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() Need portable local storage? Apple thinks you don't. Yes, DropBox and iCloud can provide workarounds for many folks. But if it's important to have access to many large files even if you don't have access to wifi, don't count on an iPad. And the "walled garden" design of iOS may give you fits if you change a file in more than one application and find you have two unsynchronized files.
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Dropbox allows you to favourite files so they are saved on the device for off line viewing

A Bluetooth keyboard works great.

But I'm talking from iPhone 4s. Was just browsing for Xmas present and wanted to add some info.
 
I've been doing a lot of research on this because I am starting my BSN program in 2 weeks. I purchased a MBA for note taking/word processing and recording lectures. I plan to load all of my notes and quicktime vids of lectures onto my iPad so I can carry my iPad with me to studying during my "free" time where ever I may be.
The only advantage the iPad offers is as a supplemental study tool. You can make flashcards, purchase ebooks to read/study, flip through PDF's for studying. Ebooks for class aren't quite there for the iPad.

My only worry is having to pick up an iPod touch for drug reference guides for use during clinicals. :)
 
you might want to check the reviews before diving in. i recommend considering evernote instead, because it is much better suited for people who use multiple devices (all of us?).

I purchased a MBA for note taking/word processing and recording lectures.
the ipad does all three, and it works especially well with the external keyboard.

Ebooks for class aren't quite there for the iPad.
and they probably won't be for a while, but you can digitize them quite easily yourself.

My only worry is having to pick up an iPod touch for drug reference guides for use during clinicals. :)
i typically use an ipad to display research materials, pair a bluetooth keyboard with the ipod, and take notes there.
 
[E-books for all textbooks] probably won't be for a while, but you can digitize them quite easily yourself.

Has this been discussed in detail elsewhere? I'd be interested in the details.

Are you digitizing pages 1-1? Are you performing OCR and re-rendering on the text? What do you do with graphics? What happens to text embedded in the graphics? Is your digitized book in color? Can you point to any published examples?

Senator, you're quite talented as an early adapter. I think it would be cool if everybody could digitize their own books, but I'd like to hear more.
 
Has this been discussed in detail elsewhere? I'd be interested in the details.

Are you digitizing pages 1-1? Are you performing OCR and re-rendering on the text? What do you do with graphics? What happens to text embedded in the graphics? Is your digitized book in color? Can you point to any published examples?

Senator, you're quite talented as an early adapter. I think it would be cool if everybody could digitize their own books, but I'd like to hear more.

i'm not really an early adopter. i'm actually a bit behind on all of this paperless stuff. but, i've come a long way, especially after getting the ipad!

here is a thread i started a while back on digitizing materials.
https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/13048364/
 
I'm not in nursing school but i am in medical school so I guess it's similar enough for me to throw in some thoughts :)

I actually bought an iPad 2 for med school use. We cover so much material that whenever I print my powerpoints, handouts, etc that I have quite a sizable pile of papers. It's a pain to carry all my notes and such around and I thought by using the iPad, I can have digital copies of everything and not have to worry about carrying around hundreds of sheets of paper with me to study.

Unfortunately, after using the iPad for some time, I found that it wasn't quite as useful as I had envisioned it. Here's why:

1. Note-taking is difficult.
First, don't even think about using the onscreen keyboard; it's inefficient and hard to use. Yes, you can buy a keyboard...but what makes that different from a laptop then?

I also tried the handwriting route. I used the iAnnotate app to convert my lecture's PowerPoints into PDF and then transferred it to iPad (a bit of a pain...on a laptop, i can just download and begin work). To write, it's more efficient to use a stylus (not a finger). I tried a bunch, ranging from cheap styluses to a $50 stylus... but they all did not give me the accuracy and detail that I needed and wanted for notetaking.

So back to printing and pen and paper for me.

2. Printing
My school has printing services available...provided you use a laptop. If i need to print something at school, I need to have my computer with me, not an iPad.

3. My school also records lectures and has them available for download so we can go over the lecture at a later time. As far as i know, there's no app that allowed me to speed up the video speed (as opposed to Quicktime or even Windows Media Player).

4. Multitasking.
It's just more efficient to multitask on a laptop than an iPad. I can watch my lecture video while typing away notes on my laptop. Can't do that on an iPad.

5. Clinical Use
I haven't used my iPad clinically. Putting aside HIPAA and patient privacy... I could possibly see some uses but I think in general, it'd be more of a pain to carry around. An iPad is big and I'm sure a nurse will have many things on her hands to take care off; I don't think it's wise to continually keep setting down your iPad in various places to take care of your work. A smartphone on the other hand, will do most of what an iPad can do clinically, and can go straight into you pockets.

6. Textbooks
To be fair, I'll say I do prefer my iPad for reading PDFs and medical papers. However, when it comes to textbooks, I like having a physical copy. I tried some eBooks but found it's easier to highlight and/or write notes down in the margins. Plus many books I use don't have an easily available eBook. Yes, there are some on the more shadier parts of the Internet...but they tend to be old editions too. For medicine, where things like biological mechanisms or drug lists continually change, having the most up-to-date book is generally more useful.

And digitizing a textbook? I don't think nursing students will have the time for that. And if you ever decide to sell textbooks... well you cant do that with an eBook.

So just from my experiences, I'd say it's a good thought but it's still not a very useful tool yet. You're better off getting a laptop. Speaking of which, some programs require their students to buy and use laptops provided from the school... might want to check as that would marginalize the iPad's usefulness to your wife even more.

Just my two cents.
 
Get yourself an older, used iPod Touch for micromedx type apps, and save the rest of your money for coffee. After watching my girlfriend get a BSN in nursing at one of the top schools in the nation, I can 100% say that an iPad would be useless for everything she has to do.
 
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