screen...it is just an excuse not to use the text. I am weary of the complaint........Norman Constantinehttp://paddy2.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7029419017923677229.post-35158781584905502812010-01-28T21:59:43.320-05:002010-01-28T21:59:43.320-05:00Hmm, one iPad vs two netbooks. I'll take one ...Hmm, one iPad vs two netbooks. I'll take one netbook and see what happens next year.Dan McGuirehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17165245665212961209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7029419017923677229.post-38778968012057990302010-01-28T20:11:28.512-05:002010-01-28T20:11:28.512-05:00Very insightful post, and great comments. My first...Very insightful post, and great comments. My first reaction to the announcement was little surprise and little interest in buying one myself. In addition to teaching, I do some iPhone dev, mostly stuff I want to use as a teacher that no one has made yet. I heard that "Hot Seat App for Teachers" will run on the iPad out of the box, and thought that was cool. Soon, though, I started thinking of other things I wanted to do in the classroom that would be mindblowingly awesome with an iPad, and that got me thinking about all the cool stuff others would develop for the iPad. It's not a computer, but I don't see it as an eReader, either. It has a reader app from Apple. It will have the Kindle app, too. It will have indie reader apps. I think it will be great to read on, but that's why it will be good; the apps we haven't seen yet are why it will be awesome. Personally, I'm walking around seeing all kinds of things that pique a reaction that, "There should be an iPad app for that."<br /><br />I'm also excited about an education tablet for students. Netbooks are cheap, but try showing your work for a math problem or drawing something with it. There are apps for that, and better ones will come. Bottom line: it costs half as much as a laptop, and I can see having one per group in my classroom with some diligent grant-writing, and one-to-one is not an impossible dream. You can't do everything with these, but you can do a heck of a lot of exploring and creating.<br /><br />As for it being early, it sure is. Google will make one and the race will be on. The price will come down. I look forward to it, but that doesn't mean I'm willing to wait. It's just good that Apple products have such a good resale value.<br /><br />In the meantime, I need to find a justification for getting one of my own. Development model?ThinkPhysicshttp://awzone.com/hotseatnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7029419017923677229.post-20140445318947400932010-01-28T17:28:08.580-05:002010-01-28T17:28:08.580-05:00Shelly,
I like your thought that the "bridge...Shelly,<br /><br />I like your thought that the "bridge" function I described has this transformational impact on the frozen minds we typically encounter. I sure hope so.<br /><br />And yes, I'm designing the $199 iMarsupial Classic right now. Complete with keyboard pocket and a spot for your Steve Jobs photo...<br /><br />Irairasocolhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01412837280249622430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7029419017923677229.post-75550634140269543572010-01-28T17:15:06.945-05:002010-01-28T17:15:06.945-05:00@Ira and Mr. G
I totally agree with you in terms ...@Ira and Mr. G<br /><br />I totally agree with you in terms of the 'openness' issue in general. After all, Apple's spent a decade making a mint off the iTunesStore, so there's no initial reason they'd want to do anything to let folks get around that. <br /><br />But, then again, as we saw with jailbreaks for the iPhone, users don't have to limit their imaginations to using the device the way Apple intended.<br /><br />I mean, the Flash issue notwithstanding (though for the time being a biggie), this thing does get on the Internet and does get me to my blogs and Google Apps and Tweets. And how long before version 2 comes out -- w/ camera (and + $200 for base model) -- and it gets it's own jailbrake and we're iPadding on Ustream? (Just checked some of the hacker blogs and they're already prepared).<br /><br />The thing I'm looking at is what the thing actually does and what it's supposed to do well: namely be an e-reader. And it appears that as an e-reader at least, this device blows away the competition; and -- and this can't be overlooked -- it opens up digital reading to folks who otherwise wouldn't do it. And thus it influences culture -- and maybe we'll see a change of heart about electronic devices by the policy makers (in schools) not because they understand the difference between content creation and content consumption, not because they understand Web 2.0, not because they themselves are actively involved in the creation of interactive content, but because the whole concept of using an e-reader to read text is now accessible to them. It sounds simple, but that alone could influence decisions on school policies -- not just for iPads (which in all honesty we'd be more likely to see on the desk of the admins' secretaries than in the hands of students) -- but for ALL technology.<br /><br />In otherwords, despite our misgivings, this device could prove to be a bridge -- a transformational device -- for those in decision-making positions who are to date quite wary and unconvinced by e-texts and blogs let alone full-bore social tech. This -- or a competitor's better version -- could be the type of device that breaks the ice for full implementaton of tech (even though, ironically, the device itself fails to do that).<br /><br />Also Ira, as for where you put the thing: I thought you and I were going to break into the iPad-carrying mini-bike-messenger-bag industry with the iMarsupial ;P<br /><br />ShellyAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14091328599818819777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7029419017923677229.post-62919413068089745272010-01-28T16:02:16.796-05:002010-01-28T16:02:16.796-05:00As Ira alluded, careful what you wish for with the...As Ira alluded, careful what you wish for with the iPad. It's a closed system. Anything you do on it has to have been ok'd by Apple. <br /><br />That's what makes me the most nervous. It's also why my first iPhone will be my last.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03774748362933666049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7029419017923677229.post-61184050573989029472010-01-28T15:32:16.885-05:002010-01-28T15:32:16.885-05:00The more I think about it, the more questions I ha...The more I think about it, the more questions I have.<br /><br />The size is interesting, but whether I'm riding the subway in NYC, the EL in Chicago, the Tube in London, the Luas in Dublin, or just walking around my campus or my town, I see most people under 40 doing all the things the iPad promises on a device that they carry in their pocket. That is, they are reading, writing, communicating, watching, listening. Yes, the bigger screen is nice, but the pocket seems critical, if it doesn't fit in your pocket you need two different devices for different times of day.<br /><br />The iPhone was the revolution because it caused the re-think of what a phone could do. But lets remember, despite all of the iPhone cool BlackBerry's various models alone outsell the iPhone 4:1. They multitask, search the web, play streaming music while you search the web, etc, etc. In other words, design matters, to a point. Apple sets a certain tech hipster standard, others rebel against that.<br /><br />Anyway, I've felt for a couple of years, mostly at the urging of my kid, that the future would see two sizes of devices. The go-everywhere pocket device predicted in Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy (which is pretty much here - PlasticLogic's roll-out screen might be cool), and the powerful, entertainment operating home desktop. I'm not sure there's much room left for the laptop, much less this tablet.<br /><br />So what does the iPad do? First, like the Kindle, it is a bridge technology for the wealthy older folks of society. It makes them "cool and digital" without really changing media for them. As much as the Kindle is "the printed book," the iPad is the slick magazine, the portable slide viewer, the portable television. It well sell very well for five years (think 20% of iPod sales), in constantly improving forms.<br /><br />But second, it may perpetuate the fight against open. The iPad, like the iPod and iPhone, is a marketing device, a store portal. Whether it contributes to open formats or creates a battle with exclusive author and creator deals is the question. Apple makes me nervous in this regard. "Open" is not a word in their vocabulary. Compared to Apple, Microsoft is open source.<br /><br />Either way though, as I tweeted this morning, if you think the iPad is really a culture change, I think you should look about a bit more. Change happens long before the mainstream sees it, and, looking around, everything Jobs predicts is already happening everywhere you look. It just hasn't been fully profitized and trademarked yet.<br /><br />-Ira Socolirasocolhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01412837280249622430noreply@blogger.com