Griffin- Reflection

Concerning my academic life, the iPad is an object of convenience. If I forget to print out a reading, or need a quick review of material or background information on a lecture’s topic before class, then I can swiftly pull out the iPad and within moments feel much more prepared. I cannot take notes on it in class or compose formal writing. Not only because typing out ideas of varying complexity is physically taxing on the device, but I am too attached to Moleskine notebooks to replace them with the iPad. With aps like Epicurious and Pandora, the iPad has helped my home see a positive increase in ambiance and culinary exploration. I also feel a bit more connected to the headlines of the world with the New York Times ap. With the Netflix ap, I haven’t watched a literal TV in many weeks since the iPad has become the center of my home entertainment. I rarely transport the iPad out of the boundaries of home and school. This is due to the fact that it requires available networks to join and is not wireless. Sometimes in classes, I am able to quickly look up trivia or a piece of data no one can recall on the iPad and enrich class discussion with whatever information that was needed. The iPad I imagine works quicker than a phone with internet. Because of the iPad’s many entertainment oriented capabilities, I can be tempted to be distracted in classes if I have it out and online. However, I am aware of the iPad functioning as a distraction so that is why I often keep it away during class. Next semester, though, I hope to use it more in classes and see the results. Mostly though, the iPad seems to me to augment my computer. I still work from the computer as a home base. The iPad promotes even more mobility yet in a lighter way versus a laptop.