A theory of technology integration

I've never claimed to deep. But I am practical.

From my iPad

Testing the Squarespace management app on my 'Pad

Damn you, Monkey Ball!

I was worried this might happen. In the process of updating my iPod Touch apps for the iPad this weekend, an old addiction reappeared.

Ever since LodeRunner from back in the Apple IIe/two-button joystick days stole countless hours from my life, I've approached computer gaming with great caution. But now and then, a game just sucks me in. Backgammon, Age of Empires, Tetris, and now, Monkey Ball for the iPad.

So instead of learning how to transfer files, connect using 3G, and write extensively using the keyboard docking station last weekend, I guided my little Monkey in his glass ball through 20-some series of courses, avoiding swinging hammers, over-active bumpers and tantalizing bananas perched perilously close to the edge of disaster. This non-violent game that combines a bit of strategy with only a fairly small bit of coordination puts me Csíkszentmihályi's "flow." I even Skyed (using the iPad) my videogame expert son in New Zealand for any Monkey Ball tips.

OK, I did do a few other things as well. I found out ...

• The docking keyboard works as advertised and tapping the screen in lieu of having a mouse/trackpad isn't as awkward as I had anticipated. I do wish now that I had gotten the wireless keyboard instead so I could put the screen in landscape mode, not just portrait. An Apple guy said you can't use the iPad in its Apple cover with the keyboard dock either.
• I've managed to transfer files to the iPad using the Air Sharing app which is cool. (I'm using the version I got for my iPod Touch and it works fine.) I am also pleased to find that Office2 HD allows accessing, viewing and editing of GoogleDocs word processing and spreadsheet file. Neither of these programs are free, but both work as advertised if you need them. You can, of course, view all sorts of files in your GoogleDocs account (including pptx, pdfs, etc) which eliminates the whole file transfer mess if you are connected. (Gears for the iPad - developers there is a market!)
• Book reading has its plusses and minuses. The glare is as bad as most people are reporting, especially now that I've officially moved my office to the screen porch for the summer. The iBooks store is much more limited than the Kindle store. And it looks to me like Amazon and Apple are price fixing - at least the same few titles I checked in both places were the same price. The Kindle reader (mine is 1.0) is definitely easier on the eyes for long periods of reading and had much, much better battery life; the iBooks Reader has really fast page turns and better navigation tools. (I like it telling me the number of pages I have left in a chapter.)
• The apps specially made for the iPad are really much nicer than those ported from the iPod Touch. I spent almost as much time upgrading apps as I did playing Monkey Ball. The Weather Channel iPad app is very cool, but I also like the new AP News, IMDB, NPR, Kindle, Netflix and Amazon apps.
• I am still trying to figure out the iPad's real use in my own professional life. The laptop is still better for most things, especially writing. This may turn out to be my "meeting" machine -  a device to take notes, access agendas, and provide entertainment during the MEGO (My Eyes Glaze Over) bits.
• I've not tried the 3G connectivity yet.
• None of my earlier concerns about how we use this device in school have been resolved yet. How do we manage multiple users on a single device? How do buy and manage apps licenses? Is the machine enough of a productivity tool or simply a content consumption device? Tim Stahmer had a good post about this recently as well. as did Steve Taffee. Have I gone over to the darkside and am now thinking like a CTO instead of an educator? Gulp!

I may be having a little buyer's remorse right now - or will when the credit card statement arrives. I hope the little machine proves to be more useful than it appears to be right now. I was thinking that it might be the only device I take with me to ISTE this summer in Denver, but I couldn't do it right now.

Maybe after a few more levels of Monkey Ball I'll feel better.

Ready. Set. BE the monkey!