Faculty - Software

I am used to the OS because I have an iPod Touch. It's easy to customize what I want, where I want it, so I can find what I need. I had no issues in terms of programs quitting, hanging, or not opening.

I strongly recommend that the next testers be given the iTunes account username and password. I say this because reading a description and seeing screenshots are not enough information for quickly knowing if an app is good or bad. I understand that some apps are expensive ($5); however, many apps offer a free, lite version, which will give users a better and quicker knowledge of the usefulness of an app. If a tester wishes to purchase an expensive app, he or she should visit the company's website (via iTunes link), research it a bit more, and then ask for permission to purchase the app.

During this week I didn't have much free time to investigate educational apps. I explored iBooks, which is a great app, particularly the search function, which could be useful to students when they write a paper. United Streaming worked fine through Safari.

It took a bit of time to get used to the keyboard since you can't rest your fingers on the keys. However, with a bit of practice, I became better at it. I think what will frustrate new users is that your fingers won't keep up with your thoughts. When I held the iPad in portrait mode, I used my thumbs to type, like texting on a phone. It was faster and easier to hold the device that way. Should Prairie pursue iPads, the school should provide the keyboard docks to teachers.

The iWork suite worked really well because it was familiar to me, but also intuitive. However, document management posed some problems. On my fifth day of testing, I finally had time to really explore Pages. I signed up for iWork.com, and I was able to easily upload documents. I was unable to sync documents to the iPad from iWork.com, but was probably a syncing issue on my part? So I defaulted to email, which was a bit cumbersome. I will explore iWork.com more. I think it has potential; however, I believe permitted users can only annotate a document, which is helpful, but not as much compared to a wiki. Given time, I think the suite will gain more functionality. For example, I don't know what the options are during the syncing process; however, a tab for documents, like Music, Podcasts, Photos, etc. could be a great way to sync documents.

I don't know how to print a document with the iPad. I understand that there are some apps for it, but I didn't explore that.

The iLife suite is great! It all works flawlessly. Because I've been using Mail on my laptop, I set it up on the iPad. It functioned normally, and was as easy to use on the iPad as it is to use on my laptop. I also had Bill add the iPhone FirstClass app to my iPad, which worked fine, as well, but the UI is dense and cluttered compared to Mail.

I have a MobileMe account, so syncing all my information was a breeze.

I did not have as much time to explore the software applications as much as I would have liked to. The keyboard was initially a bit cumbersome, or the user of it was. . . I adjusted, but found myself opting for the laptop more often than not.

The graphing calculator app was pretty nice for $0.99, but traditional calculators are, in my opinion, more appropriate for regular classroom use.

Right away I'm having trouble with Mail. It doesn't work as smoothly as my MacBook. I'll add more later.

Okay, mail could be ok. I like iWork.com now that I have it working. However, google docs is not compatible with the iPad. You cannot edit documents in google docs with the iPad.

I found a number of "reference" apps that Klay installed. They are excellent! Primary documents, speeches, reference materials, and maps. The challenge would be getting those apps for every machine, as Klay and I discussed.

I looked at some of the apps already on the iPad but did not have the time to look at the iTunes store to explore other options. Perhaps over the summer...

I found using apps that require typing on the iPad to be a bit frustrating because of the keyboard. I didn't check out Google Docs, but if Alan is correct about its incompatibility with iPad I think that is a major strike against the iPad, particularly as it has no hardrive and therefore needs to work with web 2.0 tools.

The apps I found and used were excellent! Something tells me the selection, quality, and usefulness of the apps will grow exponentially from here. For example, the DropBox app updated during my week. It went from a cute icon of little use to an app that gave me full access to my actual DropBox. The only thing I couldn't do was open a couple of items because of file type, and I could not upload from the iPad. My gut tells me both Google and Apple will address the Google Docs issue out of shear necessity. iWork.com isn't much of a solution.

As I said elsewhere, I really see this as a student platform worth our consideration in the near future. I found the keyboard less-desirable than my MacBook, but I could handle it. The students would have no problem. As long as we can find a way to move and share documents, the uses seem endless. And, to have students connected at all times would be wonderful in my class!

I was pretty used to the iPad as i also have my own touch. I had the kids try out the dictionary app on here and they had a bit difficulty with it uploading words. I did use mail and safari just to surf and didn't have any trouble with it. Didn't mind the keyboard but a separate one would be better. I also enjoyed taking the I pad to meetings rather than my laptop as it was less cumbersome but had what i needed on it.

I like that the iPad can only run one app at a time - it seems to function smoother since it only does one task at a time. I like that the iPad doesn't have a place to store files - I can imagine the iPad becoming a device I use to take on certain tasks that are less complicated and more immediate, freeing up my laptop to be a place I do more involved tasks that I might be working on using several windows and applications over the course of the day.

Didn't use iWork this week but I played around with it a little bit on my own and it looks cool.

The apps Klay loaded for me are cool - some were useful during class, others are more individual-user oriented and might be a way to engage kids who need differentiation or enrichment.

I found a really cool geography app that focuses on the countries of the world and the states in the USA. This app also quizes the students on the flags of countries, and you can have a competition with the entire class or with other people who have the same app. Really cool stuff for my 5/6 geography class.

I agree with Tristan--typing is easy, I need more time to look for apps, it would be easier if we could get the itunes account info, everything worked flawlessly.