Where are we?

In the interest of taking stock, I will tell you where I am in my thinking, and perhaps some of you will respond to confirm or amend. While I have completely incorporated the iPad into my personal and professional life, I have not integrated it as well in the classroom. There are several reasons for my slow start, and some have been mentioned by others.

1. Tethering the iPad to a projector cable forces me to change my style in the classroom. It is harder to move around if I have to leave the iPad behind. It is limited to the same functionality I have with a laptop. I know there are solutions out there, but finding the best one will take some teamwork, money, and time. Who's game?
2. Most of the apps I have found for World History or Use and Abuse of Power are no different than web sites I might use on my laptop. In some cases, they are a little more slick on the iPad, but are still essentially the same. The benefit is the lighter, more portable device in class if we can solve #1.
3. On the positive side, the ability to annotate documents, web sites, and texts harks back to the days when I had a Tablet PC. I had forgotten how useful annotation capability was.
4. I am grading papers and other written work on the iPad with Noterize (some are using other apps), and while the initial adjustment was frustrating, the process now goes very smoothly and is extremely convenient (where is that stack of papers I have to grade?).
5. Since the eBooks I have created render well on the iPad, referring to our course materials is a much easier and quicker process than logging into Bb, and navigating to the appropriate assignment.
6. The lack of Flash capability means I often have to bring my laptop to class as a backup device. I can use the Skyfire browser for Flash movies if I can get the movie cued up in advance (there is a delay during conversion of the movie from Flash to HTML5). I can't access any other Flash applications on the iPad including the word maps in the library's Aqua Browser.
7. The other day, the VoiceThread app was released for the iPad, and the early reviews say it is better than the website. I see great potential for VoiceThread in and out of the classroom for discussion about almost any image, problem solution, video, etc. that I might want to archive, review, or assess. I may consider substituting VoiceThread for a class blog some days next term.

So, mixed feelings so far, and I'm really feeling a need for more professional development, both from the outside and within our group. Let me know what you would like to hear more about. I am working on external professional development.