iPAD Learning LAB by The MASIE Center

iPads - Just for CEOs?

2010-09-19T10:45:00.005-04:00

Cross posting from Nigel Paine's Blog. Hope that is more convenient and avoids having to leave this blog.

Bob Sutton's blog Work Matters offers a few observations on the iPad. He is not impressed, but acknowledges that CEOs -as a group- seem to love them. And what that boils down to is the long battery life and the big screen to do email and web browse. He concludes that these people spend a lot of time in meetings (wanting to get on with other things) and on planes wanting to work. The iPad fits the bill. He, on the other hand, has minimal use for an iPad apart form the occasional web browse, or newspaper read, and his iPad sits unloved by his bed side for most of the time.

If I want to put my finger on what is going on here and why I love my iPad to bits, I think that the answer is one word: Apps. An iPad sans Apps is a email, web browse okay machine. Add the Apps, and you transform it into a living, breathing add-on to your life whatever that may be.

An example please! If Bob had downloaded iBrainstorm (for free), he could have taken his iPad to one of his 'Good Boss, Bad Boss' workshops and logged on all the other iPads in the room (75% of participants by his reckoning) and shared some great brain storm ideas. As he spoke, any ideas from anywhere in the room could have been captured for everyone, that would have suggested more ideas and suddenly Bob has a communication riot on his hands rather than an orderly procession.

My beloved Pages word processing app is brilliant for capturing the moment, and then emailing it to my self to be improved or filed somewhere else. Clicky Sticky stickers App has kept countless children amused whilst the adults can talk or do what they do. And it is more creative than plonking the child in front of the TV. Plus the kid can be where you are, not in the next room getting up to no good.

I now plan anything I am going to write on 'Notes' and that sits next to my laptop when I actually begin to write. I don't have to keep flipping screens on the laptop or trying to decipher appallingly scribbled notes from my notebook. And flicking through the daily amazing photo from Guardian 'Eyewitness' App is interesting and a comment on the world. I could go on and on but each App adds a little piece more of value to my iPad and many of the best ones are suggestions from other iPad users. If my iPad stayed by my bedside I would never have the conversations and the insights to move on.

Can we blame Apple for the confusions of the App store? Not sure. It could be better and if 'genius' worked in the same way as it does for music, I could be fed new suggestions. The chances, however, of stumbling on something totally new, on my own from the App store are remote. And that has to be a limitation on that critical first mover opportunity.

So here are some suggestions Apple:

Have a pre-organised bundle of maybe ten to fifteen Apps for kids, or games or travel or business productivity and let the user download all fifteen for free. After a week the user has to confirm a purchase or the Apps will remove themselves. So you can test out and then bail out.

Secondly allow users to assemble 'playlists' of favourite Apps and others can see them, test them and decide whether to buy them.

Offer users the opportunity to sign up to App of the day. Could be themed, ie travel App, or kids App etc. If they kept them to reasonably priced Apps it could be a low risk decision to try it out and see what the fuss is all about.

Finally publish a few case studies of real users and what their most useful Apps are with links to down load them.

So a bit more proactivity on Apple's part could transform the usage of the many people who have splashed out and can't quite see what all the fuss is about.

Ten iPad Conclusions

2010-07-22T23:51:00.000-04:00

I wouldn't let you take it away from me. It is now integral to my wireless life.

It is about creating as well as consuming but creation has to be simple.

It offers a better web experience (Flash excepted) than either my Mac or iPhone (and it is faster than both)

Key apps have a way to go like the Mail app and the Calendar App. They aren't yet good enough.

The soft keyboard is terrific and you get used to it really quickly.

You need a cover: the Apple cover with the built- in stand does help but don't try to remove the cover quickly. You simply cannot.

Kids love the interface and 'get it' immediately.

It had hidden charms, you find out about things it can do you did not realise by chatting to the profusion of iPad users.

32 gig is a minimum. I would already have spooled out of 16 gig. Add photos and music and docs and ...and...and it soon eats up space.

It is 'instant' and immediate. For breath and depth I still need the data on my Mac and the rage of applications. Therefore it is not a substitute but I use the laptop differently and the iPhone differently as a result of having the iPad.

If anyone asked me if it is worth getting or 'should I wait for the one with the camera' I reply go now, there is plenty that will enthral you and when you want to move on, give it to the kids!

Most things I don't need to secure but some things I do, but the iPad has one level of security: on or off and this does not reflect the multiplicity of usage including handing it to others to use. Protect my calendar, my docs and my email and the rest you can have access to. Elliott Masie and I totally agree on that.

Spontaneous Learning and the iPad

2010-07-08T17:22:00.004-04:00

With the summer night sky above and a family reunion on a hill outside Asheville, North Carolina, I found myself in one of my favorite professorial modes, facilitating self-directed learning. My pedagogical toolkit included an iPad and the application “Sky Walk.”

I’ve often observed how the right social contexts can foster effective collaborative learning. So, with several groups of family members standing in my brother-in-law’s driveway, I pointed the iPad at the sky. After the initial gasps, hands eagerly grasped the iPad and voices articulated the names of stars, planets, and constellations. “Sky Walk” quickly answered questions about the location of the star, its intensity, and history and elicited satisfactory grunts of approval.

I’m not the first to observe that the iPad’s strength lies in its mobility. As long as we could catch the wireless modem’s signal, we could follow the arc of the solar system and establish a new love of that first love affair with the stars. The iPad clearly surpassed both the old printed star charts that needed flashlights and my brother-in-law’s telescope that he has been trying to program for months so that it would tell him which stars were in the eyepiece.

As I stood there, I wondered whether I could establish my own purposeful learning situations where students would grasp the technology and take the learning in directions consistent with my goals and with their interests. I wondered whether in a concert hall, patrons could quickly pull up information on composers, compositions, musicians, instruments, etc. without forgetting to enjoy the music and the performance.

But more on that in a future post.

Quickly building iPad Learning Apps with the iWebkit

2010-06-26T06:21:00.011-04:00

iWebkit is a free framework for the creation of iPhone and iPad compatible websites or web Apps. It can be used to create "Productivity Applications" as described in my post on "iPad Learning Application Styles".

HTML experience is beneficial but not required because the included UserGuide provides an elementary overview on the key features. Nevertheless, web development skills are definitely needed when you want to leverage the framework to create iPad friendly front-ends to your web applications.

The iWebkit is in any case an easy way to get started with iPad Application development compared to Apple's SDK and object oriented programming with Objective-C. You also do not need to go through through Apple's application approval process as you directly install the package on your web server. This also makes the maintenance process very simple and fast.

For a demo on the iWebkit functionality simply point your iPad or iPhone Safari Browser to demo.iwebkit.net. There you will find examples for navigation and form elements, alternative application views and integration options with the standard iPhone and iPad Apps (Mail, iTunes, SMS, Youtube, etc).

Click on the "+" sign in the Safari url window to add the App icon to your iPad Home Screen as shown in my screenshots on the left.

What directly comes to mind for iWebkit based applications are administrative interfaces to Learning Systems. Nevertheless, there are many more potential usage scenarios: Mobile Learning courseware and Performance Support Systems would definitely benefit from the standardized navigational elements. For your inspiration, have a look at the iWebkit Gallary that highlights user submissions of customized sites.

I would love for our "iPAD Learning LAB" to define a set of templates for Learning applications to be integrated with and extend the current iWebkit package. Be in touch and share your ideas or maybe even examples. You can even use the iWebkit to quickly create some conceptual prototypes!

My 88 years old Granny loves the iPad !

2010-06-13T17:56:00.004-04:00

I visited my 88 years Granny this weekend and was very curious about her reactions to my iPad. She is the innovative kind of Granny who is always open to new things and so it was not much of a surprise that she really loved it!

Initially, she was a little hesitant to touch the screen - probably because she expected things to be a more complicated. It took less than a minute to demonstrate the gesture based navigation and there she was browsing through my iPad picture library...

We later looked at some of her photo albums and I took pictures of the old photographs, which we transferred to the iPad via Camera Connection Kit. Isn't it amazing to see her playing the piano in 1938 versus 2010???

I did a very quick tour on some of the standard apps. She especially enjoyed painting and it was fun watching her curiously exploring the features.

The painting app also served as a good example for explaining the difficulties with the accuracy of touch based devices that she was experiencing in some of the apps (like we all do).

We spent hours playing Marble Mixer - a highly recommended multiplayer app for iPad demos with family & friend (Thanks for the hint, Stephan!).

Next day she said to me "Celia, when I woke up this morning I thought maybe we could play some more marble games tonight while we are watching the "Soccer World Cup" - and so we did. :-)

This was definitely a great start! If the entry prices were lower, I would probably get her an iPad with a nice collection of Granny specific apps...

HTML5 and the opportunities of not having Flash

2010-06-05T09:33:00.003-04:00

Apple published a collection of demos as a showcase for the support of HTML5, CSS3 and Javascript on their mobile devices and new Macs. All of these demos work very well and fast with the Safari browsers on my iPad and Macbook.

I have been thinking a lot about the lack of Flash support and the impact on the Learning field in recent weeks. Let me be provocative by saying that there is a part of me that has started to see this restriction as an opportunity:

We would by now have probably done a "mass conversion" of millions of existing Flash based eLearning courses without paying much attention to the new device capabilities being offered. Instead, we are now somewhat forced to reconsider our options because our existing standards and tools cannot be applied.

The demos above are not groundbreaking and do not leverage the device capabilities either but like every new iPad app I come across they did provide me with a different perspective and new ideas for potential learning applications.

It does take an effort and the learning curve is steep but as fundamental is the impact on Learning we could have by coming up with a totally new set of Mobile Learning standards and applications. Don't you think so? ;-)

How the iPad has changed my printing habits

2010-05-25T16:20:00.019-04:00

I am "Generation Print". I print everything!

Printing documents enables me to read them away from my desk. For my job I print countless research papers to read them in an environment that fosters my creativity where I cannot be interrupted by daily routine. Another key reason for printing documents is to annotate them with a pen (highlight, add comments, sketch ideas, add questions).

My main problem with this approach (apart from not being "green") is that I have to keep all of these printed copies with my personal annotations until the topic is not any longer of importance. Some are well structured in binders but the majority remains cluttered piles of paper in a "dark" corner of my home office.

Everything has completely changed since I received the iPad about four weeks ago: The iPad has replaced my printer for all of the situations highlighted above. Instead of printing documents, I now carry the electronic copies with me on the iPad. The key enablers for this fundamental change in my print habits are the iPad Productivity Apps "GoodReader" and "iAnnotate":

With GoodReader you can read almost any kind of document format (PDF, TXT, MS Office, iWork) on the iPad. This is especially useful for email attachments. iAnnotate is the perfect solution when you want to annotate your PDF files and keep your revised copies in sync with your PC. Have a look at the YouTube video below for a tour of the key features. Now I find myself sitting in front of my PC with the iPad next to me holding the printed copy with my annotations (what would have formerly been my printed copy).

YouTube: iAnnotate for iPad

On the other hand, the iPad has created a high demand for a totally new way of printing: Instantly from your mobile device and application! There must really be a way to simply print a document or web page. Take that for granted. Moreover, I really want to be able to send granny's favorite pictures from my iPad picture library to my wireless photo printer to provide her with a high quality photo print.

This is a key area of improvement that Apple has not yet addressed. Let us hope that we can trust Steve Job's words who simply responded by saying "It will come".

3 Weeks Later - Nigel Paine iPad Reflections

2010-05-20T11:11:00.003-04:00

Having used it for almost three weeks, I am clearly a leading iPad expert :) Ten conclusions from the use so far:

1. It is a great machine and I am still learning what it can do and this is a better area to focus on than what it can't do.

2. My most useful and innovative App so far is pretty prosaic! I know that I shouldn't be so boring but my favourite App has to be Pages. So well designed specifically for the iPad and so flexible. It is wonderful.

3. You get used to the on-screen key board fast. I have typed about 30 pages so far and am more and more confident using it. So do not rush out and buy a compatible bluetooth key board until you have exhausted your enthusiasm for the virtual one.

4. Delete apps that don't work well on the iPad so that your iPhone and iPad diverge sharply. They are not the same at all and there is no need to take everything over from one device to the other.

5. I try to group Apps: my biggest growing group is productivity.

6. It is far easier and less intrusive to use it at meetings rather than a laptop. Organise your papers on your iPad and read them on screen, and it will cut down on needless printing.

7. Little kids love the books and the interactive apps. They 'get it' instantly. But check their fingers for sticky substances before you let them loose.

8. Pass it around. Show people information by passing it round like you would a book or a piece of paper.

9. Keep it clean. At least once a day give the screen a good clean and it looks and works better as a result.

10. Give it a go as your sole computer for simple meetings. It works well when you are not chopping and changing between a laptop and an iPad. But remember this machine has no folders and you can't search internally between apps (yet).

And it is a great learning tool. The learning aspect will be huge.

iPAD as a Sleep Disrupter?

2010-05-18T15:17:00.002-04:00

Sleep Disruption from iPad Reading Light? Several articles have appeared in the last 2 weeks about possible sleep disruption from the backlight impact of reading on an iPad right before going to sleep. I actually noticed that after reading for an hour, which usually makes me quite ready for sleep, I was wide awake. Yet, reading from the Kindle, which is NOT backlit, did not have that effect on me. Here is a quote and link with some views on the topic:

“Light-emitting devices, including cell phones and the iPad, tell the brain to stay alert. Because users hold those devices so close to their face, staring directly into the light, the effect is amplified compared with, say, a TV across the room or a bedside lamp, said Frisca Yan-Go, director of the UCLA Sleep Disorders Center in Santa Monica.” More at http://tinyurl.com/38kmsl2

I will tell you one risk - when I drop off to sleep and drop my paperback, there is no risk of damage. But, a dropped iPad is a different matter.

iPAD as Skype Phone

2010-05-15T12:32:00.001-04:00

While the iPAD does not have telephone capability, we just tested using it as a Skype based phone - calling from the airport in Antigua, via their free wireless, to the home of good friends in Saratoga Springs.

I used the speaker/microphone as well as the Apple headset - both worked great. Now, we just have to figure a workaround for the absence of a video camera for video-chat.

Defining iPad Learning Application Styles

2010-05-15T07:57:00.018-04:00

After having explored the iPad for a couple of weeks, it is time to dive into the actual development of Mobile Learning solutions! Let us start off with some generic foundations on the design of iPad applications: Apple's Human Interface Guidelines (HIG) defines three application styles, which I have summarized below. These application styles help us to clarify some of our design decisions and to see how different approaches can be suitable for different types of information and functionality. Please note that application styles do not dictate the implemention method (native, web based or hybrid).

1. Productivity Applications

People use Productivity Applications to accomplish tasks, which are based on the organization and manipulation of detailed information. Mail is a good example of a productivity application. Productivity Applications often organize user data hierarchically. In this way, people can find information by making progressively more specific choices until they arrive at the desired level of detail.

In our learning world I could think of administrative LMS interfaces being implemented as Productivity Applications. Moreover, the hierarchical organization of data could be beneficial for structuring complex knowledge based Performance Support Systems.

2. Utility Applications

Utility Applications perform a simple task that requires a minimum of user input. People open them to see a quick summary of information or to perform a simple task on a limited number of objects. Utility Applications tend to present data in a flattened list. The Weather application is a good example because it displays a narrowly focused amount of information in an easy-to-scan summary.

Less complex Performance Support solutions providing instant "knowledge at our fingertips" could be well represented by Utility Applications.

3. Immersive Applications

Immersive Applications offer a full-screen, visually rich environment that is focused on the content and the user’s experience with that content. People often use Immersive Applications to have fun, whether playing a game, viewing media-rich content, or performing a simple task. Immersive Applications tend to hide much of the device’s user interface, replacing it with a custom user interface that strengthens the user’s sense of entering the world of the application. Users expect seeking and discovery to be part of the experience of an immersive application, so the use of nonstandard controls is often appropriate.

Mobile Learning courseware would heavily leverage this application type. In contrary to Apple's generic Immersive Applications, I do envision us defining standard controls for Learning to increase the consistency and usability of our courseware at least in a specific domain (e.g. corporation or organization). The Masie LearningLab aims at collaboratively defining industry standards and best practices for iPad based Mobile Learning.

Let us leverage these generic design standards to define specific WorkPad, LearnPad, PerformPad solutions. What ideas do you have for iPad Learning solutions based on these three application types?

Beach Reading on the iPAD

2010-05-07T15:53:00.002-04:00

I am heading to the beach for a week of vacation (and birthday celebration). Normally, I'd pack 3 or 4 paperbacks and perhaps find one in the lounge of a resort. This year, it is iBooks on my iPAD.

I've downloaded several books (mystery and non-fiction) for the iPAD, as well as 2 that I can access from my Kindle App on the iPAD. Tested reading in bright sunlight and hope I don't get any send in my new gizmo.

It will be interesting to see how it works - in terms of my engagement in the vacation reading process (which I love as an escape). Do I get as lost in the pages if the pages are backlit images? Hmmmmm

Monitoring of Reading - Reactions from Gordon

2010-05-07T11:34:00.003-04:00

I promised to follow up on a question from Bob Franks. He wrote, "Would you ever push the tech/ethics limits by having the systems monitor reading/reading time/pages addressed? Not trying to be overly directive, but would faculty ever want to get that kind of data. I assume there will be links between iPADS/Kindles and LMS programs?"

I believe we have at least two different sets of problems here.

First, if a student downloads a book from Amazon or Apple, it's their private property. As long as students are able to answer questions about the subject matter of a class, faculty will be happy. Consequently, in a significant majority of the time, I believe faculty will NOT want to monitor the amount of time that students spend reading specific books, chapters, articles, or even pages.

Second, when students read material that I've generated in the form of webpages, I can easily access how many hits my webpages receive; but I have no need to know whether every student in the class has accessed the page. Indeed, students are very social and, as a result, they often review material in groups in one student's room around their computer. iPads, of course, allow much more individualized content consumption; but, as others in this blog have noted, the iPad can also be a center of intense social interaction.

Finally, I can see how with some very specific content, we would want to know whether a student has opened a document and how long they've spent with that document open. For example, we want to know that they have read their contracts with the college. That's the one area where we would want to be sure that they have acknowledged their responsibilities and obligations to the community.

Blogging with the iPad

2010-05-05T18:21:00.007-04:00

Unfortunately, I have injured my back and am under quite some pain. Sitting is not an option for much longer than 10 minutes. While my desktop and notebook PCs remain turned off, the iPad is flexibly adjusting to my mainly non-sitting postures. Yes, this is the same iPad I questioned a few days ago for potentially causing strain without related accessories! Now, it surprisingly turns out providing the opposite experience...

I wanted to quickly share this learning with you in a blog post. So I went to the App Store, did a search on blogging clients and downloaded Blogpress for iPad at 2,99$, which claimed an integration with my main blogging software providers Blogger.com and WordPress. This App is unfortunately a waste of micro payment for most of the blogging applications: The editor does not support any formatting options and you rather find yourself typing HTML source code. You can insert images from your photo library (see my favorite place in Italy below) but that is pretty much it.
I have not found any alternative iPad Apps that work with Blogger.com. Editing the blog post in mobile Safari does not support rich content editing either and you are also writing plain HTML code. Based on
all these excellent iPad social networking clients for Twitter and alike, I was really surprised by the low level of support for blogging. For future posts, I will use Pages and send the document over to my PC for quick adjustments and publishing.

Are there any Bloggers among you who have made similar experiences?

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone (not true, this is my iPad!!)

iPad on Campus: Month 1

2010-05-02T19:34:00.003-04:00

As my semester comes to a close, I find myself considering how I've used the iPad over the past month. In particular, I have been thinking about how electronic devices like the iPad, the Kindle, and the Sony Reader will change how students access materials.

Bob Franks from Blue Cross/Blue Sheild posted a question to my first blog that I missed and to which I have not responded. (My apologies.) Bob first asked if I thought that students would read more or less with these devices.

My response would be that, like all of us, students seek to maximize their time. I love books, love the sound and smell of new books, and the feel of old books; but I have spent a considerable part of my life painstakingly looking for books and then looking for information in books. (Indeed I'll be doing very much this kind of thing in the British Library later this month with newspapers.) Electronic devices have the potential to change that situation.

Students have significant pressure on them to succeed. We give them lots to read and we expect them to write about what they've learned. Devices like the iPad allow us to have books and documents at our fingertips. For example, last night as I waited for a concert (a wonderful performance of Orff's Carmina Burana), I read applications from graduate students for a grant that a society of which I am a member is offering. (Professors do more than teach in their institution and, in my case, write books about music.) I could just as easily pulled up one of the books on my iPad (e.g., Arthur Marwick's British Society since 1945, which I have through my Kindle app) and searched for references to music. I choose what I want to read and where I want to read it. In a student's busy schedule, maximizing their research time means less wasted reading and more efficient reading.

Bob asked a different question about ethics, to which I will respond in a separate post.

Nigel in the UK: Life with an iPad: 1 Week In

2010-05-02T10:26:00.006-04:00

So the iPad has been in my hands for 10 days. Had access to the App store for about 3 days. Conclusions:

1. The iPad has a slot in my life: somewhere between the Macbook pro and the iPhone.

2. Unlike my laptop, which I don't really like anyone else touching, the iPad is much more communal.

3. Every person visiting has been hooked on the iPad for all sorts of reasons and it is passed around continually.

4. It now has a place in the lounge room not the office. People pick it up and pass it round: why? Lots of its use is finding things out at the precise moment of need; lots of use is games (users are seduced by the wonderful screen and graphics) and then checking messages, notes and doing more personal work.

5. The OS itself helps rather than hinders this: if you want to do one thing you have to close the other and this means that each new user does not experience the legacy of the last person to use it (apart from their finger marks on the screen!) You hand it on with the home screen showing.

6. Regardless of how familiar or unfamiliar a user is with the iPhone and its way of working, no one has asked, once, for a tutorial. Everyone without exception has worked it out in seconds. BIG test tomorrow. I am going to give it to my 90 year old mother and see what she makes of it. That will test the intuitive interface to the limit!

7. I would much prefer to learn from the iPad than my laptop because of the crisp focus on the matter in hand. No disturbance from emails coming in or Skype bleeping and no 36 windows open on the screen at once. Clean, simple: uni-task. But always connected and always able to jump. A great metaphor for learning.

Paella, Shopping & iPAD Support

2010-05-02T10:21:00.002-04:00

It all started when I found an unused Paella Pan in the house. And, just that afternoon, there was a yummy scene of a cook making Paella during the Kentucky Derby show. So, I decided to cook Paella - for the first time in 20 years. This is where my iPAD was called into action. An app called BigOven had a series of recipes and I selected the one with the most attractive picture and recipe.

Off to the grocery store, placing the iPAD in the shopping cart. It was fun to walk around the store, selecting muscles, chicken, Spanish sausage and loads of spices. A few ingrediants were difficult to find - but great alternatives were easy to search for and purchase.

Got lots of attention and wonderful suggestions for Recipe 2.0:

Shopping GPS Map - lay out the items in an aisle by aisle order.
Check Closet Data Base - auto check what is currently in the kitchen - to make a shopping list more personal.
Show Ahead Option - press a button and head to a drive thru to pick up the assembled items.
Diet/Health Adaption - if a health condition requires recipe alteration - make those choices.
Discount for iPAD Shopping - why not "bid" out the recipe to several stores and let them bid with a discount and total price

It was an interesting use of the iPAD as both a learning tool (how to make Paella) and performance support app (guide my shopping and just in time learning). Off to cook it tonite and will provide an update on the Level 6 Evaluation of Yum Factor :)

Pass That iPAD - Collaborative Instincts

2010-04-30T20:36:00.002-04:00

My iPAD gets passed around a lot. Sure, at first it was fascination and newness. People wanted to touch the new and much hyped gadget. But, several weeks later, I find myself passing the iPAD around - in an collaborative sharing sense - as I read and work. Some examples:

Read This Article: I find an article in an online newspaper and I am very likely to hand it to a colleague or friend sitting near me. I rarely would pass around my laptop, but the tablet form factor goes around with ease.
Shared Apps: I was making a plane reservation, using Kayak. I passed the tablet back and forth with a family member, as we were deciding where and when to travel. The easy interface allowed two people to work on the tablet in close sequence and back and forth.
Touchable Data: I have started to experiment with taking spreadsheets on the iPAD and handing the data to colleagues to move, manipulate and touch the data. Some cells will be locked and others open for slider like, ":what if" simulation.
Jury Duty: This morning, I talked with a group of 100 lawyers and we brainstormed ways that a tablet could be used in a jury trial, to allow the members of the jury to touch and manipulate photos and documents - in an personal and upclose way - within the permission boundaries set by the judge.

Watch for applications that are back and forth. From games like chess to brainstorming that will allow not only ideas to flow, but the "passing of the PAD" as a part of the process.

2 weeks of iPading in Germany

2010-04-30T09:52:00.005-04:00

Below are my impressions after two weeks of iPading in Germany. The iPad is such a multifunctional device that I have really had a hard time capturing my insights in a somewhat short summary...

Expectations before I got the iPad
As an Advanced Learning Technologies Program Manager I love researching new technologies. Like many others, I was somewhat uncertain about the potential application areas of the iPad and very excited about being part of the iPadLearningLab Team exploring the affordances of this new device for Learning.

First hands-on impressions
When I first held the iPad in my hands I was just totally impressed! It is smaller and thinner than I expected with a bright and colorful display. Simply a masterpiece of design and technology. The smooth and intuitive gesture based navigation is amazing. Surfing the web with the Safari browser is a very seamless experience. It almost eliminates the need for specific web apps as you find them on the iPhone unless you require notification options (e.g. FaceBook) or have to overcome content type restrictions (e.g. for Flash based content). Typing on the touch-based keyboard works surprisingly well (and fast!) especially in the enlarged landscape mode.
Apple claims ten hours of battery life, which I expected to be based on non-CPU intensive applications. Turned out differently: I attended web casts, played games, watched movies and the battery status did just not go down. With a remaining 20% of battery life I watched a 2 hours movie. Amazing!

Reactions from others
Reaction from my German family, friends, co-workers and spectators around ranged from "Look and iPaaaad!!" to "What is that??" For a quick intro it turned out easier to refer to the device as a "big iPhone" rather than explaining the concept of a Tablet PC. eReaders are in the early adoption phase in Germany (almost no German books available) and many people cannot yet image reading a book on "that thing". iPhone users directly felt familiar with the iPad navigation and I only had to explain the differences. People new to iPhones and the concepts of apps were most intrigued by the photo viewing and gaming options.
My school teacher friend was way more interested in driving the RealRacingHD car than discussing how the iPad could be used for her profession. This confirmed that the awareness level of mobile devices in an educational context in Germany is just at the beginning. It was fun to watch her "slowly" change her mind when I explained my ideas for educational use cases. An iPad with a camera option would actually be a real issue as smartphones and cameras are forbidden at school. This discussion confirmed my thoughts that Apple left the camera out on purpose to get into this market segment.

Shortcomings, critics, obstacles
All of this has been said before: We do require Flash support not only for access to current Learning content. You can very quickly navigate between apps but I also would love to see some basic multitasking features (e.g. have Skype running in the background). Pen based input would make a great addition and of course I also want the embedded camera! From an ergonomic perspective, I am hoping for some accessories that avoid strain. With regards to currently available apps, there is still much room for improvement in fully leveraging the device capabilities beyond simply migrating existing content. Nevertheless, with Apple's strong User Experience Guidelines there are already many best practices out there to be broadly leveraged in the future.

How does the iPad fit in going forward

Going forward, the iPad will likely replace my paper based newspapers and magazines as soon as they become available in an interactive format. Unfortunately, the only German newspaper currently available "Die Welt" is non-interactive plain boring PDF. I can see from Time Magazine's excellent implementation where things are heading but the publishing industry over here is also considering Tablet PCs like the WePad to be given away "for free" with your newspaper subscription. I also learned that while you can share a paper-based newspaper subscription at breakfast, you cannot really share an iPad!

The iPad has already become my main free time internet device. My MacBook replaced most of my desktop PC and my iPad replaced most of my MacBook usage. Moreover, it will be my main travel companion providing me with internet, email and media access on the road. I enjoyed watching movies on the iPad and will probably use services like Netflix going forward. For me as a "Foodie", the iPad will become my main recipe viewer in the kitchen. Utility apps like the Zen Timer have already made their way in my daily life.

Work and learning implications
I was on vacation during my main trial phase and have just started integrating the iPad in my work environment. I definitely see myself attending many of these free educational webinars for Learning Professionals via the iPad especially after the business hours. The line between work and private life is definitely getting blurrier with these new technology options. My colleague made a good point recently by saying that this puts even more burden on the user to manage the work-life balance.

I very much agree with Nigel Paine's comment about this potentially being the best learning device I have ever used. My list of ideas on use cases for Learning keeps constantly growing. Each application I am investigating (no matter if it is a game, a magazine or a children drawing book) adds a new perspective to the potential affordances for Learning. These are very exciting times for Learning Professionals!

Views of a Total Beginner

2010-04-29T15:12:00.003-04:00

Kevin has been using my iPad for about an hour. Here are his instant reactions:

For less than $500 it is a great device. Wonderful to read from. "Great for news, email, finances, calendar and Facebook. He adds: for most of the things I check regularly it is great. Most things I do on line I do through a browser so this is perfect."

He loves the speed of the iPad and the ease of using it. "Google apps really fly. Can't think of many reasons not to use them all the time".

So he must have some reservations: "haven't quite calibrated my finger yet!"

And as a learning device: "perfect! Comfortable and easy to access multilayer resources. It is new, not a phone, not a lap top or a tablet PC. And it has slipped right into my life in less than an hour."

Overcoming the Hindrances of iPading in Europe

2010-04-28T02:03:00.019-04:00

Elliott recently asked me to share my initial thoughts on the "Affordances of iPading in Europe". While I would love to write a glorifying report on the broad range of European application scenarios, reality still looks somewhat different. Let me therefore start off by exploring the current "Hindrances of iPading in Europe", which Nigel Paine has also been facing, and focus on the affordances in future posts.

Hindrance No.1 -- Getting an iPad
As you may know, international sales of the iPad have been pushed out for at least a month due to the strong demand "at home". This makes getting an iPad the first hindrance for European users. Apple ships iPads only to the US. Unless you are planning an oversea trip, you need to find a third party with a US address to ship it to you.

Hindrance No.2 -- Getting access to the iPad App Store
You have successfully overcome "Hindrance No.1" and are holding an iPad in your hands. Before you can do anything with it, you must connect it to iTunes on your PC/Mac. This is when the iPad gets set to your iTunes country location and language defaults. After this procedure your iPad comes up with a localized user interface (mine was German) and is ready to go. You configure your wireles lan, play around with the default installation but what you really want is access to Apple's "whole new world of iPad apps"!

Unfortunately, the European iPad App Stores are still closed and you can neither access your regional store via iTunes on your PC/Mac nor launch it from your iPad (hitting the App Store button results in an error message). European iPhone users are probably familiar with the challenges of the regional iTunes store concept (you can e.g. not redeem gift cards from other countries in your local store).

With some workarounds you can download a limited set of iPad apps via iTunes on your PC/Mac. Nevertheless, currently the only real option to get access to thousands of apps made just for the iPad is to set up an account with the US iTunes store. This involves another obstacle as you can only register with a US credit card (=address in the US). European PayPal accounts do not work either. The key workaround here is to select "none" as the payment option as highlighted in the instructions, which at least provides you with access to the free iPad apps. If you still want to purchase any apps, I recommend getting a US iTunes store gift card and e-code from eBay.

Hindrance No.3 -- Getting access to apps for US citizens and residents

You have an iPad, you got connected to the US iPad App Store and life is good! The iPad Learning Lab research team keeps pointing out how fantastic NetFlix and other US services are and you are downloading the app from the US iTunes store. Unfortunately, the app refuses to work because the service is not available outside of the US and the app identifies your European IP address. I have not tried this out yet but here is where Services like Black VPN promise to solve the issue especially for US citizens traveling abroad.

So much about the hindrances. You may follow the instructions at your own risk (I have not synced my other Apple devices since). I can tell you that it is definitely worth the efforts especially with the European launch being at least another month out! The iPad is an amazing device with a high potential to fundamentally change the way we approach learning. Watch out for my impressions, experiences and the affordances in future posts.

Are there any other European early adopters out there? If so, I would love to hear about your experiences and collaboratively work with you on exploring the European (learning) affordances of the iPad!

First Impressions of the iPad in the UK - From Nigel Paine, former CLO - BBC

2010-04-26T10:52:00.010-04:00

Note: The MASIE Center provided an iPAD to our colleague, Nigel Paine, former CLO of the BBC and a MASIE Learning Fellow. Since the iPAD is not released in Europe yet, he is a rare user in London. Here are his first impressions from a Learning Affordances perspective:

Two days in! And the battery still goes on and on I am down to 56% and that must be easily after 10 hours of radio and video and browsing of all kinds. This is seriously impressive. I have charged my phone three times over that period.

The screen size changes the touchscreen experience. It is more 'natural' and in proportion to finger size than the iPhone screen so working with websites is tremendous IF there is no flash. About half the sites have flash (I have discovered) including the BBC site which is like a giant flash repository. Can't see movies, stream any radio or tv and often can't see photos or interviews or the news synopsis. This is very frustrating as the BBC is my home page site. Something has to give: flash or apple's refusal to embrace it. But for first time users, this could be frustrating and for -say- and academic recommending links to her students, use limiting.

BUT the interaction with the internet and some Apps is like a window on the world of learning. You peel back the layers and engage with the material in an almost tactile way. This is potentially the best learning device I have ever used.

I shared three extension gestures for learning: draw a square to pop up a note; draw a ? for contextual help, and draw a spiral for drill down to more links and connections and maybe drill up to front page. These suggested themselves before I had touched an iPad. Now I can see the immediate value. Now, if I want to write a note I have to 'copy' the text, come out of the App or web page, launch notes and then 'paste'. It's okay but fiddly and you are not guaranteed to go back -eventually- to the same place.

Also, with a front- facing camera this would be the perfect Skype tool. It makes calls really well. So it needs a camera and maybe two cameras (one for vc and one for collecting information). You could go on a field trip and gather data, take pictures, write notes and build your project right on the spot. I would also imagine an iPad loaded with the relevant text books would be almost as cheap buying just the books (not withstanding the massive drop in weight lugging them round). This must be an option that many universities are considering.

The App store is closed in the UK so no apps until I sort out a US iTunes account. This is merely, temporarily, annoying but it limits what I can say as I am working off the core apps that came with the iPad and my iPhone apps. There has been criticism about the way iPhone apps scale, saying they look 'wrong' on the iPad, and scale pixillated. Not in my experience. My giant Tube map of the London subway looks great floating over the screen, and searching out train times using the Network Rail app is a pleasure as the lists are more legible. There are one or two that don't work at all but these do NOT convert over. Can't wait to see a real App that has been build for the iPad.

Mobile Me invisibly synchs my diary and address book and the 'two page' calendar layout is fabulous. It is a shame you cannot use your finger to turn the pages like a paper cadendar. i am sure that subtle change is on the way. I love the idea of sitting with someone and saying: 'I will just flick through my calendar to see what is available' and out comes an iPad!

Touch typing with the built-in key board is okay. But as a touch typist I tend to rest my fingers on the keys. If I do this the iPad goes mental and begins spewing out gibberish. I have to remember to 'hover' just above the keyboard. When I do this, I can type quickly as the key board appears to be full size in landscape mode. But hovering is tiring so this is not the keyboard for my magnum opus. I would prefer to use the plug in keyboard that attaches to the iPad (when it is available) and type normally.

Reading is no problem. I have no access to the books app so I am using my iPhone Kindle app. Amazingly the app allows me to upload all my books and then read at a time and place of my choosing. I have the Kindle app on my iPhone, Kindle, laptop and desktop and when I read a few pages on any book, in any medium, for as long as I want, the Kindle app synchs the others to the 'last page read'. That is simply delightful.

I will keep on experimenting (playing) and let you know how I get on. I may even have to charge this beast eventually! It draws so much power that plugging into my USB hub only synchs the iPad rather than charges it. It needs more oomph! for charging.

Game changer: quit possibly. This will depend on the apps exploiting this wonderful interface. Roll on the UK app store; roll on OS 4.0 and roll on enhanced screen commands and a camera.

iPad on Campus: Week 3

2010-04-23T13:22:00.001-04:00

As the hype recedes and reality sets into campus thinking about the iPad, one particular question arises for some IT administrators: how many students will be arriving in the fall with their own iPads? Anticipating that question represents more than an idle office pool. On the one hand, the helpdesk needs to plan for the kinds of questions students (and faculty) will bring regarding its functionality. On the other hand, knowing how we can best take advantage of this technology at the point when it appears can make us better educators. Indeed, being prepared at that critical point will help us to shape iPad culture.

The visual richness of the iPad makes it ideal for viewing images and reading documents. Are our webpages accessible to iPad users. Already, I’ve found myself re-editing my webpages to remove Flash buttons and images which the iPad leaves blank. I’ve already used an app that Elliott suggested called Goodread as a way to view and store documents on the iPad and I expect we will see similar developments in the future.

e-Learning on the IPad? Your predictions and questions, please!

2010-04-23T12:35:00.002-04:00

So, how might e-Learning designed for the iPad evolve? We would love to get a robust list of comments, predictions or questions about what devices like the iPad may "afford" e-Learning developers and designers.

Format or Activity Changes?
Social or Shared Use Options?
Gesture Based Affordances?
Other?

Please add your comments below. Thanks! The iPadLearningLab Team

2 Weeks of Wall Street Journal iPading - Changing Reading Affordances

2010-04-21T16:50:00.001-04:00

For the past two weeks, I have shifted my daily reading of The Wall Street Journal to the iPAD. I wanted to experiment how reading on this device impacted my style and approach -- as well as explore the "affordances" that iPAD newspaper editions might contain.

A few immediate changes:

It is more social! Perhaps it is new, but I find myself often handing an article in the digital Journal to a friend or colleague to scan in a coffee shop or my office - triggering a dialgoue.
I send more articles! Every day, I find myself sending 2 to 4 articles via the embedded email function to people - to extend the conversation.
I clip and save more! I rarely saved a paper article and even when reading in the laptop edition, my saving was minimal. Now, I find myself clipping and accessing more content.
I check embedded stock prices. As I read articles about public companies, I am doing way more real time checking of stock prices.
I scan all articles with section based table of contents and then drill down relative to my interest. Net impact, I read more and more efficiently.

I am quite intrigued to see how the format of iPAD newspapers will change. I would love to have these additional affordances:

More Video and Audio.
Social Dialogues with Defined Colleagues on Key Articles -- Including Colleague Rating of Interest.
Links to 3D Manipulable Graphic Images and Charts.
Drill Down to e-Learning Modules on Key Concepts.

I have no problem paying the monthly fee for this format of the Journal. It is making my reading more personal, more context rich and more convenient. And, I am reading updated editions of the Journal that are way more current than the ones that are slipped under my door at a hotel while on the road.