An interesting way to use the new cover for the iPad 2.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqVjruCt6yg
Not sure how useful it will be for effective learning. Also who sets the questions?
via @davebriggs
Category Archives: ipad
GarageBand – iPad App of the Week
GarageBand – iPad App of the Week
This is a regular feature of the blog looking at various Apps available. Some of the apps will be useful for those involved in learning technologies, others will be useful in improving the way in which you work, whilst a few will be just plain fun! Some will be free, others will cost a little and one or two will be what some will think is quite expensive.
This week’s App is GarageBand.
GarageBand turns your iPad into a collection of Touch Instruments and a full-featured recording studio — so you can make music anywhere you go. Use Multi-Touch gestures to play pianos, organs, guitars, drums, and basses on your iPad. They sound and play like their counterparts, but let you do things you could never do on a real instrument. Enjoy a full range of Smart Instruments that make you sound like a pro — even if you’ve never played a note before. Plug an electric guitar into your iPad and play through classic amps and stompbox effects. Use the built-in microphone or a guitar to record, or capture any performance. Then mix up to eight tracks to create a song you can share.
£2.99
This is one of the two new iPad apps Apple have released alongside the new iPad 2, however Garageband is the only one of the two that works on the original iPad. If you want to use iMovie you will need to get the new iPad.
I purchased Garageband in the main to record and edit podcasts when on the road. However the only way I can get recordings (say from an Edirol) will be through iTunes on my computer… which kinda defeats the point of using Garageband on the iPad for editing podcasts, as if I have my computer, I would probably use that…
You can of course record straight into the iPad and though the built-in microphone is okay for somethings, the quality is not brilliant. Testing with my external USB microphone using the USB camera connection kit, I found that Garageband could use that as an input device. This definitely improved the quality of the recording.
As with a lot of Apple apps this one looks gorgeous, great graphics and a nice interface. Of course if you have used Garageband on the Mac then there is an element of familiarity that will ensure using the App is easier than learning another one completely new. As a podcasting app, I don’t think Garageband is quite there, however it is one of the cheapest multi-track recording apps in the App Store, so you can forgive it, its foibles.
Of course the main reason for purchasing Garageband is because you want to use it to record music and it certainly will work for that. There are lots of options and you can also use it with real instruments.
Reviews from across the web indicate from (proper) musicians that the app is certainly useful and practical for recording music.
One reason you might want to use Garageband is to record stuff on the road and then bring it back home to finish it off on your Mac. However songs created in GarageBand for iPad can not be opened in GarageBand for Mac. Projects created in GarageBand for Mac cannot be opened in GarageBand for iPad. According to Apple, a future update of GarageBand for Mac will open songs created in GarageBand for iPad.
Without a file system, it is “challenging” to get stuff into Garageband and out of Garageband. Apple have made some nice apps for the iPad, however the problem of moving files that you’ve created (without using iTunes on your Mac) is still annoyingly complicated or confusing. Not helped (in my opinion) by lack of integration with external third party services such as Dropbox. No if the rumoured MobileMe upgrade happens with a better faster cloud service, then I probably wouldn’t complain so much, but services such as Google Docs and Dropbox are so much faster and smoother than Apple’s MobileMe iDisk service for example.
I do like the Garageband App, not sure if I will be using it to record the e-Learning Stuff Podcast, but at least I now have the possibility when I am out and about to record and edit a podcast using the iPad.
e-Learning Stuff Podcast #071: Get a grip
James talks about the forthcoming iPad 2. He now has Gingerbread for Android. Tagexdo, a Wordle type web application. Firefox 4 beta is now available.
With James Clay.
This is the seventy first e-Learning Stuff Podcast, Get a grip.
Download the podcast in mp3 format: Get a grip.
Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes/a>
Shownotes
- Apple announced the iPad 2.
- Gingerbread is now available for the Google Nexus One and James has installed it.
- Tagxedo is a Wordle type app, James’ thoughts on it.
- Firefox 4 beta is available.
Flipboard – iPad App of the Week
Flipboard – iPad App of the Week
This is a regular feature of the blog looking at various apps available. Some of the apps will be useful for those involved in learning technologies, others will be useful in improving the way in which you work, whilst a few will be just plain fun! Some will be free, others will cost a little and one or two will be what some will think is quite expensive. Originally this feature focused on iPhone and iPad apps, however I have now expanded to include Mac, Windows and Android apps.
Named Apple’s iPad App of the Year and one of TIME’s top 50 innovations of 2010, Flipboard is a fast, beautiful way to flip through the news, photos and updates your friends are sharing on Facebook, Twitter, Google Reader and Flickr. See your social media in a magazine layout that is easy to scan and fun to read. Share articles and photos, comment on posts, and like or favorite anything. Customize your Flipboard with sections created from your favorite people, lists, groups and blogs on Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and Google Reader.
Your Flipboard is everything you care about in one place. It’s your magazine. It’s your Flipboard.
This week’s App is Flipboard.
Free
When Flipboard was first released it was hailed as the app the iPad was made for.
Robert Scoble said:
What is Flipboard? It turns your Facebook and Twitter account into something that looks like a magazine. It also lets you build a custom magazine, either by choosing from Flipboard’s pre-built curated “boards” or by importing Twitter lists. This is a very powerful and engaging way to read Twitter. You can also turn a single person’s Twitter account, or a single brand’s Twitter account, into a Flipboard. For instance, you can follow Techcrunch on Twitter with it and it will turn Techcrunch into a beautiful magazine-like interface that’s easier to read than any other reader.
Even Apple liked it a lot and called it their iPad App of the Year 2010.
Now to be honest I did quite like it, but certainly didn’t think it was that “fantastic”. It did what it did very nicely, however it couldn’t be configured to suit my specific needs. It had little support for RSS or Google Reader, so though it was worth flicking through now and again, other RSS readers seemed more useful.
The most recent update though added some new features which now make what was a good App into a really useful more innovative App.
Flipboard now syncs with Google Reader, making it much more useful if you subscribe to various different news sites and blogs.
It is now easier to view Flickr.
You can strip down what you see from your Twitter or Facebook streams.
It is now much easier to share across different networks what you are seeing on Flipboard.
Oh it seems a little faster too…
So basically the app is a different way of engaging and interacting with other sites and services. It does it in a way that is easy, simple and intuitive for most people.
It does seem a little weird that an app which emluates the page turning of a mgazine or newspaper is such a popular app for the iPad. Maybe we are all a little analogue in our own way and appreciate the ability to flip over pages….
The Daily – iPad App of the Week (well not really)
The Daily – iPad App of the Week (well not really)
This is a regular feature of the blog looking at the various iPhone and iPad Apps available. Some of the apps will be useful for those involved in learning technologies, others will be useful in improving the way in which you work, whilst a few will be just plain fun! Some will be free, others will cost a little and one or two will be what some will think is quite expensive.
This week’s App is The Daily.
Introducing The Daily – the first digital news publication with original content created every day exclusively for the iPad. Built from scratch by a team of top journalists and designers, The Daily covers the world: breaking news, sports, pop culture, entertainment, apps, games, technology, opinion, celebrity gossip and more.
The Daily has the depth and quality of a magazine but is delivered daily like a newspaper and updated in real-time like the web.
Great stories, photos, video, audio and graphics come alive the more you touch, swipe, tap and explore. The customized sports section allows you to follow your favorite teams’ scores, pictures, headlines – and even players’ tweets.
Free, weekly subscription $0.99, annual $39.99
There has been much written and talked about Rupert Murdoch’s new iPad “newspaper” The Daily. I even got an e-mail from their marketing people with nice links to media such as this YouTube video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHILJBw-104
Nice.
I thought this would be an ideal app for my App of the Week column.
So rather than just rely on the press release I decided to go and download the app and subscribe. However after searching for a while on the iPad and then in iTunes I couldn’t find it… I thought it couldn’t already have dropped off… so I went to Macrumors found the link and went to download the app…
At which point I was faced with this message!
Though I have downloaded US Apps before, I can only use free Apps from the US store, as I don’t have a US credit card I can’t buy US only apps and likewise I can’t pay for an in-app subscription either…
As a result I can’t read or really review The Daily. No point either as though I do have an international audience for the blog, the target audience is the UK education sector.
So sorry no review of The Daily, until it comes to the UK. In the meantime go and buy a paper newspaper….
Cat Physics – iPhone App of the Week
Cat Physics – iPhone App of the Week
This is a regular feature of the blog looking at the various iPhone and iPad Apps available. Some of the apps will be useful for those involved in learning technologies, others will be useful in improving the way in which you work, whilst a few will be just plain fun! Some will be free, others will cost a little and one or two will be what some will think is quite expensive.
This week’s App is Cat Physics – Donut Games.
What are cats up to at dawn, when nobody’s around?
Sneaking around the back alleys? Probably!
Going through garbage cans? Not likely!
Playing Donut Games? Most certainly!Join the cats in their favorite midnight ball game: CAT PHYSICS!
The objective is simple — Pass the ball from one cat to another!
Sounds too simple?
Oh, wait… did we mention flip boards, glass windows, trap doors and other obstacles?
£0.59
I don’t normally mention games in this series, though of course games certainly have their place in learning and to give learners new skills.
However the reason I am bringing Cat Physics to your attention is not that it is the holiday season and therefore an ideal time to play games, but for two reasons.
Firstly it was recommended to me by a senior manager in my college. A year or so ago this manager would be quite open about her lack of learning technology knowledge, but was eager to see the potential. I did lend her one of my MoLeNET iPod touch devices and this year she did go out and buy an iPad. Cat Physics was one of the games she bought, enjoyed and brought to my attention. Bizarre I thought that a senior manager who wasn’t really that much into learning technologies, is now advising the learning technologies manager on what applications he should buy for his iPad!
I do find it really interesting how consumer electronics can have such an impact on society and social change and the resulting impact that these devices have on learning and learners. I am sure that devices such as the iPhone, the iPad, Android phones, the Nintendo DS and Wii, the PSP and other consumer devices have probably had more of an impact on changing the culture of education towards learning technologies than anything learning technologists have done in terms of training or staff development. I have seen many staff totally change their attitudes to the use of technology in the hands of learners as soon as they buy (or have been bought) a device such as the iPod touch or the Nintendo DS.
So what of the second reason?
Well when the iPad first came out, anything designed for the iPhone to be honest looked awful on the iPad, the x2 button though worked, didn’t result in a clear look to the application. The results were often fuzzy or pixellated. However Cat Physics was the first time I didn’t notice any issues. My first thought was that it was in fact an universal app for both iPhone and iPad. However upon close inspection it was certainly an iPhone sized game with the x2 button. The reason it looked so sharp and clear was that the game had been designed for the new “retina” display for the iPhone 4 and as a result the game which was designed for the 960×640 resolution of the iPhone 4 looks fine and dandy on the 1024×768 resolution of the larger iPad. So even if you don’t have an iPhone 4, the new versions of iPhone only applications, designed to work with the “retina” display of the iPhone 4 now look really quite good on the iPad.
So what of Cat Physics itself?
Well I actually really enjoyed the game. It works well as an iPad or iPhone game in that each level can be completed in the few minutes that you find you have for these kinds of casual games. The five minutes before your TV programme starts. Whilst the adverts are on before the film at the cinema. The few minutes waiting for that train or tube. Part of the success of the iPhone has to be down to the casual gaming potential of the device, Angry Birds is a prime example of how people are using their phones.
There are (at the time of writing) eighty levels of varying complexity in Cat Physics, each requires a modicum of skill in working out both the puzzle behind each level, but also the physics of how the ball will travel on the screen.
It’s an enjoyable game and at 59p is certainly worth buying, check it out.
Top Ten Technologies of 2010
This is the third time I have written a top ten list of technologies, I did the same in 2008 and 2009. It’s interesting to compare the three lists to see what I was using, what I am still using and what new stuff I am using. This list focuses on physical technologies and gadgets and I have also been working on a list of web tools that will be in another blog post.
So what didn’t make my list?
The MiFi
The Sony video cameras in previous top tens got slightly ursurped by both the Kodak and the iPhone 4G this year, they were used, but no where near the level I used them in 2009 and 2008.
The 3G USB Stick I had in my top ten in 2008, didn’t make the list in 2009 and I actually handed back to our IT department in 2010!
10. i7 iMac
The iMac
9. iPhone 3GS
The iPhone 3GS
8. Edirol R-09HR
I have been using the Edirol for a few years now, it was in my top ten in 2008, and the Edirol R-09HR
7. Blue Snowball Microphone
I have been recording a lot this year, not just e-Learning Stuff podcasts, but also symposia and other discussions. The Blue Snowball Microphone
The main downside is that the size of the microphone makes it less than ideal for taking to events and carrying in a bag. However the quality of recordings means that I am more keen to use this then any other microphone.
6. Kodak Zi8
This for the first part of the year was a great little camera that I used for both video and stills. Alas I “lost” mine after a mobile learning event I ran at the college in July. We have two class sets at college and I have used the Kodak Zi8
5. Amazon Kindle
The UK version of the Kindle
4. Google Nexus One
My Nokia N95
I really do like this phone and I certainly over 2010 recommended it to people who didn’t want an iPhone. The main reasons I like it is the portable wireless hotspot (wifi tethering) that came with the Froyo 2.2 update, the screen which is gorgeous and the voice control. It’s not perfect, I do find that the OS is not as stable as I think it should be. However as a phone for making phone calls, it works very well, unlike other phones I could mention…
3. iPhone 4
The iPhone 4
The camera was better than ever before and the phone also came with a front facing camera. This is something the Nokia N95 has had since 2007! However the improvements in performance and the wonderful “retina” screen certainly are welcome.
What I like about the iPhone is the ease of use, the browsing experience, the apps. There is so much I am doing on this phone and so much more I could be doing on this phone. I for example have not yet used Facetime, but I wonder if that’s more down to I know very few people with an iPhone 4 and the one time I tried to make a Facetime call, it didn’t work!
Though I could replicate the antenna problem this didn’t impact on me as much as it seemed to in the US. If anything I found the iPhone 4 was much better at making phone calls than the 3GS was. It has better reception, but will still drop calls.
Multi-tasking with iOS4 certainly made the phone easier to use and meant that switching between apps didn’t always result in a loss of data or information.
The key advantage of the iPhone for me is the sheer number of apps and the quality and quantity have changed how I use a phone.
I do think the iPhone 4 is one of the best phones I have ever used and I am really pleased with it.
2. BT Infinity FTTC
When ADSL came to my home town I was one of the first in the area to get it. It was great going from dial-up 44kbps to a broadband connection of 385kbps. Over the years this did rise to 1.3Mbps and for a lot of things was great. However as more and more people got broadband, the contention ratio kicked in and the speed dropped to under 1Mbps for most of the day.
For general browsing it was okay, however downloading large files was a real pain and I use to schedule these overnight. For example upgrading my iPhone would take anything up to 24 hours! Using BBC iPlayer was generally also a non-starter and most of the time I wouldn’t even bother trying.
So when fibre to the cabinet (FTTC) arrived in my area, I signed up as fast as my ISP would let me. With 40Mb down and 10Mb up this is significantly faster than the 1.3 down and 0.6 up I had before.
It has already changed how I use the internet, whereas before I would probably not consider downloading a film from iTunes during the day, as it would soak up my bandwidth and would take hours to download; now it takes under five minutes to download! No problems with downloading large files and updates now. The other key advantage is streaming video, which was almost pointless before due to buffering, and like downloading, previous streaming would soak up my bandwidth, having 40Mb down means I can stream and do other stuff at the same time. Skype works really well too and is a lot more stable than before.
Having really fast internet is making my work and home life easier and I am having less issues with using different internet services and uploading is a dream now.
1. iPad
Announced in January and released (in the UK) in May, I was even surprised by how much I now use the iPad
In July I wrote about how I took just the iPad to an event in London and how I just used the iPad. I did the same at the RSC SW Conference too.
I do think the iPad is an ideal device for conferences and events and wrote quite a lengthy piece on how it could be used to amplify and enhance conferences.
Certainly compared to using a large laptop, an iPad is a much better device for using on the train.
At work I use the iPad for dealing with e-mail and my calendar and quickly checking things on the VLE. For some meetings I do need to take a laptop as some tools we use rely on Flash or Java and that is one of the main weaknesses of the iPad is that these kinds of tools can not be used on it.
At home, I use the iPad on the sofa, in the kitchen and around the house. I like how I can use it to quickly check the news, e-mail, the weather, social networks and general browsing the web. I like the casual games you can get for the iPad and its media capability easily surpasses any other mobile devices I have used. It’s not all perfect, I would like to stream (easily) video and audio from my iMac to my iPad and not all web functions work as I would like them to. Blogging on the iPad is still a bit hit and miss for me.
So my number one technology for 2010 is Apple’s iPad, I wonder if it will still be in my top ten next year?
Are any of your favourite technologies in this top ten? What have I missed?
Why the Net Matters: How the Internet Will Save Civilization – iPad App of the Week
Why the Net Matters: How the Internet Will Save Civilization – iPad App of the Week
This is a regular feature of the blog looking at the various iPhone and iPad Apps available. Some of the apps will be useful for those involved in learning technologies, others will be useful in improving the way in which you work, whilst a few will be just plain fun! Some will be free, others will cost a little and one or two will be what some will think is quite expensive.
This week’s App is Why the Net Matters: How the Internet Will Save Civilization.
This groundbreaking app from bestselling author David Eagleman is a new way to experience narrative non-fiction, only available on the iPad.
The app allows the user to access each chapter at random using a unique navigational interface. Once in a chapter you can pull out to see where you are in the course of the argument, and see how far you have progressed through the content.
Each chapter contains tailor-made chunks of text with dozens of images, videos, webpages and interactive 3D models. These can be enjoyed alongside the text, or on their own once the text is swiped away in landscape mode.
Fully readable and adaptable to portrait or landscape, the app uses all the functionality familiar from iBooks such as page swiping and a bottom navigational bar, but re-configures it into a new experience that brings the content alive.
David Eagleman has spent years researching this topic and plans to release regular updates so that the information is current, and the content evolves.
£4.99
I am not sure I can recommend this app, the main reason I bought it was to see how a book could work on the iPad away from the iBooks or Kindle style interface. In that this book does work, the interface is easy to use and you can move from one section to another with ease. The book makes good use of images, diagrams, animations and video.
The author has indicated that he will “update” the book as time goes on. In other words the book will evolve over time.
You can copy (therefore making it easy to cite) from the book.
On other book applications this is very difficult if not impossible. Though even I am not sure how to cite from a book such as this one. This is something that I need to look into further, but as more and more “virtual” books like this are published, the more we in the academic community will need a consistent way of citing such tomes.
So from a technical perspective I think the book works. As for the content? Well I thought it was interesting, but the topic is something you are interested in or not.
Update: this app is no longer available.
Project – iPad App of the Week
Project – iPad App of the Week
This is a regular feature of the blog looking at the various iPhone and iPad Apps available. Some of the apps will be useful for those involved in learning technologies, others will be useful in improving the way in which you work, whilst a few will be just plain fun! Some will be free, others will cost a little and one or two will be what some will think is quite expensive.
This week’s App is Project Magazine.
A revolutionary multimedia magazine built specially for your iPad – packed with international culture, entertainment, design, business and travel. And nuclear weapons. Oh, and Jeff Bridges.
Free and then £1.79 per issue
I have reviewed magazines in this series before and consider that though a PDF virtual copy of a magazine on the iPad isn’t really taking advantage of the potential of the iPad, there are some publishers though who are seeing that a magazine on the iPad can be more than a digital version of the paper edition.
With Project, Virgin Digital Publishing are even avoiding a paper edition and only publishing on the iPad. The magazine has might be expected video, audio and interactive diagrams.
There are (like WIRED) quite a few adverts.
The interface is not simple and there is quite a detailed help screen explaining how to navigate through the magazine.
For me this is one of the weaknesses of the iPad, unlike a Windows PC or a Mac running OS X, there isn’t a coherent user interface guide for iPad apps. So magazines like WIRED or Project use different navigation and buttons for moving around the magazine to different articles. Though Apple provides quite detailed iOS Human Interface Guidelines app developers and publishers aren’t really recognising the user need for a consistent interface, especially with magazines. Comics on the other hand, most comic publishers are now using the GuidedView Technology from Comixology. This allows different comic publishers to use the same user interface for reading comics on the iPad. Hopefully something similar will emerge not just for magazines but also for e-books.
So what of the content of Project?
Well it reminded me of WIRED with a bit of Empire thrown in and a broadsheet weekend newspaper. There aren’t a huge number of articles, but is only £1.79.
I did enjoy reading it, and found some articles of interest.
The key will be though, will I buy the next issue?
Hmmm, not so sure.
Why the iPad will never replace newspapers….
Why the iPad will never replace newspapers….
Though the video is a joke, it should remind us that devices such as the iPad generally don’t always directly replace an existing medium or technology. We still have plays even though we also have books, cinema and television.
Yes it has an impact and in some cases quite a big impact, think how the car has replaced horses… though sometimes it doesn’t always happen as expected, for example cars have not yet totally replaced trains and we are still investing in railways and trains.
I do see the iPad having an impact on the book, magazine and newspaper markets, but I don’t see the iPad (at this time) replacing them. It will enhance and enrich the reading experience, but will not be a total substitute. I now read a lot on the iPad, but in the main it has replaced reading from my laptop rather than paper based media. I still buy and like reading newspapers, I still like buying or borrowing and reading books. I do buy magazines on the iPad, but in the main these have been “new” magazines and I have continued to purchase the paper magazines as before. The Kindle App (and my Kindle) have had an impact on my reading, but generally in a positive way, in that I read more now than I did before.
Do you think the iPad is going to replace paper media, or is it just a different way of accessing information and content?