Ryan Collins

Flowchart: Should you buy an iPad?

// April 9th, 2010 // No Comments » // Hardware, Humor, Mobile Computing

I worked up a little flowchart in Pages on my iPad to help you make your decision on whether you should buy one. This post and the graphic were totally created on my iPad.

iPad initial impressions

// April 7th, 2010 // No Comments » // Hardware, Mobile Computing

There are enough other reviews on the web about the iPad, so I’m going to focus on my experiences and how I’ve begun to use the iPad in my home life and how it may be used in education.

The purchase:
I reserved my ipad the day they opened reservations on line so I would be guaranteed to pick one up on April 3rd. I didn’t trust Saturday delivery, so I headed to Columbus to the Easton Apple Store to stand in the “privileged line”, the one which had the others who had also reserved their iPad. When we arrived at 7:30am, there were approximately 40 people in the reserved line and about twice that many in the “unreserved” line, those that were hoping to still pick one up.

Anyway, I bought mine and while my brother and sister played with iPads in the store, I pulled out my Macbook and setup my iPad. Some reviews talk about the iPad ready for use right out of the box, but mine popped up the “connect to iTunes” symbol. The initial sync didn’t take long, but I really wasn’t syncing up too much.

Initial Impressions:
Fast! It is probably the fastest browsing experience that I’ve ever experienced. For the first time it was the speed of the network and not the hardware slowing me down. The onscreen keyboard isn’t that bad, I’m typing this article on it, but it does take some getting used to. The biggest problem is keeping your fingers up off the glass so it doesn’t register additional “key” presses. The other issue is that it is practically impossible to type without looking at the keyboard, so if you are typing in information that is on paper, it will be a lot slower. Im debating whether to buy the bluetooth keyboard. I paired it with my old Think Outside keyboard, which was a piece of cake, but that keyboard is getting old and the k and l keys do not work the best. I also bought the Apple case for it, which helps put the iPad at a good angle to use or type on.

Longer term impressions:
There are more situations where a tablet can be used than a laptop, and the additional screen space makes the iPad a lot more useful than the iPod Touch. For example, at a meeting I can have the iPad in my lap or on the table. Where the iPad shines is when I want to show others information or something on the screen. I can just hold up the iPad or hand it to them without the awkwardness one would experience with a laptop. Maybe it’s just the websites I visit, but lack of Flash has not really been an issue. A lot of the video sites already support HTML 5, which works flawlessly on the iPad.

I’ve been impressed with the number of iPad ready apps already in the app store. Some of my favorite apps, such as Evernote, WordPress, and iSSH are already available.

Educational implications:
That being said about Flash above, students would notice the inability to use some of there favorite sites. Sites such as Starfall, which would be amazing on the iPad, fail from lack of Flash. The availability of Pages and Keynote bring some productivity to the iPad, but the clumsy method of using iTunes to transfer files would hinder their use in the classroom.

Closing thoughts:
I’m going to be posting more as I work with the device longer. I’m excited to use it to teach a lesson in a kindergarten class to see how well it will work as a teacher device. Some accessories will probably end of purchasing include the camera connection kit and the Bluetooth keyboard. The big unanswered question is “who is the iPad for?”, and, unfortunately I can’t answer that yet.

The iPad has landed

// April 3rd, 2010 // No Comments » // Hardware, Mobile Computing

Braving almost 70° weather I arrived at the Easton Apple store at 7:40 am to pick up my reserved 32gb iPad. I’ll have a longer review later, but I’m currently typing this blog post while using the Wordpress app and sitting in Cosí.

So far, So cool.

Need a cheap screen for your classroom?

// December 14th, 2009 // No Comments » // Hardware

Over at instructables Saul has posted his directions for using Tyvek wrapping for a Tyvek Projector Screen. Since this is used for wrapping houses it is very inexpensive and somewhat durable. He used a pipe in one end to keep it taunt. From reading the comments there are ways of purchasing it without the logo or using other materials, such as black out clothe, that is available in white.

The Kindle DX is available for pre-order, does anyone care?

// May 6th, 2009 // 6 Comments » // Hardware, Mobile Computing, Op Ed

Today’s announcement of the Kindle DX, a 9.7″ version of the Kindle is being hailed as some sort of savior of the newspaper industry and a breakthrough for the college textbook market.

At almost $500 I don’t see it as either. The biggest negative about the Kindle will also be the last thing fixed, if it is ever addressed, and that is the ability to re-sell your content (or at least lend it to others). I’m sure the textbook companies are falling over themselves to support the Kindle. Here is the ability to sell a text book, with no production/delivery costs, and then know that the book will not be resold at the end of the semester.

The newspaper subscription idea has merit, but then again, they need to lower their subscription rates. I’ve looked at transferring my USA Today subscription to digital, but it costs almost the same as getting a paper copy! At least with the paper copy I can lend/give it to someone else, or cut out an article to save.

Is anyone looking at using the Kindle in a school? What would be the advantages of it over something like a netbook?

The $99 mobile Internet Device

// February 17th, 2009 // No Comments » // Hardware, Mobile Computing

Nvidia Plans To Power $99 Mobile Internet Devices

Nvidia has announced that it plans to power $99 mobile internet devices with its Tegra 600 series chips, perhaps as early as this summer.

If they can get an Android version released at $99 that is something that could be a game changer in education. Although I’m a big fan of the iPod Touch being an option for a 1-to-1 program, a $99 device with keyboard and more openness would easily make one-to-one programs a reality.

It seems like I’m always waiting…

HIW (How I Work): The Apple MacBook

// December 2nd, 2008 // No Comments » // Hardware, Op Ed

I am asked quite often how I can keep up with everything in regards to educational technology, software, and hardware. After some reflection, I realized that it would make a good series of articles, so I’m going to write up How I Work.

First up is probably the most important component of my technology arsenal, my Apple MacBook. During the spring of 2006 I was researching upgrading my 17″ iMac to a new MacBook Pro. The plan was to buy a beefy enough MacBook Pro that I wouldn’t want to upgrade for awhile. I specc’ed out the MacBook Pro that I wanted to be almost $2,500! I wasn’t happy being stuck with getting such a large laptop, but I was in luck that Apple then announced the MacBook. After realizing I could buy a MacBook and an iMac for the same price as the MacBook Pro, I ordered my MacBook. After using it, I realized I didn’t even need a desktop at home.

With my MacBook and VMware Fusion, I get the best of all worlds. I run OS X 10.5 mainly, but have a Windows XP and Ubuntu virtual machines also installed on the machine. Since the original purchase I’ve bumped the memory from 1GB to 2GB and the hard drive from 80GB to 200GB.

Unfortunately, come summer 2009 when I’ll be looking at upgrading I don’t know what I’ll do. The new MacBook’s lack of firewire is almost a deal killer for me.

When I am at home I hook my MacBook up to a 17″ LCD monitor and use a cheap $30 Micro Innovations wireless keyboard and mouse I purchased from Wal-mart (mine is a dark grey, not the hideous color from the picture). The combo works pretty well, except sometimes I have to unplug and re-plug the USB dongle that works with the set when I wake the MacBook up from sleep. That’s also where I keep an external hard drive to maintain my laptops backups using OS X’s Time Machine.

Happy 35th Birthday Ethernet

// May 24th, 2008 // No Comments » // Hardware

Wiimote interactive whiteboard success

// May 16th, 2008 // 1 Comment » // Hardware

Since I am home this week, I decided to get caught up on some projects. The big one was working on getting an interactive whiteboard setup going with a Nintendo Wiimote and an infrared pen. This morning, I finally got my infrared pen working. What I did was bought a cheap LED flashlight from Walmart and replaced one of the LEDs with an infrared LED, the Radio Shack 276-143 to be exact.

After checking that the pen worked, I downloaded the Wiimote interactive whiteboard software and it worked! I’ll try to get some pictures and a video up, but I don’t know if I’ll have time today.

Next goal is to find some whiteboard software to use with it. For right now I’m just using Inkscape.

Interactive response systems

// April 4th, 2008 // 4 Comments » // 21st Century Skills, Classroom Management, Hardware, Mobile Computing, Software

photo credit: swpermanAs we investigate ways to use mobile Internet devices in our classrooms, it hit me that they could be used as an interactive student response system (ISRS). Since current ISRSs are around $100 per person, why not invest in a more useful device such as the iPod Touch, Sony PSP, or Nintendo DS (with Opera)?

I found one company that already is thinking this way, Pocket Mobility with their Quizzler Pro product. Me on the other hand, loves the challenge of coding something up myself.

Has anyone worked with ISRSs? What did you like? What didn’t you like? Is this something I should look at as a summer project?