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Timothy M. Chester, the CIO of Pepperdine University, discussed the ongoing controversy of how higher education has and should deal with the encroachment of the iPad on campuses throughout the country. Using information gleaned from the Educause CIO listserv, he found two camps being formed, and a bit of misinformation.
The first camp’s motto seems to take the position that if there is a new, potentially useful technology, it should be welcomed immediately. Seton Hill University announced that it will give an iPad to every full-time student in this fall, while George Fox University, a school that has been giving out computers to all incoming students for twenty years, is giving students a choice of either being handed an iPad or a Macbook.
Their position is that they aren’t willing to say which is the better choice, and many students already come to school with a laptop. To a large extent this is a marketing gimmick. When was the last time you heard of Seton Hill or George Fox University? But on the other hand, I know from experience that IT departments function more cheaply, and most often more effectively if their mission is to not support every digital device in the known universe. Tech support staff that only need to support a small number of platforms need less training, and parts inventories can be drastically reduced. However, Chester writes that putting an iPad into every student’s hands would cost Pepperdine around US$800,000 which he posited would be much better spent on hiring new faculty.
The second camp of schools want nothing to do with iPads and are banning their use since they cannot be handled on many existing systems without costly upgrades. This is not entirely true, at least not for the schools that got a lot of press over potential bans. Last month we wrote about Princeton and George Washington Universitity’s iPad bans, that weren’t bans at all. At Princeton, the system couldn’t handle the way that iPads allow DHCP leases to expire and then go on using the same IP address. Students were told to keep iPads off the system, at least until April 19th when they posted a workaround to buy them some time.
George Washington University seemed more like a ban, since no iPads would work on their system due to failure to pass the GW security standards. Sounds like a ban to me, but they are quick to point out that they are working with Apple and expect to have iPads functional, to some extent, this summer with full functionality expected by Spring 2011. To me, it seems that as long as the problem is being worked on and expected completion schedules are announced, it’s more of a great inconvenience than a total ban.
When Steve Jobs introduced the iPad in January, he talked about defining its niche. He explained that the iPad sits somewhere between an iPhone and a laptop and is meant for the same kind of use that is currently served by netbooks.
Despite that, we have been exposed to a lot of buzz about the iPad being nothing more than an oversized iPod touch. And although the hardware is, essentially, just that — a bigger version of the touch, running the same apps from the same App Store — there’s more to it than that simplified explanation.
Yesterday, TUAW explored eight use cases wherein the iPhone provides a better solution than the iPad, examining the iPhone-specific niche and situations where the iPhone took first place in usability. Today, we’re turning that comparison on its head. Of course, there are situations for which the iPad is better suited than the iPhone. Here is our incomplete list of how the iPad outshines its sibling.
Read on for the list…
Superior browsing. If you’re over the age of 40, chances are good that the iPad’s better screen size transforms your Internet browsing experience. Reading from the iPhone screen can be painful, especially for users with less than perfect vision. You needn’t be old, however, to recognize how the iPad brings browsing to the next level. Even with 20-20 sight, the crisp, large display enhances the Web, letting you see more of a page at once, and at a resolution that’s more human. The iPad display is nearly the size of real magazine page and that difference means a better browsing experience.
Better book reading. We originally had this point combined with the superior browsing, but decided to break it out into its own idea. That’s because iBooks on the iPad is, of its own, a winning point for the iPad over the iPhone. Yes, we know that books are coming to the iPhone, but that experience will always be a compromise because the iPad’s form factor is book-like and the iPhone’s is not. Pages that look like real pages, that read like real pages, that turn like real pages are a huge factor in making the iPad a perfect match to reading books. The iPad provides a superior experience not just for browsing live feeds on the Internet (our first point), but also for sitting and reading a book in a way that doesn’t demand compromise.
A survey of iPad buyers found that 44 percent would purchase the touchscreen device instead of a notebook, and 41 percent would not buy an iPod touch as a result of their tablet.
The March 2010 Alphawise survey results, disclosed Thursday by analyst Katy Huberty with Morgan Stanley, give insight into the potential cannibalization of other Apple products due to the release of the iPad. The study found that of the 44 percent who would not buy a notebook, 24 percent would not buy a MacBook, while the other 20 percent would not purchase a PC.
The survey also found that 27 percent of users would not buy a desktop as a result of their iPad purchase, with 14 percent of those not buying a Mac desktop, and the other 13 percent passing on a PC. The survey also found that the iPad will affect e-reader and handheld videogame sales, two segments in which Apple does not have a dedicated device.
Huberty said that the iPad has already had an impact on portable computer sales, which have slowed since the start of 2010. The results suggest that the netbook market was most impacted by Apple’s iPad.
"U.S. consumer PC, and especially notebook, growth decelerated in January when Apple introduced the iPad and again in April when the iPad launched," she wrote. "Given the corresponding increase in (average selling prices) in the market, we believe much of the demand shortfall came from netbooks and low-cost notebooks."
My 22-year-old son, Kevin, is both physically and mentally handicapped. He’s a lover of technology, and has an iPod Classic, and an iPod Touch, and uses our iMac daily. The company that provides him with employment training has just applied for a grant to purchase 22 iPads for clients with various needs. I offered to do some research on apps that could be used for those with mental and developmental issues.
For Kevin’s purposes, the Calendar app will be a benefit, providing him with reminders through his day. The Notes app, or a similar journaling app, will also help.
Beyond that I’m looking for some help from the greater world of iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad users. For instance, Kevin’s workday (at this point) is primarily job training, and he needs to memorize and recall certain pieces of information, such as his phone number (he got that one last month!), address (still working on it), and such things. A flashcard program would be ideal, especially one that is simple to use. Simplicity is the key – just calling my cell phone can be a challenge.
A basic database program like Bento might be helpful as well; are there any others that people have used?
I also think that a program that steps through response to emergencies would be fantastic – fire, power outages, sickness, personal safety, etc.
The apps probably fall into two categories: Learning applications to help with memorization, and Supplemental applications that allow Kevin (and others) to bypass memorization.
I would appreciate hearing from anyone with thoughts on this, or from those who are also interested in identifying apps that would make the iPad a tool for the mentally handicapped.
The iPad 3G was delivered to customers on Friday, about a month after the launch of the Wi-Fi iPad. The main differences between the units are the inclusion of a 3G data module as well as GPS functionality in the newer model. iFixit has already performed a teardown of the new unit, though few surprises were found.
Some additional notes of interest:
– Gizmodo notes that Netflix works over 3G but with down sampled video. ABC’s app, however, refuses to play over 3G and is Wi-Fi only.
– Dan Frommer suggests ABC’s 3G limitation is due to content licensing issues rather than a technical limitation imposed by either Apple or AT&T. When questioned, AT&T deferred to Apple for specifics.
Timothy M. Chester, the CIO of Pepperdine University, discussed the ongoing controversy of how higher education has and should deal with the encroachment of the iPad on campuses throughout the country. Using information gleaned from the Educause CIO listserv, he found two camps being formed, and a bit of misinformation.
When Steve Jobs introduced the 
A survey of iPad buyers found that 44 percent would purchase the touchscreen device instead of a notebook, and 41 percent would not buy an iPod touch as a result of their tablet.
My 22-year-old son, Kevin, is both physically and mentally handicapped. He’s a lover of technology, and has an iPod Classic, and an iPod Touch, and uses our iMac daily. The company that provides him with employment training has just applied for a grant to purchase 22 iPads for clients with various needs. I offered to do some research on apps that could be used for those with mental and developmental issues.
The iPad 3G was delivered to customers on Friday, about a month after the launch of the Wi-Fi iPad. The main differences between the units are the inclusion of a 3G data module as well as GPS functionality in the newer model. iFixit has already performed a 
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