The list provided from the Gartner Group is confirmation that the tablet isn’t just a consumer device…it is being used by everyone in some of the most diverse circumstances. The argument for using it education should not be about when but about how we use this useful tool. More specifically the academy needs to start exploring the use of the tablet that goes beyond its obvious functionality as an e-reader.
Read the full post…
Archives For iPad
It is ironic that the technology writer who once said that the iPad is good for only two things is now offering a top 20 list for the same device. To be fair to Jason Hiner of Tech Republic he did add note taking to his first two uses, reading/viewing and multitouch interaction. So now that Hiner is offering a top 20 list we may assume that he has found many more uses for the iPad–or has he? If you look closely at Hiner’s list you will find that many of the apps fit into one of his first three use categories but he has unwittingly or unknowingly added a fourth and perhaps even a fifth category–organization and learning.
Apps like Flipboard, Kindle, Documents to Go, Pulse, Skygrid, Propublica, NPR, Guardian Eyewitness, Big Picture, Weather Channel, Netflix, WeatherChannel and NASA all fit into the reading or viewing category. Most of these apps are recognized as some of the best news, news aggregator or media apps in the Apps store. Since I have almost all of these Apps on my own iPad I can confirm his assessment. In addition, most of these apps fully utilize the iPad’s multituouch interface and when you add the the editing apps, iA Writer and Penultimate Hiner’s usage categories may initially appear to be complete.
But Hiner has included Evernote, which is by far the best organizational tool that can be found on any computer, smartphone, and tablet and Things which is arguably one of the best To Do list tools available so he has added something new to his category list. While these two applications do fully utilize the multitouch interface and allow one to view what they need, these apps do much more–they help one stay organized and make life much more efficient. I have often referred to Evernote as my external brain because it enables me to store and access so much more information than humanly possible and it functions as my external or augmented intelligence. Because, Evernote helps me to make so many more meaningful connections within the data than what I could do on my own, I also put this app into the learning category. This is not the only app in Hiner’s list that falls into this category.
The Rosetta Stone is clearly a learning app because it enables one to take advantage of the very popular language software that was originally confined to a computer. Mobile learning is perhaps one of the most powerful functions that the iPad supports because it can be used to help us learn all the time and everywhere. Whether one is using the Rosetta Stone app or augmenting one’s intelligence with Evernote the iPad is a useful tool that helps us make meaningful connections which is the foundation of learning. The iPad is also an powerful learning tool because its ease of use and efficiency enable the user to focus on what they want to do as opposed to the technology. For many years I have been predicting that technology will eventually mature to the point where it disappears and we then focus purely on the task at hand–we are finally getting to that point.
While I would not have ranked these in the same order the following 10 reasons will point tablets overtaking laptops in the next year:
- Power consumption
- Viruses (lack of)
- Portability
- Cost effectiveness
- Online connection
- Available applications (especially on the iPad)
- User friendliness (my number 2 ranking)
- Bluetooth connectivity (my number 1 ranking)
- Efficiency
- Social integration
Laptops will still serve the purpose primarily as input devices at least until the tablets mature to the point were they do this better as well.
Finding the Best iOS App for Annotation and Note-Taking – ProfHacker – The Chronicle of Higher Education via kwout
I have been using the iPad since it was first released and in that time I have seen the use of iPads grow to the point where there is so much valuable information out in the blogeshpere that one no longer has to be an expert on all things. Case in point–what note taking application is the best for the iPad? I have used almost all the apps listed in this ProfHacker post and agree with their ranking. In addition I hadn’t yet used UPAD, primarily because it is more than 99 cents and I have already spent more than than on iAnnotate PDF, so I was pleased to find that someone else has explored the app and reported back on its functionality. UPAD is going to be my next app that I spend some money on and I can move forward with this small purchase knowing just how functional the app really is.
This is perhaps one of the most significant reasons why the iPad is the market leader and will be so for many years to come. There are so many people using the devices in so many different ways that one no longer needs to be on the bleeding edge to really benefit from using the device. I have been following ProHacker from their inception and have even contributed with a guest post and it is clear from this blog that most of my colleagues in higher education are using the iPad as well. For the new or novice user knowing that there is a whole community out their willing to share their experiences is a wonderful assurance that they are not alone. For the intermediate to advanced user is exciting to rely on a vibrant community that shares the passion that effective technology is the technology that enables us and our students to focus on the learning–which is really why we are all in this profession.
This is a shot of the technology use at my table at NATVAC 2011, the national meeting of Canadian Provosts and Vice President Academics, in Ottawa. In addition to the 2 MacBook Air there are 3 iPads as well as 5 iphones being used at my table. We were allowed to self select where we sit so this concentration is not planned. There are several other tables with all 5 members who are using iPads or other technologies. I took the time to scan the room and out of the 65 attendees there are only two people using PCs and most people are using iPads, MacBook Airs or MacBook Pros. Similarly the smart phone of choice is the iPhone and most people are using the iPhone 4.
More than 3/4 of the VP Academics in attendance are actually using technology in this session. Yes, the iPads or MacBooks are on the tables are being used as the sessions run. A quarter or less people are using paper to take notes during this session and many of those taking notes on paper are also using iPhones to check email or whatever else they need to do.
Why is this significant? This is my first meeting but I have talked to a few other longer term attendees and they confirmed that this is a very recent phenomenon. With more iPads in use than any other device one can only speculate that the iPad was the device that has changed the way that the VP Academics work. Many of these people are no longer just passively listening they are either engaged in taking notes or are engaged in some aspect of work. This is very good to see. If the iPad or similar technologies are good enough to use in workshops/meetings at this level then it isn’t a stretch to promote this type of technology use in the classroom.
