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iPad

The Lowdown on Ipads and Textbooks

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Ipads versus TextbooksWhen Apple made their big announcement in mid-January, iPads and textbooks suddenly became the talk of the town. Techies were of course immediately on the topic, and even casual users were drawn into various discussions. After all, the iPad is a device that is hard to ignore, and textbooks are close to the hearts of a lot of people who care about education.

The comparison of iPads and textbooks was, understandably, inevitable. Can the iPad really take the place of textbooks? Or will textbooks as we have always known them remain for eternity? Here is the lowdown on iPads and textbooks, brought to us by Online Teaching Degree.[Read More]

TouchFire Keyboard for the iPad

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Touch Type on iPad

TouchFire


There is no doubt that the iPad is a groundbreaking device. There may be a host of other tablets in the market today, but the release of the first generation iPad changed how we use mobile devices in a huge way. There are many applications for the iPad. Some find it the best tool for children to learn. Some find it a great way to play games. Others use it to augment their array of devices for work. However way you use the iPad, you might agree that one thing is missing from the picture: the ease of typing using the on-screen keyboard.

Truth be told, the virtual keyboard does not take long to get used to. After all, the iPad keyboard is very responsive, and after using it for a while, you do not really have reason to complain about it. Then again, if you are a touch typist, and you like doing other things (such as watching TV or a movie) while typing away on your device, you might feel the hankering for a keyboard that you can use with more ease.[Read More]

Tributes to a Visionary: Celebrating the Life and Work of Steve Jobs

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The world woke up to sad news on October 5th when Apple announced the passing of Steve Jobs. He may not have been a man who a lot of people agreed or saw eye to eye with, but almost everyone who knew and worked with him have said that he was truly one of a kind. Jobs was someone who came up and developed stuff that people didn’t know they needed, until Apple made it.

Gudjonsson Apple Cartoon

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The 10 best same-device multiplayer games for the iPad

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iPad owners who keep to themselves aren’t maximizing the experience. With a relatively large 9.7″ screen and support for multi-touch, Apple’s tablet PC is also great for entertaining several people.

Here we feature 10 different iOS apps that will turn your iPad (or iPad 2) into the life of the party, courtesy of some fun two- or four-player multiplayer gameplay.

All the following apps support multiple players on the same device, so no online connection is necessary. You’ll only need one iPad to have fun with friends of family members, meaning even those who don’t have an iOS device (the iPhone, iPod touch, or the iPad) can still participate.

Monopoly for iPad ($9.99)

The star attraction of this modern version of the classic real-estate boardgame? Tabletop mode, where the game orients itself to the active player. It’s this feature alone—not to mention the faithful recreation of the Monopoly experience—that makes this game worth playing with up to three human or computer-controlled opponents.

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Kindergarten Students Get iPads

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Apple head honcho Steve Jobs called (calls?) it magical. Countless people seem to agree. Some say what’s magical is that people pay hundreds of dollars for such a device. Price notwithstanding, the iPad has proven to be a very versatile device, and sales figures support the fact that people find it useful.

Now, even the education sector is lending the iPad its support. In Auburn, Maine, kindergarten students will soon be treated to their own iPads – to be used for educational purposes. The Auburn school department is blazing a new trail by making iPads available to each of the kindergarten students enrolled in the district. Just last week, a $200,000 budget was approved. The money is to be used to purchase 285 iPads that will be issued to teachers and students.

While the district seems to be the first to make such a move, the use of iPads for education is not that novel. In the past year, we have heard of countless stories of people getting the iPad for their children. The device has even been picked out for special education, with the iPad’s features being highlighted as very helpful in developing fine motor skills. With the iPad taking interactivity to a new level, children will also have a better learning experience. The goal of the project is to boost literacy rates up to 90 percent within two years. See the iPad’s use in education in action in the video below.

I can see how some people might say that this move can be excessive. Personally, I think that if the money is available, there is no reason not to make the iPad accessible to children. As long as they are indeed used mainly for educational purposes, then the kids can only benefit from this. What do you think?