Chris Hamady

When Apple's marketshare was less than 3%, many people gave up on Apple. If it wasn't for the 3% of the market that stuck with Apple through the dark times, Apple would certainly have died.
 
Fast forward to today. Apple has created a new market with iOS. It has proven wildly successful and as a result, Apple's profits are meteoric. Why then, has Apple neglected its most loyal customers?

Do they NEED to neglect the loyal 3% that stuck with them through thick and thin? The answer is a resounding, NO!

What am I talking about? I'm talking about those of us that used Apple full featured computers in the 90s, and STILL use them today. Are there technical limitations that preclude MacBook Air, iMacs, Mac Mini, and Mac Pro from having similar functionality to iOS? Again…no!

Let's look at the things that we can't do with our Macintosh computers that others can do with their less expensive iOS devices:

1. Apple TV mirroring- Why can't we mirror our computer audio and video through an Apple TV? Why do I still need to install HDMI or VGA cables into my school classrooms when a wireless solution is certainly available?

2. iBooks- Why can't we read iBooks on our computers? Some folks might like to read on a tablet device, but not all of us do.

3. Find my Mac- Why don't MacBook Airs come with built in GPS and cellular connections? This is the most portable computer on the planet. There should be a way to track it if one is lost or stolen. (Currently WiFi triangulation only)

Please don't force me to use a device or interface that I don't find nearly as functional as my MacBook Air. There isn't any technical, functional, or logistical reason that the aforementioned capabilities found on an iPad or iPod can't be available for a MacBook Air or other Mac. Apple, please don't forget the 3% of us that stuck with you when you needed us.

Dance with the One that Brung Ya.

If there are other things that you see in iOS that Apple has neglected to include in Mac OS X, please put them in the comments and I will certainly add them to this post.

CH

In an earlier blog post, I did a review of the iCade. At that time, I bemoaned the loss of iCade support in Namco's biggest hit, Pac-Man. I even went so far as to correspond with Namco and ION AUDIO asking them to provide the necessary support, so that those of us that purchased both the iCade and Pac-Man, could more fully appreciate these two products once they were married together.

Well, it appears that my requests (and those from others, I'm sure) have been answered. As of December 7th, the latest Pac-Man app for iPad is now fully iCade compatible!

If you have an iCade, download Pac-Man for iPad and prepare for an 80s-induced, non-stop episode of joystick fun!

Link to Pac-Man in the iTunes Store.

Gary Stager titled his recent blog post, BYOD- Worst Idea of the 21st Century. While I'm not so sure that I can go THERE...I do have some very strong opinions on BYOD and why I don't feel that it is the best solution for education.

The larger point that everyone is avoiding when discussing this topic is: what is best? What is best for learning and engagement? What is best for project-based learning? What is best for a learner paradigm? What is best for an instructional paradigm? What is best for IT to monitor and protect the students in an era where lawyers are screaming for us to protect them? What is best for teachers to integrate? What is best for students to utilize? What is best for professional development to be effective? Of utmost importance, what is the best solution for leveling the playing field and eradicating the digital divide?

Let's look at one specific scenario, downtime in the classroom. Our school has to keep over 1100 laptops functioning for both students and faculty. When anyone has any issue with a laptop whatsoever, it has the potential to negatively impact the learning process for minimally 1 student. If a teacher pauses to try to help a student with a laptop issue or the issue is with a teacher laptop, then everyone's learning is negatively affected.

How will this be addressed in the classroom when students are bringing in all manner of devices with a myriad of problems? Such as:

1. I don't have a mind map program
2. I don't have a music editor
3. That piece of shareware won't run on my version of operating system X.
4. My computer doesn't have java installed on it.
5. My computer won't pull a DHCP address.
6. My phone doesn't have unlimited texting
7. I don't have a phone.
8. I don't have a laptop
9. I don't have a tablet.

I could go on, but obviously I won't. How much time will be wasted as an educator is trying to work a project through every brand/model/configuration of computer/phone/tablet brought into the classroom? Educators do NOT have time to waste when politicians are pushing standards, standards, and more standards into their classrooms.

Data:

This week, our freshman class finished up a home technology survey that I asked them to take. I'll share just a couple of the results with you.
1. Out of the 266 freshman students that responded to the survey, 17% of them told us that our school-assigned MacBook was the only working computer in their household. Most of these students come from economically challenged families. Are we going to make sure students in a BYOT initiative that can't afford their own devices are provided with the best tools that anyone else in the classroom can afford to have? More on this in a bit.
2. Out of the 266 students that responded to the survey, 17% of our students told us that they do not own a SmartPhone.

Are we just going to toss these students a $299 netbook and tell them, "this is good enough for project-based video creation" while Timmy over there brings in his MacBook Pro loaded up with Final Cut Pro, or Johnny has his Sony Vaio with Sony Vegas Pro 11 video editing suite on it? Will the learning be equal for all involved in that scenario? Is the potential there for all students to have projects of similar quality?

If we are serious about educating ALL of our students, then we MUST address the digital divide that exists in our schools and districts and remove it. Let me know when we start telling students that the school won't be providing textbooks anymore. You can bring in your own. I'm sure they will all be adequate.

Lastly, if I'm faced with BYOD, or no tech integration, obviously I'm going to support a BYOD initiative. As I posted on Twitter (which seems to have ignited a small firestorm) the bigger question is:  what best enhances student learning? Our students deserve the best solution for their technology enriched education, not the most convenient one for politicians and accountants.

I apologize for the rant if I've offended anyone. I get passionate about equality in education and see BYOD/BYOT as a major obstacle to that end.
CH

In 2001, I was the computer teacher, music teacher, and technology coordinator for Regina Coeli, a K-8 parochial school in Toledo, OH. Apple had just released iTunes for the Macintosh and I had just begun a PhD in Curriculum and Instruction: Educational Technology. I was excited and supercharged to make my mark in education.

As I began to explore iTunes, one feature in particular caught my attention. The automated computer generated visualizations that iTunes creates, synced in time with the music. It was during this time that I was also introducing my music students to "programmatic" classical compositions. Programmatic music, or program music, is music specifically written in such a way that it conveys to the listener a story. A good example of program music is Aaron Copland's, Appalachian Spring.

I wanted to help the students more easily understand the concept of program music. I decided that the best way to do this would be to spark their imaginations as much as possible. I wrote a lesson plan that went a little something like this:

The students would listen to a piece of programmatic classical music that was playing in iTunes. iTunes would also be creating a visualization based upon the playing music. I asked the students to write a one page paper describing what they thought the music was about. They could either listen to the music for inspiration, or look at the visualization. 

The lesson was a success. The students did such a fantastic job participating and demonstrating incredible imagination and creativity, I thought that I should share the lesson with others.

I wrote up the lesson plan a day or two after having presented it to the students. I wanted to send it to Apple as they not only owned and published the iTunes software, but they also had a division in their company that specifically focuses on educational technology. I had heard rumors that Steve Jobs' email address was steve@apple.com so that is the address that I mailed my lesson plan to.

A week or two went by and soon I forgot that I had sent this email to Steve. One day, while I was cleaning up my classroom at Regina Coeli, the secretary called my room and asked me if I wanted to talk to Apple Computer. Soon after I heard a female voice tell me, "We received your lesson plan…Steve really liked it and sent it to us. He asked us to send the students in your class some Apple t-shirts and Apple pens. How many do you need?" 

I was flabbergasted. I never really thought that he would actually read my email, much less act upon it. Here I was, a brand new doctoral student in educational technology, truly unsure and insecure about the decision that I had made to leave music and focus on education, and I just had a life changing experience with one of the most powerful, dynamic, forward looking human beings on the planet.

We are not made in one day or in one year. We are not made in one moment or in one event, but there are certain key happenings in our lives that have the unbelievable power to move us, validate us, or act as catalysts to enlighten us, encourage us, or inspire us. If Steve can read this blog post, I hope that he realizes that this one small thing that he did, was one huge moment in my life.

Thank you Steve.

Chris Hamady

All of the materials mentioned in the OCEA presentation can be found here:

http://www.chrishamady.com/journal/2011/4/27/ncea-presentation-materials.html

Poll results:

Please contact me if you have any questions. I would be glad to answer them.

CH