No one has been a stronger or louder advocate of the iPad than me. It’s a revolutionary tool that causes us to rethink what a computer should look like. It’s not an overgrown phone–what an uneducated stereotype that moniker has become!

The iPad is a computer on which documents can be produced, photos can be edited, spreadsheets can be created, presentation material can be produced and books can be written, read, annotated and cherished. It is the perfect travel companion, providing maps, podcasts, historical information and other pertinent information to make travel smooth as silk.

In the classroom, the iPad allows teachers to move around the room with the world in her hands, allowing for digital writing conferences, sharing of personal assessment information, and engaging the troops with relevant tie-ins germane to content being studied.

However, the drawback of the iPad (at this point in time) is getting information off of the iPad and into print. Though there are ways to do this at home, or in a small closed network, in my current job I have to print observations of lessons taught by student teachers in a number of different schools. To access (often) closed networks containing a variety of printers is nearly an impossible task. Yes, I could email the notes to the preservice teachers observed, but in many schools they are not able to access “outside” email servers, much less print a document. The next generation iPad will likely contain a USB port through which one can take information from the iPad and transfer it to a computer. Or, the print capacity will be far more wide-ranging and include a native ability to interact with hundreds of print drivers. But for now, I took the plunge and bought a MacBook Air, also known as AirNana.

After only four weeks of lugging my MacBookPro (MacNana) this semester, along with other teaching materials, my shoulder is begging for mercy. Rather than wait for the next generation iPad and undergo certain pain and torture from extensive Physical Therapy, I caved. The 11 inch MacBookAir weighs just over two pounds, as compared to the MacNana at 5.6. I know that doesn’t sound like a great deal of difference in weight, but even with a lightweight and stylish Vera Bradley bag, those three pounds are quite noticeable.

AirNana has two USB ports which allow me to use a thumb drive to transfer my observation notes to a computer in the library of any school and print the notes on the spot for a post-observation conference.

Would I take AirNana on a trip? Probably not. The battery life is not as good as that of the iPad, and though VERY light, it weighs about twice as much as my iPad. My eBook library is on my iPad and I don’t care to move everything over to a new machine at this point in time.

However, AirNana is a good machine for me to use here and now to get information from point A to point B on restricted networks with minimal hassle. It may be obsolete in two years, but isn’t that the game we play with emerging technologies?