Tag Archives: Weekly iPad Reflection

Weekly iPad Reflection

As promised, I’ve made modifications…

1. I switched the iPad into do not disturb mode.
2. I’ve installed slack.
3. I’ve insisted that all communications relating to the productions that I am organizing go through slack.

Slack is the place where I can keep professional communications, files, notices, production documents, images, and a separate channel for nonsensical communications.

I’ve got a channel set up for every production and commitee/special interest group; they’ve all just sent in their posters for our newsletter. Because they all live on slack, I don’t have to scour Facebook, drive, Dropbox, or my email for any files. (The Google drive integration is fantastic)
Slack

Now that Staller’s Cabaret and Theater Three have been outfitted with deliciously functional wireless networking equipment, rehearsal is a pleasure to document; I don’t even have to leave the immediate area to be productive, online.

Week 4 iPad Reflection – Chris W

The was a day this week we here I forgot to pack my laptop in my bag but remembered my iPad. With a little getting used to I was able to do all my tasks that day using only the iPad. Some of these tasks included taking notes for class, studying via ebook, sending and reading emails, and preparing a presentation. Earlier this semester I had mentioned a few qualms I had with the native keyboard and my “need” for an external keyboard. After 4 weeks of occupying the iPad I realize I may have been a bit to hasty to make a judgement. While there are some functions that would definitely improve the native iPad keyboard (arrow keys when working on cell based programs/apps), the native keyboard is functional enough for everyday use. Do not get me wrong. My iPad experience would definitely be better with an external keyboard. Cole shared a link to some third party keyboards for iOS 8. I’ll be checking out a few of them so expect a review in my next post.

iSpy an iPad Frustration

Hello Everyone!

Now that I am about a month into using the iPad, I feel that I need to come forward and admit a few things. I love the iPad in general. The UI is great and quick, and I can’t get over the multi-touch swipe function. However, I feel that I am beginning to plateau in the iPad’s functionality. Granted, this plateau is probably representative of the tiredness that I am feeling in the rest of my work. So maybe I should also call it a lacking of patience.

In the first couple weeks, I was still getting used to the iPad; now, I feel fairly comfortable in my abilities. I am beginning to notice a speed curve. I feel that I can type fairly fast considering I am using an on-screen keyboard; however, some things just refuse to work with iOS properly. This website, for instance, is nearly impossible to deal with. I usually give up and go to a computer for my blog posts. I have to swap back and forth between the “text” and “visual” options just to get these simple paragraphs entered. I know that Stony Brook is working on getting support from the WordPress and/or Edublogs app though.

I also was surprised a few days ago to realize that I had to download a separate app in order to play .wav files…that’s a fairly generic file format that I hope that I am just completely iOS incompetent and that Apple did not not support! More than just being a music major, I appreciate high quality audio, and iTunes isn’t really gonna get it for me.

For now, I am also experimenting around with different productivity apps, and in particular, apps for note-taking and writing. I have to read a lot for my field, and I love getting to highlight and whatnot in a book. So as a positive note, let’s see what the iPad can do since I keep finding things it cant!

 

Technically Yours,
R.

Weekly iPad Reflection Week 4 – Katherine

Using my laptop has become very rare over the past few weeks now that I have the iPad. I have no brought my laptop to class once semester, which I never expected to happen. This week I downloaded a few new apps like Google slides and Slack. I’ve only used Google slides so far when I met with my group Too Disruptive. It was nice to all be able to edit our slides using our iPads and see the edits being made in real-time. We were able to quickly divide up the work into teams and choose the order of topics we want to present on Thursday. I’ve yet to use Slack but Chris S. has been raving about it being a great app for communication among groups so I figured I’d give it a try. I’ve also been using Google Drive a lot more to store my Photoshop artwork since the files are too big to save to my netID drive. I love being able to work on stuff in class in Staller but then being able to open it up later on in the day when I’m at a different Sinc site or on my laptop from my dorm room. I’m still incredibly impressed with the battery life of this thing. I continue to charge it every night before I go to sleep but I’m confident that the battery could last at last 2 days of classes before needing to be charged. I love not having to carry a charger around, although it wouldn’t even add that much extra weight to my bag even if I did. I’ve gotten more and more used to not having a physical keyboard although I’m still interested in purchasing one just to make writing long documents slightly less tedious. I’ve been wondering if there’s a way to print directly from the iPads to a sinc site but I don’t think there’s a way to get the print from anywhere app on the iPad but I’ll keep looking.

This Just In: 'iPad Swipes for Success'

For the last week or so I have completely stopped bringing a notepad to class. I only use the iPad for notes (Google Docs and occasionally Microsoft Word). One thing to point out, however, is that most of my classes this semester are technology-based courses, so most of the work is done virtually. I had the opportunity to attend the SBU Graduate Music Symposium over the weekend and I had my iPad there, but still took notes by hand vs. making sound pounding out on the on-screen keyboard.

Below is an updated list of what apps I have installed. To view the original list, please visit my post “Flying Life via iPad Air.”

I must say, that my favorite thing about the iPad so far is the multi-finger swipe function. I can quickly go in between apps or open up the task manager without double pressing the main button. I still want a “back” button, but I am making do for now!
RecentlyInstalledApps

 

Technically Yours,

R.

Weekly iPad Reflection – Katherine

Over the past few weeks I’ve been bringing my iPad almost everywhere with me. I use it in my English class to open up the novel we’re reading in iBooks, in my digital art classes to listen to soundcloud while I work in Photoshop, and in our class to view the blog and work in Google docs with my group, Too Disruptive. I love not having to carry a heavy laptop and charger around anymore. I even tried to test myself this weekend by going home for Thursday and Friday night without bringing my MacBook pro with me. There isn’t much to do when I go home for a weekend so I usually spend the entire time watching documentaries or browsing the internet on my laptop. I thought not having access to my laptop and only being able to use my iPad for 2 days/nights would be difficult but I didn’t even miss having my laptop. The only time I found myself wanting/needing a laptop or desktop computer was when I had to work on a project for class using photoshop but was unable to do so with only my iPad.

I don’t think I’ve ever  been so on top of my schoolwork than I am now that I have this iPad to increase my productivity. If I have a free 20 minutes on a class break, I’ll pull out my iPad and start sending out emails, posting to the blog, or completing my readings for class. I’ve also been using Google docs and Google drive a lot more. It’s awesome to be able to access my files from anywhere and not have to rely on the limited space of our student memory drives and having access to a sinc site.

I find myself going days without opening or even touching my laptop. Just a few weeks ago I was constantly charging my laptop or bringing it with me everywhere. It’s becoming seemingly more useless and irrelevant every day I have the iPad. I know I probably sound overly dramatic or like an advertisement for the iPad but I honestly feel like it has changed the way I learn and get work done.

Weekly iPad Reflection

This week I discovered that the iPad gives me opportunities to procrastinate. I usually have several projects happening that require hourly communications during the stressful phases of the projects. When I am working on the iPad, it is difficult to be productive and neutralize twenty to forty notifications spread across several communication/social media apps. I get distracted.

The onscreen keyboard makes it a chore to type up papers, and using the content management system for this blog, in safari or chrome, can become somewhat nightmarish, once images/videos are introduced. The interface becomes unresponsive; it’s tough to predict how much time will be used to reattempt an operation like inserting a photo, when the technology doesn’t want to cooperate.

I need this device to be a utility and not a distraction. This is not the fault of the device; I’ll try making some modifications to the way I receive notifications. Hopefully I will be more productive next week.

iPad Reflection Week 3 Chris

I’ve been substituting the iPad where ever I can for all my classes. At first it was a bit difficult because there are some things that pen and paper do better than the iPad.

The majority of my classes this semester focus a lot on group work so using the iPad in conjunction with Google Docs has been extremely helpful.  Editing documents on Google Drive is as easy as 1-2-3 but when it comes to entering data for my psychology lab class, tasks can be a bit difficult. For this data entry assignment my group members had to input responses from surveys into a Google Sheet using the app Sheets. Sheets is a great app but I do not understand why Google split up its applications. The group members in our group with laptops finished input all their data 4 minutes before the rest of us using tablets.  Something. That might fix this minor annoyance would be arrow keys when using Sheets or any excel- esque app.

Overall the iPad has been a great addition to my backpack.

Ken's iPad Reflection, Week 3

Since my first iPad Reflection, I’ve been using the iPad for doing the assigned readings. I like how Safari can open a PDF file in the browser (I don’t believe Chrome for Android does this) and also that it gives you to the choice to open it in iBook. It’s been a nice change to read on the iPad. Certainly it’s easier on the eyes than using my desktop monitor. I’m not sure how a Retina display monitor would compare though.

I’ve also started looking for other alternatives to Lekh Diagram, the diagramming app I’ve been using. One thing I like about iOS is that I feel safer just downloading a half dozen apps that look interesting and trying them out.  I previously did the same thing while looking for an image editing app for my Weekly Create. On Android I’d do a bit more research like reading the app reviews to make sure I’m not downloading something malicious.

Kate's week 3 iPad Reflection

Its been 3 weeks since I started the journey with the iPad Air. It has maintained a place in my daily activities. I sill find moments when I say, ‘Oh, I can use the iPad for that!’. I started scanning old newspaper articles and papers into Evernote. I have been using my I pad frequently while I teach but really wish I had the ability to connect it to the projector so I could eliminate the need for my laptop on most days. I have also been using it for most writing assignments and notes. I recently got the QuickVoice app so I can ramble on about projects to myself and take notes on it later. In general it’s been a great experience so far. The only thing that continues to bother me is that in some apps and on some websites the touch sensitivity seems to be off and it takes too long to select or click on certain things. Also, while I have found apps that have promise in competing with photoshop I have yet to find something that competes or even attempts to compete with AfterEffects, which is what I primarily use for many projects. I will continue searching….