Podagogy

A few months ago I wrote about issues related to Second Life (SL) as a learning environment. Now that SL has announced the end of discounts for Educational institutions, I have to wonder what the future holds for SL.
Some universities will certainly stay on board, but I will be very interested to see what, if any, attrition occurs from the price increase. See the article below for the story.
http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/second-life-to-drop-educational-discount/27458

One of the most delightful parts of my job is evaluating the potential of emerging and new technologies for supporting teaching and learning in higher education. This usually involves getting connected to, or getting my hands on, the new technology and engaging in some creative playing or “what-if” exercises. Lately I have been playing with the Apple iPad, and have found it interesting to say the least. While it is an innovative way of interacting with information in a connected world, I think some clarification is needed regarding its potential application in an academic environment.

Foremost in my mind is difference between the iPad and a laptop PC, which universities should bear in mind when considering offering the iPad as a computing option for higher ed students. A casual application of the “Job To Be Done” opportunity analysis method, (Silverstein, S., Samuel, P. & DeCarlo, N.,  2009) helped me to think more clearly about the differences.

Main Idea:The iPad is not the same thing as a laptop computer.

Major difference: The iPad was not designed to replace the laptop PC. Not yet, at least. It was designed to function elegantly in a web connected environment. However, with my iPad I cannot:

• connect to any mapped network drives at work or at home.
• connect to USB disk drives.
• do peer-to-peer networking, I cannot easily share files with peers.
• use apps that require wireless connectivity if a wireless connection is not available.
• use 3G as the major cell carriers have not installed 3G in rural areas.

None of the above are necessarily iPad killers. They simply highlight the unique purpose of the iPad. Leaders in education need to be aware of these differences before implementing technology initiatives that assume the iPad is just a different kind of laptop PC.

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Silverstein, S., Samuel, P. & DeCarlo, N. ( 2009). The innovators toolkit: 50+ techniques for predictable and sustainable organic growth. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.