Tag Archives: iPad Reflection

Closing Remarks Chris W.

This class has been a great experience. Coming into this class I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Honestly, I enrolled in the class because I heard we’d get to use an iPad for a semester. While the iPad was nice, I’d say the best thing about this class were the excellent discussion we had in class and how fluid the syllabus was. This class has really opened my eyes to the subtle complexities of community development and really helped me define who I am as a person. The guest we had in class pushed me to do what I want in life (which is to work in the gaming industry). The last section, Design, helped me take a new approach to the creative process that I will definitely use later on in life.

This class has shown me a few apps that I really enjoyed using. In no particular order SwiftKey, Adaptxt, Evernote, and POP.

Adaptxt: If you want swept functionality on your iOS device I would definitely recommend this app. The user interface is clean and is very responsive.
SwiftKey: This is another third party keyboard that has the swipe functionality. From my experience sometimes the keyboard wouldn’t appear and you’d have to tap on the lobe icon more than once. Otherwise it is a great app to use.

Evernote: This app is a powerhouse! From presentations to website layouts Evernote can do it all!

POP: In the design section of the course both teams used this to make the layout of our apps which were our a part of our Final Synthesis.

Lastly, the iPad was really useful this entire semester. Slowly substituted paper with the iPad and it became an integral part of my day to day. This device is useful beyond belief and after this semester is over I will seriously consider buying one for myself.

Cheers to a great semester!

Ken's Final thoughts on the iPad

Using the iPad this semester was interesting. I already had owned Android and iOS phones, but this is the first tablet I’d used for a long period of time. Having the extra screen real estate on a mobile device was nice, although I realized that for the work I do the best device is a MacBook and that a phone is more convenient for most mobile use.

The one area where a tablet seems most useful is for reading articles and eBooks, which makes it an attractive device for students. On this I’m a bit torn because it’d certainly be better than using multiple textbooks, however carrying three separate devices with me seems strange. This is probably an irrational aversion though; I’m sure I could get used to the idea of having a device in my pocket, two in my bag, and soon maybe even one on my wrist. The biggest conclusion I’ve reached at this point is that buying stock in Apple is probably a good idea.

Final Post – iPad, etc.

Throughout this course, the iPad was extremely helpful in exploring different aspects of the Disruptive Trinity of Community – Identity – Design. By using apps like Pop and plugging in to Gdrive our group communicated continually with a purpose. Since we had specific objectives to achieve, and we were required to address specific issues related to readings and topics introduced in class, our team acted as “Community of Practice,” as far as I understood Wenger’s description of this term. The iPad served us not only as a tool to connect and collaborate; I came to conceive of this mobile device as a “global broadcasting tool” which facilitates my interest in communicating to others about my interests, creations, research, and exploration of myself, my community, and my miniuniverse. Thanks to recent experiments with prototyping tool called POP, I can experiment with a number of different app ideas that I have, exploring workflow and practical aspects of how objects interact on a touch screen. This practical perspective on app development and has expanded my understanding of the options that are available through mobile technology to communicate and interact with people using digital mobile tools.

The iPad as a Global Broadcasting Tool

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One of the main ways my use of the iPad has evolved thanks to CDT 450 is that my mind is beginning to develop a deeper understanding of the iPad as a MOBILE GLOBAL BROADCASTING TOOL, and the implications for education in general. I can read, take notes, sketch, record video, audio, research, etc. I’ve been doing that for years – But now I’m thinking more about how the iPad can help me to communicate and share my creations, ideas, and discoveries with a global audience – especially when I create something compelling enough to grab and maintain people’s attention.

For me some of my most productive learning comes through interacting with other students and experts. I know that my understanding is increased when I am required to create something related to course material and present it, or creatively share it online. As I mentioned above, I’m learning new ways to do this throughout my learning experience, from collaborating online, to presenting to a group.

Weekly iPad Reflection Chris W.

 

One app that would interesting to see in higher education is an app that shows students how much of their tuition is being wasted if they skip a class or something similar to that. This app’s purpose is to show students the dangers and costs of procrastination. If the students want it could give tips on better ways to allocate their time. The content would be clever and humorous. I’d like to call it CrnchTime.

 

(Late post because I need CrnchTime too)

Ken – Student App Idea

My app idea is an online marketplace, basically like Fiverr or oDesk but specific to Stony Brook. People could do small freelance jobs for each other in exchange for credits, which they can cash out or spend on hiring people to do jobs for them. Some examples might be designing a resume site for someone or making a logo for their app. I imagine many departments could use this a lot, for instance if the music department needs a programmer or the computer science department needs an artist. Basically it would create a market for trade within the campus.

I feel that limiting it to the campus would increase the quality of work over other online freelance marketplaces, and offer a greater degree of accountability since you might know somebody who knows the person hiring you. It could be integrated with Facebook, LinkedIn, and Yammer to use already existing social connections, allowing you to vouch for someone or find a friend of a friend with the skills you need. It would also provide an opportunity for networking or friendship among students by working on each other’s projects, and experience delegating parts of their own projects.

iPad Reflection – SOUND – Jay Loomis

I would like to have more control over the sound that my iPad (re)produces. While I’m listening to music I like to have some control over the low, mid, and high frequency mix. It would be great to have access to an equalizer that I could adjust, depending on the audio that I was listening to. Since there is such a wide range of audio quality on the www, it makes sense to me that the iPad would give the user the ability to make adjustments to improve the listening experience, including a general “signal boost” slider for uploaded audio that is hard to hear, due to low recording levels. I know this used to be a standard feature for windows – unfortunately, I think it’s always been missing on Mac.

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Ken's iPad Reflection: Programming on the iPad

I reached out for opinions from CS students on using the iPad for schoolwork. The consensus was that there wasn’t really a good way to accomplish most necessary tasks on the tablet, however there was some support for the Surface Pro, a fully functional Windows 8 tablet with a touch screen. I’m actually considering getting one instead of a new MacBook, although I’m not quite convinced about it. It seems like it might excel as a tablet but fall short as a laptop, more research is needed, especially on the keyboard.

There are many mobile and cloud based apps for writing code in different languages, but they typically lack the features and integration you’d want when creating full applications. Services that offer a cloud VM and browser-based IDE like Cloud9 and Koding are beginning to look promising, although they really need native iOS apps in my opinion to be viable on the iPad. Some apps can really be useful for learning the basics of a language, for example a new app Swifty can be used to learn the Apple language Swift on your iPad or iPhone.

In general I think if we’re pushing for iPads on campus there are 2 ways to lessen resistance against it:

  1. Frame the debate in terms of eReader vs. traditional books since it’s definitely a win for portability, cost, and flexibility.
  2. Move to a more optional BYOD model where iPads are offered as a rental, but the student can use their own device. Although I imagine the allure of standardizing on one device is that it’s easier to provide support.

Kate's identity and iPad reflection

Using the iPad to create this was an over all positive experience. I shot the footage using the native photo app as well as iMovie and a short segment using the “stop motion” app. I made slides using the Phoster app and compiled it in iMovie and added some of the stock music as well as voice recording done in the app. As someone who works with video editing and animation frequently I found several pros and con

pros-

-basic video capture and organization of the iMovie is good for general use. Cutting video was simple. When I think back to classes I’ve taken, I could see this being used to support assignments in most subjects.

-easy to import video and photos from other apps

-sound is decient and easy to record. I liked that I could have several tracks and though it took me a moment, they were simple to move around.

– being able to crop the image and videos

-uploading I will put under pros but at first it was not so simple. In order to up load to YouTube I had to Chang my settings in my YouTube account to allow interaction with “less secure” apps. Though this took some time to figure out and get past it constantly asking me to sign in I know I will not have this issue again and things will go smoothly.

cons

– as someone who works with video editing I wish there were more features such as better filters and lighting adjustments to make it look more professional. I would have liked more control over the text and title features since there was no ability to move them on the screen and change other aspects including the timing and duration of their appearance So I could have had a text overlay/captions. I would have liked more control over the transitions and audio transitions. I also wish it was possible to change how much a video is cropped over time- zoom in and out.

Over all though I think it’s a great app and it can be limited only by a lack of creativity however I would be even happier if those ther features existed.

iPad Reflection – Chris Williams

SwiftKey

Earlier on in the semester I mentioned how the iPad native keyboard needed some kind of swipe function. After doing some research I found SwiftKey. SwiftKey is a nice keyboard. It functions how it’s supposed to. It connects with your facebook to learn the words you use and learns from there. There have been times where I needed to delete words and reswipe them. Some things this app could improve on is the insisting autocorreit.

Overall. 8/10

If you want a swipe I keyboard on your iOS device SwiftKey could be the app for you.