Monday, October 31, 2011

What can't I do with the iPad?

In the spirit of this project, I made a list of all that I could do with the iPad that was related to teaching. I came up with twenty-two items in ten minutes. Could I do some or all of these things with my laptop? Certainly I could do most, and if I still had a Tablet PC, I could likely handle all of the items I listed. From that list of "glass half full" capabilities, I then moved to those things I could not do; the "glass half empty" side of the equation. I mean, were there true limitations now that I have some experience with the iPad as a personal learning tool? Here is the much shorter list:
  1. I can't project untethered, but I know that problem can be solved with a little money (approx. $200 per classroom). That was a real problem over Parents Weekend when I was constantly running to the front of the room to write on my iPad.
  2. I can't run Flash-based applications (not videos) like Bubbl.us, web-based Inspiration, Campus Pack blogs and wikis, and the Blackboard gradebook. I'm not certain when the problem will be addressed, but right now I have to use the iPad mirroring my laptop to make these tools work.
  3. Seamlessly access Dropbox from any iPad app. Some apps work very well with Dropbox.
  4. Find a History app that is significantly different than anything I used on a laptop. Still, it is easier to bring the iPad to class than the laptop.
  5. Create and edit longer documents that require more complex formatting (such as inserting footnotes).
  6. Create or edit content other than straight text in Blackboard or The Learning Mag (eBook creation tool we are testing).
  7. Print without a laptop in the middle of the process (AirPrint does not support enough printers yet).
Some of these limitations mean I have to keep my laptop very much alive while taking advantage of the iPad's strengths. The twenty-two positive capabilities were specifically related to teaching. There is another list of capabilities related to my non-professional life and all the other administrative tasks we do here. I'm planning to do my term reports in QuickOffice with my Bluetooth keyboard. What a dilemma! there are advantages to using the iPad, but I can't use it exclusively -- yet.


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