A few days after completing our last class for the term, I had to take my Mac into the Apple store to replace a hard drive. During those few days where I did not have my main computer, I still had a Mac Notebook Pro laptop, an iPad, and iPhone. We also have a Dell PC at home. But for some strange reason I did not feel as comfortable as I do now that the Mac is back. This caused me to reflect on how and why Apple is so successful with drawing people towards their product, and then cultivating this loyalty that is very apparent when you visit an Apple store or talk to Mac owners. All along they have used the personal computer and tried to personalize the experience of technology with all of their products. If we as educators and leaders could do the same with students, I believe students would teach themselves much in the same way Mac users experiment and learn new things on their own with their devices (i know I am much more willing to experiment with different forms of media and technology due to my Apple products). I see the iPad as the next step in this development, as Apps allow us to "go look" in ways that computers haven't allowed us to in the past.
Our past course has also allowed a different perspective with access of technology. This week I created emails accounts for both of my boys, who are in first and second grade respectively. My second graders has been asked to blog, and turns his homework in through Dropbox. They now check their emails to see if I have written them (I send them little notes every day), and this course allowed me more comfort in both the access of technology and the comfort of using it (I created their accounts in gmail due to my nee level of comfort with Google products). I feel like Google and Apple are on the same page with a lot of what they are doing to personalize the computing experience.
I will look to better personalize education in hopes of develop life-long learners much in the same way Apple and Google are developing life-long customers. I know there is a lot out there for everybody....
