Hello all,

and welcome to a new school year.

Every now and then, along comes a new toy that has the potential to change the way we teach and learn. Apple's new iPad could well be one such toy.

Take a look at the video and other hype related material at the Apple website.... best..janet

Hello all,

well, a nice man knocked on my door at 11:00 this morning to give me a package. Evidently there is a lot of it going about

The package was my brand, shiny, new iPad. Clearly, only five hours later, I haven't fully taken it through it's paces, but my imagination is racing with regard to the things that we could do with it in educational settings.

I've have gone for the cheapest model because I suspect version two will be out in time for Christmas. There will have been time by then, for much of the feedback, good and bad, to have been filtered, sorted and applied, where applicable.

If you would like a fairly balanced assessment of the iPad, don't ask me, but do go along to MacWorld, where there is a good overview of the product.

I have started downloading 'apps' and when I come across anything that I think is noteworthy, I'll post it here. Just one for starters, Pentimento is a product from the Antenna Audio stables, which is a company specialising in the production of audio tours, particularly for art museums. This particular app allows you to have access to the letters of Vincent Van Gogh which are narrated as you wend your way through his life and works. If that isn't splendid enough, the app is free.

Enjoy exploring the website and, if you have an iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad, playing with the app... best..janet

An interesting article about how developers are creating educational tools for the new Apple Ipad. I have included a link to the article

Developers seek to link iPad with education

(Edited by Janet Hayes - original submission Tuesday, 20 April 2010, 08:41 PM)

(Edited by Janet Hayes - original submission Wednesday, 21 April 2010, 11:29 AM)

Hello Janet
Yes I agree I should have looked at the individual reviews of the product rather than the Keynote. I think there needs to be some form of review before an app gets onto the Iphone, Ipad to stop
malware or poorly designed apps that degrade performance from slipping through. I read that Apple have already eased restrictions on how VOIP apps can usr 3G networks rather than being stuck just using Wifi.

I think Google the way it builds its business on open standards will force Apple to change its ways in particular as the Nexus smart phone is now a real alternative to the Iphone. Now if we could get real compettion here against Telstra we might all be able to afford to use these new generation phone.

cheers
Daryl

Hi Daryl,

I completely understand how you might find the keynote quite nauseating. I generally try to stay away from them and just seek out the video that shows how it works, with this coming from the mouths of the design team instead of Steve Jobs

It's actually the reason that I've avoided talking about the iPad and referred to tablet computing more generally.

I first got my hands on a tablet computer at a computer conference in Adelaide during 2004. I was swept away with the possibilities until I discovered the price tag. In 2004 I would have to part with $4,500 to get an item of reasonable quality. Even today, the tablet notebooks are still substantially more expensive than ordinary notebooks, let alone netbooks.

The existing tablets also have other problems; first they are too heavy, whereas what Apple is offering is, at its heaviest, only 725gms. Even my netbook is heavier than that and doesn't have anything near the battery life they are "claiming" for this new tablet. Second, the twist and turn aspect to existing tablets means that you either have a tablet or a keyboard. When its in tablet mode, the keyboard is completely covered. Last of all (although I'm sure other people can identify other problems), there is very little software that has been designed to specifically take advantage of the tablets that currently exist.

However, Daryl, you know from personal experience how patient I can be Now that Apple have released this tablet, others will follow, that is inevitable, and whilst Apple will have a head start on many levels, they also have to do all the fine tuning that others will simply copy.

Clearly one of the biggest downsides of the Apple approach is the proprietary nature of the iTunes, iBooks, Apps, etc stores. Presently, Apple have to approve something before the normal punter can have it on the iPhone or iPad. There is great benefit in having competition in this realm, and that will come.

Already, it is possible to run your iPhone on Ubuntu, one of the most popular versions of Linux. The hackers, will have this new product stripped down within the first week and find workarounds so that they can do with it as they please. This will pave the way for those of us, who, perhaps for a variety of reasons, are disinclined to trash a perfectly good device, but would be happy to follow someone elses directions;)

May the adventure continue.. best..janet

Hi Janet
Maybe i was a bit harsh in my anitial assessment of the Ipad I think on reflection what really got up my nose was the Keynote itself where Steve Jobs on one hand told the swooning audiance that the Ipad was a new device but then went on to slag off at Netbooks. I mean Netbooks are not the fastest computers around but they have opened up computing to people who normally could not afford a more expensive laptop.

The other more generic issue that is makeing me cranky is Apple itself. Apple market themselves as being this cool company but yet their business practices are as controlling and restrictive as Microsoft. Maybe these issues coloured my early assessment of the Ipad. I am normally not as negative about new technology but Steve Jobs really got up my nose.

cheers
Daryl

Hi Daryl and all,

I accept your comments, they are valid. However, I'm imaging students on a field trip, using this tablet to record their experiences via writing, drawing, the recording of sound and so on.

In this scenario, it's hard to imagine a device the size of this being suitable for taking photos or video. Clearly participating in a video conference does require a camera, but that assumes convergence of all the various communication modalities. Perhaps version two will have this perhaps not, but I look at this from the point of view of the student "in the field".

If I'm a botany student and I pull out my tablet to help me identify a plant that I've just discovered. If I can't find the plant in question, in the vast databases I have access to, then using a built in camera will not capture the high resolution I need to take back to the lab, as it were. I would have a much higher resolution camera in my backpack.

I'm a law student sitting in on a deliberation in the High Court. A precedent is referred to which is new to me, I silently pull up my law database to quickly familiarise myself with the precedent. All of this is done silently, and that's important in courts of law. One of the objections judges have to notebooks is the clicking of the keys becomes distracting.

I'm a trainee plumber and I'm not sure exactly how to do something, I pull out my tablet and connect to a VET database of video files that walks me through the process. This might be achievable on an iPhone or iPod Touch, but the minute size can mean details are missed.

I'm an ICT trainee and I can't quite remember which cable goes where. Again, this could be conveyed via telephonic devices, but the tablet is large enough for all the details to be clear.

My expectation is, that like all technology, the specifications will change. The current batch of iMacs have an SD slot, the iPad, if it doesn't already have one, will into the future. If it doesn't have usb to accomodate a microphone or inbuilt microphone, it will come.

I completely understand the comments that people such as Dave Winer are making, but his take is from the point of view of a long-time hacker (meant in the nicest possible way), it is not the perspective of an educationalist.

I've seen many of the negative comments, but I dismiss most of them, because, in this context I see it as a tool for education, it probably wasn't high on the list of requirements when Apple designed it, but thats the lens through which I view it.

When I saw the video, a cascade of educational ideas was sparked in my imagination. A cascade of approaches that, until now, have been prohibitively expensive....

Just as an aside, I've recently formalised my fascination with epistemology, so the comments coming from all quarters are really interesting to me at a different level... best...janet

Hi Janet
Just watched the Keynote and I must admit to being under whelmed by it. Maybe with the Iphone and touch screen technology being around now for a while I have become spoilt but i was waiting for something revolutionary that didnot come.

The other issue is that it looks like when the Ipad ships here it won't have book reading capabilities. It seams this will be a US only option. Maybe it has something to do with getting deals with publishers here in Oz.

I was also amazed that the Ipad didnot have a web camera built in for video conferences. If you are comparing it to a netbook or even notebook the fact that you can only get software from the Apps store is problamatic

Don't get me wrong Apple creates elagent devices and the ipod and iphone changed the way we listen to music and use smartphones but for me the Ipad is just an Ipod Touch with a larger monitor. If you think I am being a bit harsh take a look at Dave Winers latest blog post.

cheers
Daryl

Apples Jumbo Oreo