Student Reactions to the iPad

Over the past few days, I've had the iPad sitting on my desk for college students to try. I've also brought it into the classroom where students have had an opportunity to play with it. Here are some of their first reactions.

One student, interacting with "The Elements" app, exclaimed, "This is sooo Harry Potter." Another, playing with the "Star Walk" first gushed, "No way... This would have been so great for my astronomy class." But students are also savvy when it comes to the practicality of any new learning technology. Students immediately saw the possibility of saving some of the $300-$800 in books they purchase every semester, but were unsure how else they might use it. (I did discover the Kindle app that allowed me to download all of my Amazon ebooks to the iPad and give me access to the vast Amazon library.) The iPad is clearly a content-delivery device.