Monday, August 23, 2010

iPad: Bridging Generations

I have had no desire to get an iPad. None. Even when Pioneer Woman does a giveaway... if the prize is an iPad, I'm just really not all that interested. I enter with the intent of selling it or something. I've never wanted an iTouch or iPhone or iWhatever. But I learned a little something about technology this weekend. My Aunt Kathy had come from San Francisco to Cincinnati for this get together. My Aunt Martha and Uncle Jesse came from the Lexington, KY area. Last week was my Grandpa's birthday, my parent's 26th wedding anniversary, my brother's 18th birthday, and my birthday is coming up very soon. So late August is a great time to get together and celebrate! Aunt Kathy, towards the end of our visit, brought out her iPad. She apparently bought it somewhat recently, partially in preparation for this trip. It's smaller than I had anticipated. She had a nice little holder for it, too. First, she wooed Teagan and my Grandma with a funny cat app that I also have on my Droid. You can feed him, pet him to make him purr, or do mean stuff to him. The app also records noise around it and repeats it back in a funny voice for the cat. Much hilarity ensued. Next, Aunt Kathy let Teagan play with the Toy Story app. It had finger painting pages where Teagan could pick a color and then run her finger on the screen to apply that color to the Toy Story image. Very cool. But best of all was this Cat in the Hat app. Teagan could turn the pages with a swipe across the screen. She could read the words to her Great-Grandma and Great-Aunt Kathy. Or she could tap the words and the narrator would read the page for her. Best of all, my daughter, thanks to my Aunt Kathy and this new-fangled iPad, spent some quality time in an exciting and intriguing way with my Grandma. The brightness of the screen made the image easier for my Grandma to see the pages than if they'd been reading a paper copy. I almost hate saying that. I've been pretty anti-Kindle and iPad for the simple fact that I love holding a book in my hand. But knowing that there are true advantages- and having to admit that the advantages could go far beyond my limited experience and expectations- makes it a more appealing product.
And what was Zach doing during all of this fun? Was Zach enjoying some coloring or book reading on this techie device?
Nope. He'd had a busy day! He was tuckered! One of the teachers at school loves the way Zach falls alseep on his cot. He sucks his thumb but lays on his back so his thumb starts to slooooowly slide out of his mouth. He fish hooks himself a few times before totally falling into a deep sleep. Then he lays all sprawled out and adorable.
He did take some advantage of technology for his naptime. You will notice he's snoozing on a rolling, adjustable chair designed for video gaming. We attempted a bed on the couch but my brother Daniel was taking it over (heehee). My mom made a great nest in a recliner for him but he kept sliding off of it. He eventually came to this funny little thing and decided it was enough like a school nap cot that he could make do...
Technology can bridge the gap between generations. Who knew?
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13 comments:

Momza said...

I am nto a techie person, but I am seriously jonesing an ipad. It looks so cool to me, I think I could be addicted to it, no problem.
Your baby is precious, Liz. Naps are always good.

Mandi said...

I talked to my Grandpa yesterday on Skype. :) My mom went up to Chicago to visit and brought her laptop. Grandpa added Wifi to his media package and voila! Grandpa gets to see his great-children and grandchildren without the cost of travelling. The only thing missing is the hugs. :)

I have to admit, I'd LOVE an iPad or iPhone or iTouch. :) its just not in the budget at the moment...

Alison said...

We don't have a laptop, so an iPad is kind of appealing. I just don't think I could spend much time typing on one.

A friend of mine just got the Barnes & Noble Nook reader, and she loves it. We go through books so fast, the cheaper costs of buying an electronic version might be worth it. Miss Chef, however, totally hates the idea of an electronic reader. She worships books--which I can relate to.

But I'm thinking about our trip to London & Paris we're planning for next year, and wouldn't it be nice to take all my reading material in one small pkg? Plus guidebooks, metro maps, restaurant reviews...?

Unknown said...

I have a Kindle and I really love it! I like that if I finish a book on a car trip or whatever that I can download another one (or the next one in the series) and dive right in.

I love that if I hear about a book that's great I can download a sample...read the sample and if I'm into it, but the full version.

There are so many things I love about my Kindle! I looked at the iPad, but it just didn't seem like something I needed.

Glad your weekend was great!

kbiermom said...

I was/am philosophically against the the whole "i" thing -- it seems limiting to choose only the songs that you know that you already like, rather than see what pops up in the radio.

But my dh got me an iPod a few years ago. Then recently an iPad, even though I protested that, though it was cool, I didn't *need* it.

But. Here I sit, typing this on my iPad, while the laptops in the house idle. Yeah, I do like it that much better. Not entirely sure why.

One thing I love is that it's such a handy reference tool. Just like my mom, I love being the reference librarian of the house. During my childhood, if a question popped up at dinnertime, my mom would be out of her seat and headed for the shelf of encyclopedias. Me, I reach for my iPad. :)

Jim McCann said...

I love my iPad. Originally I bought it as a second monitor for color notes, as well as for seeing digital comics (since they aren't going anywhere & some of the things I write end up in that format as well as print- I wanted to know what I was getting into). Then I found the ABC and Netflix streaming apps. Then I got my first eBook. Don't get me wrong, I still prefer paperbacks, especially in bed or at the beach, but downloading a 770 pg hardcover that retails at $28 for just $9?! And I didn't have to lug it around on my loooooong flight to and from San Diego? Suddenly I started seeing new uses. Then I noticed that almost every single piece of classic literature was available for FREE! Anything in public domain is up now for free. From Peter Pan to Pride & Prejudice to Art of War. Amazing.

I think iPads are the future for textbooks. The highlighting and bookmarking features, along with a built-in dictionary in the apps alone make it an incredibly useful tool.

On a lark, I downloaded the free Alice in Wonderland interactive book app. THAT is worth checking out! There are interactive moments in the book where you can swipe your finger and make Alice grow & shrink. So many things to engage kids & get them reading. This is the new pop-up book, just like Digital Comics are the new 7-11. It's the gateway to get people interested.

There are some incredible learning apps that make full use of the touch and sound technology, including foreign language skills, as well as basic and advanced math & reading. It truly is technology for every age group and something that all ages can use together.

There are blog apps that download your blogs that you subscribe to and you can read them any time, even without WiFi. I opted to not get the 3G version. I load it with TV shows and an eBook or two when going on a trip and anything else I've saved & suddenly I have a much smaller complete entertainment unit instead of an overstuffed carry-on.

Can you tell I'm in love? LOL

And that's my iPad story. :-)

Anonymous said...

Hi, this is the Aunt Kathy that brought the iPad for my 86 year old parents and their beautiful great-grandchildren. (and, no, I'm not a hundred and fifty) Just a note, I also thought that the i-everything was only a way to sell $.99 songs... pretty expensive to fill up a lot of gigabytes. Amazingly to me, iTunes has iTunes University... you can listen to lectures from Harvard, Yale, and every place else for free. I am a dentist, so I love listening to medical lectures from Stanford... learn something while jogging on the treadmill. I couldn't go to these schools, but I can listen in. Worth every penny of an iPod, doesn't have to be an iPad.

Eternal Lizdom said...

Yay! A comment form my Aunt Kathy. She's always been one of my favorite aunts. ;)

Jim- it sounds like you're offering to buy me one because it's so awesome? Yes? No? I mean... it is almost my birthday... ;)

Kinda sounds like kbierman might go in on it with you. LOL!

designHER Momma said...

I actually have one (hiding in the corner) but my mother in law gave it to me. Does that help?

I would have never gotten one myself. Know what I mean?

Amy said...

I'm with Zach. I'll take the nap!

kbiermom said...

"Kinda sounds like kbierman might go in on it with you"

Sure, I'm in! We Apple folk will proselytise at any cost! ;)

C. Beth said...

Ha ha ha--what a charming post!! Love the Zach pics

Mrs4444 said...

I'm so glad you shared this; it's beautiful. So....is there one on your Christmas list now?