How I Learned to Take a Chance, Play a Game, and Love a Machine

When I first found out that I was going to be receiving an iPad for this class, I was both excited and apprehensive. The technology nerd in me wanted to dive right in and dissect this machine, but at the same time, I was not sure how I would like using it. For the most part, my information consumption has always come from my laptop. It was a constant companion and my shoulders often became sore from carrying it around all day. To me, the soreness was worth it, since without my laptop, I was disconnected from the rest of the information world.

Then the day arrived. We received our iPads. I couldn’t help but think I was staring at a stranger. This thing did not look like my beloved laptop. I was not sure if I could adapt to this flat, keyboard-less, thing. Honestly, it didn’t leave my room for the first week. I didn’t even take it out of its case much. However, this soon changed.

One day as I was browsing the net (on my laptop), I saw an ad stating that the first part of the Back to the Future video game series was free on iPads for a limited time. Being a big fan of the movie series and hearing that the recently released games were good, I decided to check it out. I figured since I had an iPad, it was my chance to play it myself as I did not own the other consoles that the game was sold on. I quickly took out my iPad, found the game in the App Store, and then started to play the game once it finished downloading.

 Although my iPad doesn't allow me to go back in time, I can still have many adventures with it.

I sometimes joke that video games are my gateway drug to technology. I am often apprehensive about any sort of new technology until I find out that my favorite games can be supported on it. This certainly rang true with my iPad. After playing the game for a little bit I felt my reservations ease away. The iPad was fun. The iPad was not a stranger; it was only a friend wearing a different set of clothes.

Soon enough, I began using my iPad for practically everything. Although there were some compatibility issues (iPads cannot support PowerPoint editing for free and I still prefer using a keyboard to type), I slowly started depending on my iPad more and more. For example, I can be extremely disorganized with schedules. The myHomework app quickly became my savior. I use it to schedule and keep track of not only my classes but also any homework and lessons involved as well. I also went beyond its intended use and use it to keep track of social scheduling. Since everything is entered manually, I can easily type “Meet Mom at Home” instead of “Reading Homework for LNGN 245”.

My new best scheduling-friend. If I am early/on time to any meeting, it is because of this.

I think this versatility is what also makes me fall in love with this machine more and more. Apps have an intended use but as its users we can manipulate it in new and unexpected ways. Alas the technology nerd in me is at peace in this new world.