Author Archives: khopkins

Weekly iPad Reflection – Katherine

When we first got our iPads I wasn’t that excited about it just because I already owned a tablet and had only used it at most 3-4 times in the past year. I found a tablet to be unnecessary when I already had an iPhone and MacBook laptop. Since we got the iPads on Thursday I decided to try to go without using a notebook in my classes this semester. Since the majority of my classes are computer based I don’t think it should be too difficult. I usually take notes in a notebook because my laptop is too much of a distraction and I always find myself ending up on Facebook or something else I shouldn’t be doing in class.

I’ve downloaded a few apps for listening and making music, to-do lists, Evernote, scannable, yammer, yik yak, and a few other apps. I haven’t downloaded Facebook yet because I’m afraid I won’t be as productive if I have it downloaded. I’m currently typing this post on my iPad which is definitely less efficient than if I had just used my laptop keyboard. I need to get used to typing on this awkward keyboard because I feel like I’m a much faster typer when using a physical keyboard. It’s a lot easier to just stick my iPad in my bag before running to class instead of lugging around a heavy MacBook and its charger. I’ve had my laptop since graduating high school in 2011 so the battery can’t hold a charge for very long. So far I am very impressed with the battery life of the iPad and think I could rely on it to last me throughout the day without having to charge it.

I’ve played around with a few music production apps so far like Beatwave, Auxy, edjing and a few others. I had a lot of fun with Auxy making different songs with my roommate. The app was simple to use and made it easy to export your songs from the app. I haven’t taken my iPad to class yet but I plan on using Evernote to take notes in some of my classes tomorrow. I hope I’m able to organize my notes and write them as well as I would in a physical notebook. I downloaded Instagram and made a new account for our class but have yet to post anything. The iPad is an awkward size for taking photos so I will have to experiment with that.

I’m finding most things pretty easy to accomplish with the iPad. Writing this post is going a lot faster than I expected but typing still feels pretty weird. I think I will probably always prefer a physical keyboard but Im sure over the next few weeks that I will get used to typing on the tablet.  One thing I noticed about the iPad that has been bothering me is that it locks automatically and requires a password to be entered to use it. I tried to change it in settings only to discover that this setting couldn’t be changed to allow even a minute before automatically locking. I realized that this is probably a security measure in case a student loses their iPad and doesn’t have their information and files accessed by someone else.

Navigating the blog site on Safari has been a little irritating but I think that’s mostly because I haven’t really become familiar with the blog site yet. I was trying to view other people’s posts other than the syllabus and assignments that Cole had posted but it took me a while of clicking around to find them.

I haven’t had the iPad long enough to say what apps I find to be the most valuable but I definitely see Evernote being very useful to take notes in class. I like a lot of the features it comes with like organizing by different “notebook” and being able to attach photos, reminders and lists. I think it will be useful to use scannable in combination with Evernote to scan syllabi or any other papers that my professors may hand out. I’d love to have all my class work and notes in one convenient app instead of notebookS, binders, folders, and scattered in my backpack and desk drawer,

The iPad has changed my workflow a bit by making it easier for me to focus on one task at a time because I don’t find myself constantly switching from one tab to the next. If I was using my laptop to write this post I would be checking Facebook, Buzzfeed or Reddit every few minutes. The most distracting thing I’ve done while writing this post is changing the song on SoundCloud or responding to a text message. I usually spend more time choosing a song to listen to than I do actually focusing on my homework or assignments.  I came to class this morning to find that my professor didn’t show up so instead of leaving I sat in the lobby writing this post on my iPad. If I had my laptop I would’ve just spent this free time on social media or checking my email. I think the iPad will make me more productive when I have a free hour or two in between my classes.

Next week I want to try taking and editing photos with the ipad, possibly editing videos, posting to Instagram, Twitter, and taking and organizing class notes. I’d like to work on making more music and seeing which app is most user-friendly.

Personal Introduction – Katherine

Hi, I’m Katherine and I was born in Suffolk County and have been living on Long Island my entire life. I’m a senior Sociology major with a double minor in Women’s Studies and Media Arts. I’m interested in working with online/social media after graduation. I have an obsession with the music production industry and on occasion attempt to make my own electronic music. Ideally, I’d love to work managing a well-known producer or working on marketing/social media for them.

I originally found out about this class from a class I took last semester, CDT 208. I ended up reading the class description and reading more about Cole and thought it would be a really interesting class. I was excited to see how ecstatic he was about having the opportunity to teach again.

Overall, I feel like I’m pretty comfortable with technology but could definitely learn more about certain programs and apps. I would say I’m about as comfortable with technology as most other college students are. I’ve had a Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr and most popular social media accounts. I’m currently active on Facebook and Instagram but deleted my twitter last year.I can’t think of any area of life that technology isn’t a part of currently.

“Disrupting the Classroom” and “Disruption+Innovation.”

I really enjoyed reading Disruption+Innovation. I thought that the comparison of newspapers to modern education was extremely interesting. Newspaper companies never used to worry about going out of business because consumers weren’t interested in reading newspapers anymore. I definitely think the modern education system is completely going to change with the rising popularity of MOOCS replacing actual in-class environments. I was really surprised when Cole showed the statistics of how many people were enrolling in online classes versus the number enrolled in actual college institutions.

Disrupting the Classroom

The articles discussion of technology as a positive disruption was interesting. The word disruption tends to hold a negative connotation but new technologies should be a positive thing rather than strictly seen as a distraction in the classroom.

Thoughts on Podcast

The podcast we listened to in class really made me think about the dangers of anonymous social media apps like Yik Yak. I thought it was cowardly of the people who were writing  those vicious yaks about the ACC to do so anonymously. I was especially surprised when the podcast talked about how Yik Yak will only agree to block their app using geofencing in high schools but not college campuses. I didn’t think that Colgate University handled the situation very well, at least publicly. I thought it was amazing of the Dean to offer the members of the ACC who felt threatened to stay at her home but it was only a temporary, not permanent solution. The schools offer of allowing the students to finish the semester off campus seemed to indicate that the students, not the university was doing something wrong. I think anonymous social media apps like Yik Yak can be really fun and interesting when they are used by mature people in the right environment. I think Yik Yak should have a better system for managing posts targeted against a certain person or group of people.