The web is full of great resources for academics, and this is a list of my personal favourites. They offer great advice on writing, productivity, creativity and managing your career. Although they are a great inspiration, they not always go into the nuts and bolts what technology is available for researchers and students. Luckily, thats what academiPad is for. [Read more…]
30 online resources for academic life, writing, and technology
May 16, 2012 by (11 Comments)
Free updates
May 11, 2012 by (Leave a Comment)
Why would you join academiPad’s free email or RSS feed? Because it is the right thing to do! Oh, you are the scholarly type who is rational and needs objective reasons? I see… Well, here are 6 good reason why you should follow academiPad’s free updates:
1. Save time: Get updates automatically
At whatever stage you are in academia, chances are that time is your scarcest resource. So instead of checking the webpage for update every hour, just get notified when new content is available. The latest posts will be automatically delivered to your email inbox or RSS reader.
You can read new posts at your convenience, skip them if the topic doesn’t interest you, star and instapaper them for later reading, or forward them to a colleague or peer.
Especially the email feed works by the “set it and forget about it!” principle. You will never miss a post, and you can use your time more efficiently to get your research, teaching, and studying done.
2. academiPad is devoted to people in Higher Ed
Are you tired reading blog posts that praise games about enraged, feathered vertebrates? Do you wonder where all the good apps are for people in higher education? [Read more…]
AppWriter: A writing app for people with learning disabilities
May 9, 2012 by (3 Comments)
According to the Learning Disabilities Association of Canada, about one in ten Canadians are estimated to suffer from learning disabilities. As educators, it is important that we respond to the needs of students with learning disabilities. I wish there was an app for that…
Wait a minute! When I went through a list of 52 iPad writing apps, AppWriter ($20, iTunes link) caught my attention. It was the most expensive one of the bunch, so I naturally wondered how AppWriter justifies its hefty price tag. [Read more…]
52 Writing apps for iPad: What is your favorite?
May 3, 2012 by (8 Comments)
How many writing iPad writing apps are in the app store? Fifty-two, according to a crowd sourcing project initated by Brett Terpstra! Now thats quite a number, so how are you finding the one that is best for you?
One option would be to just use each of them for exactly one week, and after a year you could decide which was the best one. Or, a less expensive and time consuming way would be to have a look at the awesome iOS Text Editor roundup that Brett put together. [Read more…]
Bluetooth Manager: Another great tool that wasn’t around for very long [update: pulled]
May 2, 2012 by (1 Comment)
Do you remember Bluetooth On/Off academiPad wrote about two weeks ago? The app that lets you switch your BT status on the iPhone and iPad on or off with only one click, instead of digging three levels deep into the setting menu? Yeah, that app is gone. Apple pulled it finally, as everybody expected it due to its use of private APIs and the violation of Apple’s rule that no app shall switch off bluetooth. But you must not worry: Bluetooth On/Off still works, and there is already a new app out for those who missed it: Bluetooth Manager [Read more…]
academiPad has a brand new design
May 1, 2012 by (Leave a Comment)
academiPad got a brand new design which makes finding new ways of how to use your favorite gadgets in research teaching and learning much easier. The biggest changes you will notice right away are in the design of the homepage. But it’s more than just the layout that changed: academiPad also got a new menu structure and other improvements under the hood that will greatly enhance the reading experience. [Read more…]
Dropbox: Access your files from anywhere
April 25, 2012 by (3 Comments)
If you haven’t heart about Dropbox yet, today will change the way how you handle your data forever. Dropbox is a free service that lets you store your data in the cloud so you can access it from anywhere you have an internet connection using a web browser or its mobile apps for iPad, iPhone, Android, and Blackberry. [Read more…]
Why “iPad or laptop?” is the wrong question for knowledge workers
April 23, 2012 by (2 Comments)
Should you buy an iPad or laptop? Although iPads have become a frequent sight on university campuses, many are still unsure what role the iPad has in our professional lives: Will it replace conventional laptops? Or is it a toy for procrastination and media consumption? In my opinion, both sides of the argument got it totally wrong. For professor and students alike, the question is not about whether iPad or laptop will become the dominant tool, but how both can be integrated into a seamless workflow. [Read more…]
Content creation on the iPad
April 18, 2012 by (Leave a Comment)
Lifehacker recently published an article about the iPad as a creative tool. While their article mostly focuses on creatives in the areas of design, music, and film, it is worth reading it as it busts the myth that the iPad is for content consumption only. I also share the link here because it relates to an article for academiPad which discusses the role of the iPad as a creative tool for academics. Hint: The iPad is one of our tools for content creation, and it is all about integrating the iPad into our workflows.
The Lifehacker article gives a little glimpse on how the iPad can be used for content creation for academic-type creatives:
Shortcut to turn bluetooth on/off on iPad and iPhone [update: pulled]
April 17, 2012 by (8 Comments)
If you are using an external keyboard, a bluetooth loudspeaker, or any other BT device with your iPad or iPhone, you might be familiar with the routine of frequently switching bluetooth on and off (e.g., to preserve battery). Unfortunately, the settings for doing this are a little bit tucked away under “General Settings”, which makes the whole routine more complicated than it should be. If you think there should be an easier way, Bluetooth OnOff ($1, universal app, iTunes link) might be a good app for you. [Read more…]
Sente vs. Papers: What is the best PDF management system? (part 2)
April 16, 2012 by (25 Comments)
This article is the second part of the big showdown between Sente and Papers. With a price tag of around $100 for the complete package (Mac and iPad app) and a similar (but not identical!) set of features, the decision of what system is the best fit for your PDF management needs is not easy. And it is more than money that is at stake, as you will spend a considerable amount of time building your library once you have taken the plunge. [Read more…]
Magical screen cleaner? Don’t waste your money to clean iPad!
April 12, 2012 by (4 Comments)
Browsing through the Apple accessories aisle of some stores is sometimes like entering a strange, medieval-times bazaar: you can find everything from bare necessities to magical potions. Screen cleaner fall under the second category.
One of my most favorite, ridiculous “must-have” accessory you should not buy are screen cleaner solutions. For the bargain price of $20, iKlear (and many others) will sell you a cleaning kit that “contains everything you need to clean, protect, and preserve your iPad” and all your other Apple gadgets. [Read more…]
Pop for iOS: A new minimal word processor
April 12, 2012 by (Leave a Comment)
Patrick Rhone over at minimalmac is saying for years that less is more when it comes to apps. Needless to say that I think he is on to something with this, as I am a big fan of distraction free writing apps such as Byword, iA Writer, and OmmWriter.His newest venture is the development of Pop for iOS with Minimal Tools.
As you can read on their homepage, Minimal Tools are [Read more…]
Sente vs. Papers: What is the best PDF management system?
April 9, 2012 by (8 Comments)
Do you remember the first thing that crossed your mind when you first saw an iPad? In my case, I was thinking how great it would be to read and annotate PDFs on it!
Serious academic readers are wise to invest some time and money into a dedicated PDF management system for their read-cite-write workflow. With Mendeley and Bookends not supporting annotations on the iPad, there are only two contenders in the race for the best PDF management system: Sente and Papers. If you are on the fence between these two, you have to read this article. [Read more…]
The new iPad: Gorgeous Retina Display, but disturbing heat issue
March 25, 2012 by (8 Comments)
Boy was I excited about the new iPad! Judging from its specs, it seemed to me the best iPad yet for academics, and so I went ahead and ordered one. However, the heat issue cooled of my excitement considerably. The Retina Display and the new camera perform well, pretty much as expected. What I didn’t expect, and what nobody really saw coming until the first units arrived at people’s doorsteps, was that the new iPad runs considerably warmer than its predecessors.
At least for me, the heat is an issue, and this is why I am returning my new iPad. In the rest of this post, I am discussing the pros and cons of the new iPad in more detail. Hopefully this helps you to decide whether buying one now is worth it for you, or whether you want to sit this one out. [Read more…]
