“This is what we’ve been waiting for for 15 years”
March 18, 2010 at 1:21 am 2 comments
That’s a quote from Wired Magazine‘s Chris Anderson as he showed off a prototype of what that publication might look like on Apple’s new iPad. Anderson made this comment during a recent TED conference.
(By the way, if you aren’t familiar with TED, click here to learn more. Very cool stuff, but that’s the subject of a posting for another day…)
Click here to watch the Wired/iPad prototype. I’d encourage you to take a few moments and watch this clip. You can also access yet another iPad magazine prototype here (although be warned the content of this one is a little more racy).
After watching these examples, my imagination immediately started to churn out ideas for how these new multimedia capabilities could be harnessed in an educational environment. In the Wired example above, you’ll see product advertisements that allow the viewer to actually spin the product around to view it from any angle. I can easily envision applications for this in content areas like mathematics and science. In my opinion, the whole gesture approach of the iPad, made famous by Apple’s iPhone of course, is very developmentally-appropriate for younger students. It’s a natural thing for young children to want to point, touch and manipulate items with their fingers.
Have any of your district’s been thinking about the iPad, or similar technologies, and the role they might play as educational content delivery platforms? I’ll love to read your thoughts…
Entry filed under: Future of Learning and Assessment, Smart Applications, Technology and Innovation. Tags: Apple, Chris Anderson, iPad, iPhone, prototypes, TED, WIRED Magazine.
1.
Lissa Pijanowski | March 17, 2010 at 9:43 pm
We have been thinking of the “app” concept for creating interfaces for our students, parents, teachers, and leaders. Based on the iPhone we are in the process of designing mock-ups of what should be at an end-user’s fingertips. For example, an app icon that takes students to each of the classes, graphic displays of current grades, text alerts, agenda/calendar app, and mroe. Each one being customizable based on the user. The iPad and iPhone are truly pushing all of us to think differently about how we engage with any kind of content – whether it be in education or for personal consumption. I love it and it is a very exciting time.
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Mike Mitchell | March 17, 2010 at 9:46 pm
Thanks Lissa. That really sounds interesting.
I’d love to schedule a time to look at the concepts/mock-ups you are creating, if you are open to that. Is this something that would reside on your district’s website?