The iLab

[barclay_barrios]

I composed my last post on my trusty iPad 2. I use it mostly for reading (both for pleasure and for classes) and (I admit with some shame) Candy Crush Saga. When I travel, I use it for email. I rarely compose on it not because it’s not capable but because my fingers tend to hurt from stabbing at hard glass. I bring this all up because it looks like we’re going ahead with plans for a mobile iPad lab. My former assistant Mike (now pursuing his PhD in Creative Writing (yay Mike!)), had wrangled the grant for the lab but we shelved it with his departure. Now, through a complex series of internal political travesties we’ve decided to sacrifice one of our computer classrooms to transform it into an advanced media production lab for our graduate programs (complete with 3D printer). To offset the lost, we’re resurrecting the idea of the mobile lab. We’re pricing out the cart and iPads, an Air for the instructor, and an Apple TV for projection. We’re also working out the details of reservation, storage, and security. Anyone out there using a set up like this? Any pitfalls we should be aware of?