The Professor's Notes

Must content and delivery be inextricably entwined?

For centuries our ability to gather content and disseminated wirh tide is not just to the content but to the media and the physical media that was used for delivery. If you wanted to read a book you would buy both the content and the delivery media simultaneously. The words in the paper on which they were printed or written were forever enmeshed. Even in recent decades with books on CD or tape you were still purchasing both the delivery media and the content as an inseparable unit.

We have an opportunity to day with the development of digital content and robust data exchange standards to forever separate the content from the media, or at least that will we use to receive the content. We’re at a crossroads. We can choose to follow the path of standards allowing users to decide on the delivery mechanism they prefer, or we can continue to develop content for delivery in specific devices and tools.

We’re currently entering a world where we have a wide variety of choices for the personal technology we use to access media. For instance, we have both been nearly ubiquitous iPad and now more and more android tablets on the market. We’re also seeing the early stages of windows eight tablets being previewed. If we take a device centric approach content will be developed and delivered as operating system specific applications. This will enable content creators to leverage the unique creative aspects of each of the operating systems and the devices. Read the rest of this entry »

As you may know, I am looking forward to the day when our “textbooks” will be digital and students can purchase them at a fraction of what they pay now.  Of course, additional savings would be physical (lighter books–in one reader) and the “Green” impact of removing all the wastes and costs of production and delivery.

One author, however, worries that if we view the iPad as the path that Apple would rise up and exert censorship over the content, giving us the Jobs view of the world (much as many criticize Disney for giving us Walt’s sanitized view of how the world is.)  I could see  Apple doing that not only to sanitize content, but also to further whatever political agendas they may have given their apparent arbitrary, capricious and vindictive approaches to what is and isn’t approved.  (political in this sense in the larger meaning, not simply political as in government affairs.)

I mentioned this is an email, and in reply, I was told that we shouldn’t worry about that.  That Apple has demonstrated a willingness to not interfere in educational issues as shown through iTunesU and that Apple would probably never get enough market share for that to happen.

Perhaps.  But that led me to ponder further what really would it take to get digital texts  (or as my brother calls them “educational applications” to move from obscurity to ubiquity–and will proprietary get in the way?

First I wanted to address the interesting  notion that  iTunesU is the model of an Open Apple.  That might be true, but the textbook/educational applications that we are seeing discussed are positioned to be sold through the AppStore model, and  the App Store is a model of a closed Apple.  At times, a VERY closed Apple.   Recently we have seeen Apple exerting control not only on content but the tools to be used in developing that content.But let’s set aside for a moment the problems of if Apple were to control the market, and look at what it would take to get there.
Perhaps my correspondent is correct that Apple cannot garner enough market share to make them (and their iPad) a viable contender and competitor in the textbook space, but then we are left wondering:

• If Apple doesn’t control a significant share of the textbook “space” then what are the options for students?
• What incentive will students have to drop $500+ on a device that only a small fraction of faculty will have as the platform for their texts/instructional materials?

Will Apple work towards open standards so that the books/media will be able to be hosted on a wide range of platforms, or will Apple insist on a proprietary standard, working towards exclusivity for the instructional material they “host” on their platform.  This isn’t simply a red herring tossed out to direct attention from some “Greater Good.”  The fact is that right now students are able to choose from a variety of sources to purchase their texts (and thus a wide range of service/price combinations) and even between new and used books.  Faculty can choose between various textbook publishers/providers, which allows the professor to not only choose the best content, but the best value package for the students.

All that can disappear if one source controls the access to the media, and if there exist competing exclusive and proprietary sources for access to media, then students will be required to purchase not one, but several expensive readers/devices depending on the choices of the faculty member.  Or, alternatively the faculty will be hamstrung, “encouraged” by students or administration to only focus on those source-materials available and the dominant device.

So here we go–what is the decision making process that leads a faculty member to assign a “multi-media resource” as the course “text” rather than a regular textbook? What do you when the students are told that for my ONE class the book is no longer that big expense at $100-200 but rather the iPad becomes the big expense–costing 2-5 times that amount. AND there is no guarantee that any other faculty members will commit to a similar path? And of course the publishers don’t want to reduce the price of the “text” below 50% of the current price AND don’t want to make the “book” available permanently. And don’t forget, most technology has a life of 2-3 years when used regularly. Heavy use, along with ever increasing complexity of the applications/software, may well shorten the lifespan of the product that students must purchase, shifting them from a 1 time outlay to 2, or 3 times in the span of a college career–assuming of course that enough faculty adopt these “books” to make it worth their while.

At a time when the pressures from students AND the federal government is to lower the costs of education (and specifically texts) what professor wants to be the one to step up and insist that students get a high priced device that is designed for obsolescence?

So we are faced with an interesting challenge.  At a time when technology is holding out such promise we find at least one company who has the technical ability to break down the cost walls while simultaneously catapulting the technology of learning well beyond anything we have experienced.  And we find that the same company is tighting the grips on their “ecosystem” arguing that they can control their own little corner of the world.

This is one of those pivotal moments–we can see proprietary walls go up, and little gardens of creative learning spread slowly.  Or we can encourage open architectures that will enable creativity and learning to spread quickly, and widely.

Ubiquity? Or Proprietary? Which way do you think things will go?

I have been running the ipad through it’s paces the past week and have generally enjoyed it.  I think the weight is really “perfect” to ensure I know I am holding a device, but not so heavy as to hinder my use.  The display is as vibrant as everyone had said, and some of the apps just blow me away.

That said I have had my issues with the device.  In this post I want to focus on two:  the initial syncing to iTunes for Windows users, and the on-screen keyboard.

I had some initial problems getting it synced with my Windows 7 machine, which i initially attributed to my own unique configuration, but have since heard many others have had similar problems.  Specifically iTunes 9.1 won’t “see” the iPad (and in my case stopped seeing the iphone as well.) The solution was simple if time consuming–completely delete out the installation of iTunes and all things Apple.

I will say though that, by not being able to connect to the computer at first, i found the iPad to be a real joy to use as a stand alone device.  I was able to get applications quite easily, and watch streaming video.  If it weren’t for my insane desire to actually listen to and watch my already purchased media I would have had no desire to connect.

That does beg the question though–why must we actually continue to connect our devices with the computers through cables? This device is the epitome of mobility allowing full connectivity through wifi and soon through 3G cell networks.  Cant Apple find a way to sync the ipad to the computers wirelessly?  (HINT:  Microsoft already does that with the ZUNE)

Now the next criticism is the keyboard.  First let me say that I generally enjoy typing on the screen keyboard.  I am using it now in fact.  But some of the key placements are a bit awkward considering the fact that I am starting to use it like a “normal” keyboard.  I expect keys to be in certain places, and when they require two or three extra keystrokes to use (yes apostrophe i am talking to you!) i find it to to be a hindrance.  But what is worse given that I am not a professional typist, is the lack of arrow keys.  When i type (er, mistype) i want to be able to go back and edit the word without trying to place the cursor with my fingertip.  Perhaps others are more dextrous than I, but I have a heck of a time getting it “exactly” right, forcing me to make more corrections than i had intended, and again hindering the work flow.

In your reading of this you may have come across another annoying “feature.” For some reason the smart typing system insists on a lower case I more often than not.  Others have noticed this as well, and my brother even brought it up in conversation.   A seemingly trivial annoyance, but one that requires an inordinate amount of proof-reading when they could have just left things alone.

Admittedly I could go and purchase either the keyboard Dock or the Bluetooth keyboard but honestly, I think that defeats the purpose of the highly portable and lightweight device.

So there you have it.  A couple of my “nits” that I am going to pick about the iPad.

Now–back to watching Castle on the ABC app!

I have been enjoying learning about the iPad and will have more recommendations to come about apps that I absolutely love.  That said, I want to switch back to the discussion of iPad vs Kindle–not looking at features, and the like, but from the perspective of a “warfighter.”

Today’s soldier, airman and sailor (fine, and marine) carries around not only their weapon and ammunition, but provisions, body armor and all sorts of other sundries not dreamed of in past wars.  Much is designed to ensure both success and survivability on the battlefield.  But like soldiers through the ages, they like to have diversions and distractions through reading material during the “down” times.

Enter the eReader and digital books.  The beauty of these devices is they can hold hundreds of books at weight that at most tips the scale at 1.5 pounds.  This is quite attractive for the warfighter already hauling tens of pounds of gear.

An organization has formed to provide eReaders/eBooks to troops.  Their vision is:

to build the nation’s leading non-profit organization dedicated to providing e-books and e-book technology to military personnel who are deployed overseas defending our country.

and by doing this they hope to support the men and women who serve our country, putting their lives on the line daily.

I have used this then to spurred some discussion on Twitter about the survivability of these devices in the field.  Which would hold up better, an iPad or a Kindle?

Some of the considerations have included:

• Susceptibility of the screen to cracking/breaking
• Dust/Sand damage
• Battery life
• Ability to purchase/install books

One person on Twitter, @nutzareus, has commented on his experience in the field and noted that regardless what you use you must use an OtterBox to protect your device.  He commented that he used the OtterBox Defender Case for iPhone 3G, 3GS when he was in the field.

Other contributors to the discussion include:

@dpowensj, @obsidianspider, @iPeat

So what other things should be considered?  What do YOU recommend for our soldiers?  Please, share your thoughts.

We saw Google tell the story of romance through searches during the Super Bowl (It wasn’t a new ad then, but it was the first time many had seen it.)

Google has now made storytelling through searches available for the masses!  I decided to throw together a VERY quick story, about the marriage of Apple, Best Buy and the iPad.  There is very little control over the story, in that it only shows search results, so through trial and error you may be able to come up with the PERFECT story.

In fact, some have done AMAZING work (go see the examples for the Winter Games for instance).  Try it.  Let me know what YOU like.

I purchased the Belkin Grip Swell case for the iPad.  It’s is a neoprene silicone case that surrounds the iPad but leaves the screen available for touch.  It has openings for all the controls and connectors, including the Dock connector and has a good “feel” in my hands.  It is a nice case.  It wraps around the iPad similar to many of the silicon or neoprene cases that are available for the iPhone.  It is fairly easy to put the iPad into it, but it is not as simple as “sliding it in” to a case.

It is priced at $50, which is a bit pricey to start, and became an unacceptable price for me when I started using the case at home.

The one thing–the ONE thing it doesn’t do is actually make the connection to the dock connector when placed in the “easel style dock” sold by Apple.  The silicon is thin enough that the iPad will settle comfortably and securely onto the dock but will not actually settle in far enough to make a connection.

That for me is a deal breaker.  It’s going BACK to Best Buy!

That said, if you didn’t get the Apple Dock and/or if you don’t mind $50 as a price, then by all means get it.  But remember, the Apple portfolio case is $10 cheaper.

I created a blog post last night sharing the Star Walk app (and as my son pointed out it will be great to use up at the lake house!). I wrote the post on the ipad using the standard web interface in Safari and I had a few struggles. Specifically I could not add photos/images since the interface didn’t see the photo album and I couldn’t edit the text of the blog in WYSIWYG mode, I actually had to switch it over to HTML mode to input text.

So today I trundled over to the app store and decided to download the free WordPress app. It is Spartan in design in that it provides a simple interface for entering text and no real “glitz” with the interface. that said it does have an option to add images, and even provides a drop down menu for selecting categories.

When adding images I lose the ability to place the image where I want it to specifically go, but I can at least get the image in the blog, and provide the information and content i want a he reader to get–I can always edit/redesign later.

Enough of this-you should see it to believe it.

In my homage to all things meta, here is this blog entry added as an image:

NOTE:  Comment  after posting from iPad.  I am leaving everything above exactly as it posted.  As you can see the image posted in portrait mode, even though the iPad knew that I was in landscape mode when I took the snap.  Also there was no easy way to resize the image.  I have noticed that, after posting, I can go in and edit directly the HTML code that is embedded to display the image.

I am willing to accept that these are failures on my part.  I don’t know the inner workings of the iPad yet, or the WordPress app, but my “first touch” experience says that this app adds some quite useful features, but is still lacking some of the basics that would make it far more useful when “on the run.”

I have bought my first “killer app” for the iPad. I have always loved astronomy and staring at the stars, and now an app has really made stargazing come alive. The app is Star Walk and really transforms the way I look at the skies.

Once you download the app, you can see a display showing the planets and the future stages of the moon over the next few days.  In that first screen you can learn when the Sun will rise and set, how long our day will be that day, and when each planet will rise and set.

(click for larger image)

You can go past that to a full sky mode that not only shows you the stars but can overlay constellations and the horizon but even more, as you turn, it turns, showing you what is in front of you as you turn, using e built in compass. Heck, I didn’t realize that the iPad even had a compass in it!

Check. Out the link. I will try to add screen captures later.

(Click for larger image)

blog post written completely on iPad — and not easily.  More on that later.

I posted the donation button on my blog here last Thursday (admittedly poor timing, since I was sincere–it was NOT an April Fool’s Day prank!)  I have received a small amount of donations and for that I am quite grateful.  I mentioned the donation button, and my renewed interest in the iPad, in our podcast that we recorded that evening, (Real Tech for Real People Episode 30) and my friend and podcast partner surprised me with a gift–an iPad!  That said, I will be turning any donations I receive now into tech purchases of hardware or applications that I will be getting specifically to review on here.

First out of the gate is Camera for iPad.  We had talked in Episode 31 (recorded last night) about the lack of a camera for the iPad.  Not an “order loser” (at least not for 300,000+ new owners) but certainly something we would have liked to have seen.  It turns out there are ways around it.  The first approach is to tie your iPad to your iPhone.  Admittedly this only works if you have an iPhone, but if you do, the app “Camera for iPad” will link your iPad to your iPhone via the bluetooth connection and allow you to capture pictures using the iPhone.  This is a very interesting app (and for 99 cents total, installed on both devices, affordable) and I am looking forward to seeing what other innovative  ways people will link their iPhone and other bluetooth enabled devices to their iPad.

(Click for larger image)

Writing as an academic, I desperately want to get my hands on (the demand data for) the iPad.  Specifically,  I wonder about the “pre-order” demands that have been placed.

I am not writing this as a “hater” or critic of the iPad.  I just would love to see if the demand spiked on the first day and dropped precipitously, or whether the demand over the 21 days prior to shipping stayed relatively constant, or even ramped up as we approached the 3rd of April.

Here’s what I wonder:  people who are early adopters, and the first to get in line and wait for days for a new product, are by all anecdotal evidence I have heard the ones who pre-order, and pre-ordered on the first day they could.  And in the case of my brother, ordered it as soon as the Apple Store made it available.

If my supposition is true, then the demand for pre-ordered items would have been heavily front-loaded.  Conversely,  I would find it quite interesting if demand for the iPad through pre-ordering had any sort of ramping to the demand pattern.  If the demand was increasing, then the big question of the day would be:  Why?

The next question is are the people who would normally stand in line to get the next “really cool product” the same who would want to pre-order right away (and thus reduce or eliminate lines at the stores) or is the psychology of waiting in line for a “cool new product” palpably different from the psychology of “getting” it?

Anyone have any thoughts or insights into this?