If anything else, 5GB is way more than dropbox’s 2GB.

Just point your Ipad to http://chalk.37signals.com/ and sketch away.  You can find an explanation by 37Signals here.   Adding it to your homescreen on your iPad also means that you will be able to use it without internet access!

The iPad Project – Talks about a 1:1 deployment of Ipads in a school

iPad for Education - A forum for discussing the use of Ipads in education

iPad Curriculum – A collection of the best in applications, practices, and deployment of the iPad as a learning device.

iPad in Education – A UK website with some interesting articles on the use of iPads

Off the cuff, 8 uses for the iPad:-

1. Quick surveys of students/employees (can use Wufoo and google forms)
2. Mindmapping (mindmeister comes to mind)
3. An awesome Chinese character learning tool (get the wrong sequencing of strokes and the character u are looking for will never appear!)
4. One-on-one presentation tool (for those moments at Starbucks where a netbook just doesn’t cut it)
5. Data collection out in the field. (Related to point 1 above)
6. Textbook replacement (ok, this is obvious)
7. Learn music instruments (smule comes to mind)
8. Quick sketch of ideas

Of course, with any new device, there’s always the possibility of using it in the classroom. So here’s a collection:

wired educator

ededco

geekdad

Usability – Notify’s interface is a lot more elegant and intuitive than Google Notifier. Account configuration is easy enough for both of them.

Functionality – Notify allows up to 4 accounts. The interface is tabbed, which makes it easy to switch to other accounts. Google Notifier does not have this functionality. Note: Gmail Notifier add-on for firefox has this ability for multiple accounts. Notify also allows you to change the interval it checks for updates. however, it doesn’t look like it has calendar alerts unlike Google Notifier. This could be a deal breaker.

Growl support – Notify has built-in growl integration. This could the deciding factor for some of you out there. Gmail notifier for mac does not have built-in growl support although you can add a plug-in.

Conclusion – Notify looks promising but still lacks some functionality. What will really make it soar will be adding support for other IMAP-capable mail, and calendar alerts. Ability to label messages right from the menubar, and accessing my https-enabled gmail in my browser with one click will be nice too.

Similarities

Automatic backup + versioning
cross-platform (mac, linux, wins). So no problems here.
Ability to share folders
Web Access

Differences

Ease-of-use – Dropbox is easier than Spideroak, simply because dropbox has less functionality and is less customizable. Spideroak has 5 tutorials, while dropbox only has one.

Syncing procedure – Dropbox requires you to drop the files you want to sync into one specified folder, which changes the structure of your files. Spideroak allows you to specify the files you want to sync through a normal window dialog. This really depends on the way you work. For me, i like dropbox’s method better because everytime i need to sync something, i will just click and drag the folder into dropbox’s folder, and it will sync. Spideroak requires you to fire up its dialog and check the folder you want to sync (although you could always specify a folder called “dropbox” or whatever you want to call it which is set to sync in spideroak and do the same thing).

Sync versus backup - Spideroak differentiates between sync-ing and backing up files. no difference to me though.

Zero-knowledge protocol – Spideroak uses Zero-knowledge protocol, which means that no one can access your data. more information can be found here. Dropbox does not have place much information on this on their website except the fact that its AES256. More information can be found here. Again, no difference in my opinion, as i wont trust the company anyway, and if i have something really really top secret, i would mount my own encrypted image, using Leopard’s disk utility or Truecrypt.

Pricing – Spideroak’s pricing is a lot less than Dropbox’s pricing.

Verdict

If you are just looking for some online backup of some documents that you have, or online syncing of some documents which you are currently working on, AND your files are less than 2GB, then you’ll be fine with either dropbox or spideroak, although for a gentler learning curve, dropbox is the one (although spideroak is really really easy to use as well).

If however you are looking for a complete solution, or your files are super duper kill-you-if-i-tell-you kind of secret, and your files are more than 2GB, then definitely you will have to go for spideroak, for its Zero Knowledge protocols and cheaper price.

The advantages are many -

1. Low barrier of entry for students – most already have an account, and they are familiar with its interface .
2. You can be sure that students are on it, in fact, it is difficult to get them off it.
3. Due to Facebook’s popularity, and Facebook Platform’s functionality, you can be ensured that it will always get updated to reflect new technology and educational developments.
4. With the opening of Facebook’s API, you can now develop for facebook, and customize apps for your own use.
5. Free.

As we discussed in another cloud computing post, Google Apps Education Edition and Microsoft Live@edu offers many compelling applications which satisfies most of the needs.

Apps to install

For Office work, all 3 major web office suites offers facebook integration. You can chose from Zoho Online Office Suite , ThinkFree Docs or Google Docs for Facebook. For a detailed comparison of the 3 web office offerings, jump here. Thomas provides a walkthrough for Zoho on his blog.

Workspaces by Huddle or DivShare for sharing documents and files and working on projects

Slideshare (Beta) for uploading presentations and slideshows. (Does not require registration)

Windows Live Messenger for private voice chat. (requires registration)

calendar from 30 Boxes is the critically acclaimed personal calendar that lets you get organized and easily share all or parts of your schedule. Includes easy sms reminders, integrated to do list, and simple integration with facebook. (requires registration)

Email for all your emailing needs. Links to your email account.

Video for sharing higher quality video and audio than most video-sharing sites. Plus, each video has per-video privacy so you can restrict who can see it. Videos can be tagged and commented on.

webinaria for making screencasts

Facebook Mobile allows you to use facebook on the go. Use Facebook Mobile to upload photos and notes from your camera phone straight to Facebook. You can also receive and reply to Facebook messages, pokes and Wall posts using text messages, or use your phone’s mobile browser at m.facebook.com.

For Teachers

Coursefeed or Courses 2.0 for use as a virtual classroom noticeboard.

Experiment

Started an experiment on it in 22 Dec 2008, will end in June. Check back for results!