My two weeks with the Asus Eee Pad Transformer

With all the tablet and iPad hype going on, Skool (www.skool.nl; Google will translate for ya) is also interested in how tablets can be managed and prepped in such a way that they do what they do best: Just Work!

In an attempt to familiarize myself with the use of tablets, I was given the opportunity to try out an Asus Eee Pad Transformer with docking station/keyboard. Here's a brief report of my experience so far.

The Good
The tablet looks really slick. It's stylish, comes in a decent color and even the keyboard feels good. The keyboard even comes with dedicated keys for search, lock, home, settings, bluetooth/WiFi toggle and even has a key for returning to "auto brightness". The touchpad that comes with the keyboard also supports multi touch, which is nice if you want to scroll a web page without touching the pad itself.

Of course there is direct access to all the goodies in the Android market. After setting the whole thing up with my personal Gmail account, I noticed almost all of my apps I run on my HTC Sensation got automagically installed on the Honeycomb device. Really quickly I had most of my regular apps available.

Asus also included a few goodies of its own. The Transformer comes with software that allows you to connect to your PC. You have to install a little piece of software on your PC for that, but then you are able to connect to it in a remote desktop kind of way. Of course until Windows 8, you still will be stuck with a UI that is not made for touch. Don't think you can easily use Outlook from your Transformer. Not even with the keyboard attached. It's just not made for touch.

The Bad
After setting everything up, running a few updates and waiting for all apps to be installed, I noticed that that was all it did. No backup of the app settings or data had been restored. So, it took me another hour or so to get all those apps configured the way I am used to.

Furthermore this is typically one of those type of devices that when in the house, it gets hogged by the rest of the family. My 5 y/o son asked me the first time he saw me with it: "Does it come with Angry Birds?" It's addictive. Not just for the kids, but also for me. I like to have it around, if it was only for being able to check things online on a screen larger than on my phone.

The Ugly
I haven't noticed any ugly yet. One thing that's going to be a pain to get device management done right for the schools will be the fact that there is no way to do some kind of initial provisioning for the WiFi connection. Aside from that, the Transformer (like most others) forces you to go through a wizard as soon as you turn it on for first use. In schools you most likely don't want teachers to have to go through that initial setup.


But how do we get to proper (manufacturer independent) device management without working with the manufacturers directly? An interesting technical challenge!

Fog

This weekend has been the rebirth of my photography hobby. From now on, I am a re-born photographer :-)


I could not have picked a better subject: Fog.Do you know how hard it is to take reasonably good photos of fog? Let me tell ya, it's hard! 


I have learned that I still need a lot of practice. I remember the days where I would be in the darkroom with my dad developing our black & white photos. Initially I viewed it as pure magic; later on he introduced me to the inside scoop. From that moment on, I have always been interested in photography and jealous of the people that have the time (or take the time) to take great photos. Google+ definitely has re-charged that interest. There are so many great and inspirational photographers that post their photos!


For now, I am just trying. I need to go back to the basics. I need to think aperture, shutter speed, ISO again. I am familiar with the terms and what they mean, but I can't trust my instinct anymore. I have to re-learn I guess.


Back to the drawing board so to speak. And go back to practice and practice and practice. I hope you will see lot's of photos taken by me. I invite everyone to comment on them and to not be kind or polite. Be critical. That's how one advances!


Here are my lessons learned from yesterday's foggy photo shoot:
https://plus.google.com/116672178660074115883/posts/VirwubC9CLR


Oh, and yes, I am trying out the new dynamic views on my blog :-) Let me know if you like it.

Strategy development by looking back

This past week has been a weird one: I didn't really feel like blogging, although I posted another CONTRAST photo here. This week has been an inspirational one though.


Steve Jobs

Lots and lots and lots of (good) stuff has been posted about Steve and about the way he changed the world, and how he accomplished that within Apple. Why do people do the things they do (see my previous post in Dutch about this subject)? Why did Steve do the things he did? He wanted to make great things. He wanted to keep it simple. He wanted your grandmother to be able to use the iPad. Guy Kawasaki the other day got an hour to share his experiences with the online audience of the Facebook Success Summit. Take some time to at least listen to a part of this: http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/how-steve-jobs-changed-the-world-this-week-in-social-media/


All these retrospectives made me think of the Commodore64 most us (older) geeks have owned or used at one point in the past. Being curious by nature, I checked Wikipedia last night and this piece of fine machinery had sold up to 17 million units in a 12 year (1982-1994) time span! Prices were just under $600 at a time (1982) where a gallon of milk on average would set you back $2.20 (now $3.50). Try to imagine that we would still be able to buy (new!) computers that were just released in 1999... Just try to remember what type/model your main computer was back then? For me this was the time I was getting ready to move to the US and start working at CyberCash (later part of VeriSign Payment Services; now part of Paypal). I remember using mIRC for IRC on a Windows 3.11 Intel 486DX computer. It was the computer that I also tried compiling the 1.2.8 Linux kernel on, which would take at least an hour and a half! Can you imagine still using that?


Change
Yes, a lot has change since then. We buy iPads that range around the price of an old Commodore64 back in 1982. Not one, but two, three of more, so every family members can use one. The iPad is the PERSONAL Computer per sang. It is not made to be used by multiple users; it's made for YOU and YOUR personal computing experience.


Android (and most likely Microsoft's Windows 8) tablets follow suit. The Android tablets allow you to combine multiple (Google) accounts in one device. Not so that multiple users can use the device without getting into each other's stuff, but to make the experience even more personal and foremost: simple and convenient.


How does all of this apply to education? Why are people doing the things they do and use iPads (or other tablet computers) in education? Andy Brovey describes a few reasons:

• "First is size. Apple’s tablet is easily held, shared and stored away when not in use. Previously when students wanted to show or share their screen to others, the teacher or peers needed to go to the machine. Now the machine comes to them."
• "Next, consider battery life."
• "Finally, the iPad is versatile. [...] The iPad becomes the app."

The first two reasons are simply technical improvements. They are important, yet not as significant as the last reason mentioned. Read this again: "The iPad becomes the app." All of a sudden it's about the content (again). About what actually is the added value, instead of the cool gadget the iPad is perceived to be by people. The iPad becomes like a book to the teachers. It's not complicated to operate and doesn't require technical background to use, as Steve Jobs wanted your grandmother to be able to operate it :-)

So, are you using iPads or other tablet computers in your teaching? How does it fit your curriculum? How do your students use them? Please feel free to share in the comments.