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Feb 04
2010
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First Look at the iPad for eLearningPosted by Patrick Batty in TOPYX, Social Networking, mLearning, Interactyx, eLearning 2.0   |
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At Interactyx, we're always looking to enhance eLearning and mobile learning. So, today I thought would be an appropriate time to review the newly announced iPad to see if we think it will become a significant tool in the corporate and academic eLearning world.
The iPad upon first blush certainly appears to be a compelling device. Like a bright, shiny new toy, it looks like something you like to grab hold of and play with a while. I'm sure the lines on release day will be long and extensively covered in the press.
Before I go over thoughts about applicability to the eLearning and mLearning world, let's quickly review some facts from the iPad announcement.
- There will be multiple models of iPad with 16, 32, or 64 GB of memory (flash).
- The iPad has a 9.7 inch backlit LED multi-touch display.
- It is ½ inch thick and weighs in at 1.5 lbs.
- The base 16 GB basic model, available in US near the end of March 2010 and Europe in June.
- The base model will be priced at $499 in the US and has built in support of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
- The base 3G version will be priced at $629 with a monthly $15 for 250 MB or $50 for unlimited data and naturally will also support Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. There are no contracts for the service. It's month by month with no long term commitments.
- Similar to the iPhone, all models have built in accelerometers.
- 3G models have locational awareness.
- Built in applications include Safari, iBooks, YouTube, email.
- Other applications are available such as Keynote, Pages, and Numbers as well as the approximate 130,000 different apps in the app store.
Its OS is based upon the iPhone OS, and naturally is using Safari as its browser. Safari, combined with the reasonably sized multi-touch display could open up new areas of applicability and utilization independent of one's industry.
Material and apps built for iPhone will apparently function just fine on the iPad, however the IPad SDK will also take advantage of additional features, so there may be a reason to modify existing apps.
So what about iPad for eLearning
The iPad is clearly being promoted as a media device with what appear to be elegant interfaces to save and review media including books, magazines, newspapers, and downloaded audio and video content.
Users will easily be able to view or listen to that material to their hearts content, and I expect that's probably the sweet spot for the device. Naturally, they'll be able to engage others with social networking tools and sites in a relatively portable platform, compared to a laptop or desktop. Not so portable compared to a smartphone.
As well, for eLearning purposes, clearly, based upon screen size alone the iPad appears to be a better choice than the iPhone or other smartphones such as Google's Android or RIM's various Blackberries. As much as those technologies were improvements over the past, who truly wants to watch course material on a 3 1/2 inch or smaller display. In a pinch, OK, but if I had my choice, I'd certainly prefer the larger display to avoid either reviewing material shrunk so small it's illegible, or to avoid nonstop scrolling to review a single page.
However the iPad does not support Flash. Whether purely a current limitation of Flash itself, or a strategic decision by Apple, Flash content will not play, nor has it been announced at this point. The blogosphere is abuzz about this lack of support, in a few cases positive, but in most cases negative. It was also a source of a few chuckles at the iPad launch when a section of the New York Times site being demonstrated did not load.
I won't enter the fray on whether I would prefer Flash or the pending HTML5. However I will say that a great deal of eLearning content as well as many eLearning tools are currently written in Flash or are fully dependent on Flash at this point. This certainly could slow down implementation in the eLearning world.
Another missing feature is an integrated camera. Naturally this would be important for asynchronous classroom discussions / meetings. However, I'm not too concerned about this. I believe there will either Apple or 3rd party add-ons that will rectify this quickly. For that matter I assume you could connect a webcam via USB.
However, another nit is the lack of built in USB or an SD card slot. You'll need one of a few adapters or the dock connector to use these features or attach devices like a webcam via USB. Is the brief case or purse getting a little heavier now? Do you still have your cell phone with you too?
Another drawback for eLearning and purely from my viewing the initial demonstration, was the appearance of a lack of multi-tasking capability. This may also be a hindrance. Quite often someone wants to working on a document or some other material as they are reviewing eLearning content or sessions.
Summary
I believe that the iPad is progress, however not the panacea for eLearning. Did we expect a perfect tool? Probably not. Maybe just hoped.
It appears Apple has struck a significant blow to Amazon's Kindle with an aggressive pricing structure that matches that of the Kindle DX, yet with a full colour screen and functionality that significantly exceeds that of an e-reader. I also expect Amazon to respond shortly with new pricing structures and a color version. A little competition is always good.
The iPad's reasonably large, vibrant display certainly are a step up from smartphones for visual content, and for me personally, a step up from a Kindle as well.
Whereas I see the applicability of the iPad for some eLearning situations, I believe the lack of Flash support at this point will keep it as somewhat of a niche player. It doesn't appear to be able to fully replace a pc, laptop, or Mac a number of scenarios, however, if remote viewing and reviewing of (non Flash) content is the key it certainly looks like a capable tool in that respect.
That said, I respect what Apple has done and remain hopeful that the iPad deficiencies are rectified soon.
Feel free to let me know what you think.
Also, you are welcome to attend one of our free, live webinars below discussing the benefits of social learning:
Social Learning for Executive Education
Thursday, Feb. 11, 2010
2:00pm - 3:00pm ET
Register Here - Space is Limited
Patrick Batty
Vice President, Academic Solutions
Interactyx Limited
patrick.batty@interactyx.com
www.interactyx.com
Comments (9)
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Being able to answer workbook questions on the iPad that post up to a central server allow for traditional classroom teaching, with the benefits of the computer. Being able to have rick media content in your textbook is also a huge benefit. There are a ton of possibilities.
http://www.3redshells.com/ipad...vironment/
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Bottom line, judging a tool by standards it doesn't adhere to is great practice in futility. What has yet to be created is what will define the success/failure of the ipad, and with immediate compatibility of over 140k apps they're off to a great start.
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Software will be written differently to take advantage of the fluidity of movement including both the rotation and the gestural touch controls. It will be hard to see why this is true unless you can free your mind from the constraints of keyboards and mice and trackpads that we have used from the beginning of our nascent human relationship to computers.
More simply, I think it will help us teach and learn better when we can interact in more intuitive and fluid ways with content.
The fun part is to imagine how clunky learning management systems of today could change!
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Lack of Flash has not prevented the iPhone from being successful. This device will appeal to teachers because it is supported by the 140,000 apps.
The mobile Iworks apps will be a revelation to users that are bored/over faced by Microsoft Office.
If the iPad is managed as class set in school, the teachers single iTunes account becomes a formidable "curriculum content shaper". This is the truly empowering element of the solution. Being able to combine, podcasts, video, audio, images, even web page books, plus all those apps makes the IT technician almost redundant.
Apple will no doubt bring text and image to the iPad from existing content providers. As with the music revolution, print will follow suit and as a by product education will also benefit from these changes.
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