This fall, the hit course on some college campuses might very well be iPad 101, reports the Baltimore Sun. At the University of Maryland, administrators plan to hand out Apple iPads to about 60 students, part of a new two-year program called Digital Culture and Creativity that immerses students in new technologies and focuses on the potential of the iPad to shake up the campus experience. The iPad has experienced early success in the consumer market, with more than 3 million sold since April, and it’s also going back to school. On college campuses across the country this fall semester, some students are getting iPads upon admission, while professors and administrators are trying to determine if this latest digital gadget will have a place in the world of academia. The College Park program “is really aimed at the student who is a so-called digital native, who grew up doing interesting things online,” said Matthew Kirschenbaum, associate English professor and director of the digital cultures program. “The iPad isn’t just a tool or instrument for the classroom. It’s also going to be an artifact, an object of study.” The iPad isn’t even a year old but is expected to popularize tablet computers. Its benefits include a vibrant touch screen and media presentation, long battery life, and mobile internet accessibility. But the device, which starts at $499, does not print, which means college students would need to use another computer to produce hard copies of their college papers. Still, technology experts and college officials expect the iPad—and other electronic readers and tablet computers yet to debut—will help reshape higher education…
…Read MorePodcast Series: Innovations in Education
Explore the full series of eSchool News podcasts hosted by Kevin Hogan—created to keep you on the cutting edge of innovations in education.
iPad pilots launching in higher ed this fall
Educators say there’s a simple reason they believe the Apple iPad pilot programs coming to colleges and universities this fall will run smoother than previous trials with popular eReaders: the apps.
Sprawling research university campuses and rural community colleges alike will test the iPad in small groups when students return to school in August and September, evaluating how learning can be improved using a device that has proven popular among 20-somethings who were avid about Apple products even before the iPad was released in April.
University IT departments launched pilot programs for eReaders like the Amazon Kindle and Kindle DX in 2008 and 2009, but student and faculty surveys showed that traditional textbooks were preferred over the eReader devices.…Read More
Printing in a smart-phone age
This week, Hewlett-Packard will introduce a fleet of printers with web access, their own eMail addresses, and touch screens—opening up new ways for people to print from web services such as Google Docs, and from smart phones and devices such as Apple’s iPad, reports the New York Times. The new printers will range in price from $99 to about $400. Every one will come with what HP executives billed as a breakthrough feature: its very own eMail address. HP’s engineers hit on the eMail address as an easy, familiar way for people to send print jobs to the web-ready printers. You can, for example, take a photo with a phone, eMail it to your printer’s address, and have the printout waiting for you at home. Or, you can share the printer’s eMail address with family and friends. This means that someone can buy Grandma a web-ready printer and have it pump out photos of the grandchildren without Grandma having to do much of anything (except buy that pricey ink). HP is also lining up partners for a web site, the ePrintCenter, which the company envisions as the kind of app store that Apple, Google, and others have for their smart phones. The idea is that the partners can build software and services for HP’s web printers. For example, children and their parents could print out coloring books from Crayola, and Dora the Explorer birthday activity packs from Nickelodeon…
…Read MoreiPad tablet’s popularity has rivals scrambling to roll out competing devices
The success of Apple Inc.’s iPad has prompted other tech companies to plunge into the market for tablet computers, with start-ups and major PC makers racing to introduce their own competing devices before the end of the year, the Los Angeles Times reports. Verizon Wireless Inc. confirmed Tuesday that it has a tablet in the works. Speculation is swirling around the intentions of Hewlett-Packard Co., the world’s biggest PC maker and the company that some believe has the best shot at catching up with Apple’s early iPad lead. Meanwhile, everyone from upstart Fusion Garage to established names such as Dell Inc. is jumping into the pool. Experts say the iPad’s early sales figures — Apple reported it sold 1 million units in four weeks — are proof there’s a strong market for such products. But it’s unclear whether other manufacturers can duplicate the iPad’s appeal, or whether Apple will dominate the market in the same way its iPod is king of the portable music player market.
…Read MoreeBook restrictions vex users
As more and more eReading devices flood the market, users are beginning to feel the restrictions imposed by copyright and digital rights management (DRM)—restrictions that some fear could hold back the use of eBooks in education.
Imagine this: You’re in the market for an eReader device and decide to buy a Kindle. Books for your Kindle must be purchased through Amazon’s eBook store. You can download the books you buy to your computer and/or your Kindle device.
Now, imagine that you’d like a Barnes & Noble Nook instead: Can you upload your Amazon eBooks to your Nook? Can you lend the books you’ve downloaded on your computer to friends? The answer to these questions is no, leading some to question whether purchasing an eBook for an eReader device is really buying the book at all.…Read More
After ballyhooed debut, some schools see problems with iPad
The euphoria that greeted the Apple iPad on college campuses has waned somewhat in recent weeks, as technology officials at a handful of universities have issued warnings that the much sought-after eReader might not be compatible with school web networks or could overwhelm campus bandwidth capabilities.
Education technology officials on campuses that can’t currently support the iPad say their networks and internet security will be iPad-friendly by next school year. Meanwhile, some other institutions—such as Rutgers University, George Fox University in Newberg, Ore., and North Carolina State University—embraced the popular eReader just days after its release.
George Fox’s incoming freshmen will receive a new iPad when they come to campus next fall, and North Carolina State students and faculty can rent the device for four-hour intervals from the school’s library.…Read More
Apple iPad: The evolution of home computing
I have seen the future of home computing, and it is the iPad. I’m convinced of it, PC World’s Kenneth van Wyk reports. Yes, iPadurday has come and gone. Many of us have Wi-Fi iPads in our grubby little mitts. Early reviews have been mostly stellar. The device–and more importantly, the software running it–is superb, but certainly not perfect. And now we’ve seen Steve Jobs outline the next release of the operating system, iPhone OS 4.0. That’s all well and good, but largely secondary to my point. I’ve discussed the app store model here a couple of times , and the security ramifications it carries. Well, let’s consider the iPad in that light, now that it has been released. When I got my iPad, I immediately installed several software packages on it. Most of it was for entertainment (e.g., Netflix, ABC Reader), but I also installed a couple of apps that could at least ostensibly be used for business (e.g., Pages, Keynote). Each installation was simple: I ran the App Store application, found the tools I wanted, and clicked the purchase icon. Within moments, each package installed…
…Read MoreUsers say the iPad, sun don’t mix
Planning on taking your new iPad to the beach or a cozy park bench? If so, you might want to consider bringing along a visor for both you and your computer, reports a Yahoo tech blog. Stories are starting to trickle in from iPad owners who say their glossy new tablets are going into a high-temperature-triggered sleep mode after being out in the sun for too long—more than an hour in one case, or just 10 minutes in another. There’s nothing particularly unique about the iPad overheating in the sun; in general, most tech gadgets will get a little faint if left out in the sun too long, and as the Cult of Mac points out, the iPad has precisely the same suggested operating temperatures (between 32 and 95 degrees Fahrenheit) as the iPhone. However, it “appears that the iPad’s size and speed make it a lot more likely to shut off due to internal temperature,” Cult of Mac warns, and given that Apple is pushing its tablet as an eReader device, it seems likely that plenty of users will be tempted to take their tablets to the beach…
…Read MoreStanford researchers launch new web site to monitor app security
With the launch of Apple’s iPad, developers are scrambling to create new applications. But are they safe? That’s the question a new web site hopes to help answer, reports the Associated Press. Internet security experts at Stanford University launched a site April 2 that reviews how well certain web and mobile applications protect users’ privacy. Dozens of the more that 200 apps listed on WhatApp have already been reviewed by a team of lawyers, computer scientists, and privacy and security experts from Stanford and other institutions. Shoppers and developers can add their opinions and request reviews. Stanford Law fellow M. Ryan Calo says the site provides a way to monitor what’s being done with collected information, while driving the app market toward better practices…
…Read MorePa. university to give all students iPads
It hasn’t even launched yet, and already Apple’s iPad is catching the eye of colleges, CNET reports: Pennsylvania-based Seton Hill University, which has an enrollment of about 2,100, announced March 30 that starting this fall all full-time students will receive an iPad tablet device in an effort to boost learning ability and technical know-how. “The iPad initiative kicks off the university’s Griffin Technology Advantage Program,” the school wrote on its iPad page. “This new program provides students with the best in technology and collaborative learning tools, ensuring that Seton Hill students will be uniquely suited to whatever careers they choose—even those that have not yet been created.” Through the program, each student will receive the iPad, as well as a 13-inch MacBook. Students can use the devices in class and for personal use. The university even plans to replace the laptop with a new one every two years. Students will own the devices, meaning they can take them after graduation. Seton Hill believes that, with the help of technology, it can create a “just-in-time learning environment” that enhances student learning and helps them learn “technological skills [they will] need in the 21st century workforce…”
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