(Very) Late to the Party - The iPad 2

Can a self-professed Apple hater learn to love the iPad? Read on for an honest review of the 2nd generation iPad.


I must confess, I absolutely dislike Apple. This dislike was so prevalent that I refused to adopt the iPad when everyone was raving about it. I complained that iTunes is too cumbersome and awful, and that the item was overpriced and a waste of time. I ignored everything Apple and went all in with Android products. That changed when I started my first teaching job.

Enter August, the air is incredibly warm, I'm wearing long sleeve shirts because I'm trying to look professional while preparing my classroom for the first time, and then I hear my wife brag to the principal that I am a tech genius.
"Oh really?" Says the principal. "What do you think we can do with an iPad at this school?"

Oh crap, I have been put on the spot and must give my reasoning for why I won't touch the danged thing. "I just don't like the company, and it is a pain to get their products to work decently with a Windows-based PC." I was speaking from experience, I hated tech calls that dealt with getting these two rivals to work together, and so I shunned Apple completely. Suddenly, the principal smiles and says, "Well figure it out anyway," and hands me a new iPad 2.

I felt like I was a vampire, having to hold a cross that is burning my hands. But when you are a new teacher, and someone has bragged about your tech prowess, you just can't say no to your boss. So I took the thing home with me, and began to play with it.

To be honest, as a PC and Android guy, this thing was far from intuitive, and much time was spent online learning how to use the device properly. That was annoying, but in retrospect I believe that was because I am not used to running this kind of OS. After a few hours, I began to explore and enjoy the tablet from house Apple.

The screen is large and bright, and the touch screen is so smooth and responsive, honestly it is so much better than any Android phone I had used before. Then I experienced the iPad's ultimate claim to fame, the App Store.
As a teacher and gamer, I found hundreds of apps that demanded my time and money. So much more compared to the fairly large Android market! Then I found out something even better; I can totally skip iTunes completely! The program that is the bane of all my perceived problems with Apple could be ignored, I can just transfer files wirelessly or leave it all in the cloud. Without a need for a tether to my computer to transfer items, I could truly enjoy what Apple has to offer hardware-wise.

Will I go completely Apple and forgo all other products? I wouldn't bet on it. I still love the openness and versatility that Android offers, and my computer will remain my main office item, but when it comes to the amount of education apps offered on the iPad, I think I'll use this product indefinitely.

Or until the Android tablet app market matches the prowess of the iPad app market.

Time for a Change - Why it is Imperative that Teachers Wholly Embrace Technology

I feel I must start by introducing myself. I am a high school teacher in Waskom, TX. I teach English II, English III, and World History. Oh, did I mention I am at a Title I school? What does that mean? In the easiest terms; the majority of students live in a low, or poor, socioeconomic area. For the majority, they may know what a computer is, and how to use it, they just don't have decent access to one at home.

As tech-savvy people who read this website, you know how terrible it is to not have a computer at home, or any Internet access. Also, one wouldn't expect many of these students to know how to utilize new technologies like an iPad or Android tablet. That is why we need to focus on putting new technology in the classroom.

Let's face it, technology is now part of the fabric of our everyday life now. If we want our students to succeed in the future, they need to be proficient with all aspects of technology. It not only requires money to fund these tech items, but a willing teacher that will introduce it within the classroom.

For example, there is a new teaching idea that wholly embraces new technology. Instead of giving a lecture or oral lesson at school, you record it and have the student watch at home. Instead of requiring the student to do homework after spending all day listening to a lecture, they come into class the next day (after watching the lesson at home) and do said 'homework' with the teacher in class. This is called 'flipping the classroom,' and is a great way to not only keep student interest in the classroom, but provide them training with new technology to prepare them for the world outside of high school. The teacher utilizes technology to record a lesson (Live Paper for the iPad is a great example of doing said recording) and wirelessly transfer the video/lesson to the students' tablets, where they then use to watch the lesson at home while doing activities that enhances their training with a tablet device.

It's true, this will take money. It will take great effort to gain this funding for schools (ours has applied for grants to do this) but it will take an even greater effort from teachers. We must embrace technology, otherwise we will have students that fall way behind other countries, and who won't be prepared for the technological proficiency needed in the 'real world.' I truly believe this can be accomplished, with a little push by teachers and those interested in improving our country's education.