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The thought just occurred to me that an iPad could come in handy for law school.

Note taking would be easy since it comes with a keyboard dock, but would it be possible to get law textbooks on the iPad? It would be nice to not have to carry all of those books and a heavy laptop around.

As for software compatibility, I could always use my laptop for test days.

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there are no e-casebooks

Digital casebooks don't exist yet. Oh, and the iPad doesn't multitask, so it wouldn't be very convenient for reading the cases and taking notes. (They should fix the multitasking thing with OS 4.0, coming later this year, but we'll see.)

vanwinkle wrote:Digital casebooks don't exist yet. Oh, and the iPad doesn't multitask, so it wouldn't be very convenient for reading the cases and taking notes. (They should fix the multitasking thing with OS 4.0, coming later this year, but we'll see.)

Well if you could get all the law school reading it would be awesome. And it won't be long until you can have a word document open along side an e-reader or web browser.

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Actually, there are e-casebooks (I don't like them) - However, I agree with presh on waiting for a bit

I guess the only way would be if you didn't have a lap-top. But then I would buy a lap-top over an iPad, I mean notebooks can do so much more.......

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I wouldn't even need it to be interactive, just available as a PDF or e-book format, to be useful on the iPad... but even that's not widely available yet.

I'm sure it will be in due time, but it'll take a while.

April Fools was Wednesday

I happen to know a professor at a law school who when teaching her first class, was appalled at how antiquated the processes were at not only her's, but most law schools. She observed students dragging huge textbooks all across campus and into class with them. Instead, she simply took her casebooks and textbooks, scanned them in, PDF'd them and then she had to bring nothing but her handy tablet PC to class. With just Adobe Acrobat Pro and MS Powerpoint, she would simply copy the pertinent sections of the PDF into a slide, annotate them and then show it to the class, post them online or if needed, print it for her reference later. She also recorded the audio of all of her classes with that same tablet PC and made them available to her students. She didn't understand why the paper-bound educational system was still in existence since it provides no added benefit (she commented on how when she asked to reference a specific aspect to a case, the students would have to recall from memory or thumb through to find the page, while she would just hit Ctrl+F and do a PDF search, inevitably beating them to it) and is more expensive (environmental cost of the paper, cost of PDF distribution vs textbook distribution).

Regardless, the point is, if you really want to, I'm sure you can make your law school experience more e-friendly. You just have to put in the effort to make it so. As an IT consultant myself, I am most definitely going to take full advantage of all the technology at my disposal to achieve maximum efficiency in note-taking and outline creation. While I personally have a Windows 7 tablet PC with MS OneNote, Powerpoint and Acrobat Pro and find it to be amazingly useful for note-taking, I am rather intrigued by the iPad. Mostly because of its long battery life, compact design and usable on-screen keyboard. But if you're like me, you want the ability to jot notes down in your own handwriting, and the iPad just isn't geared towards that -- yet. Devices like this - with more sure to arrive in the coming months - http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-19512_7-10443415-233.html may fill that gap. But in the meantime, I think I'll stick to my convertible tablet with a physical keyboard for everyday tasks and perhaps get an iPad for recreational use. Just my 2 cents.

krzyreeesh wrote:I happen to know a professor at a law school who when teaching her first class, was appalled at how antiquated the processes were at not only her's, but most law schools. She observed students dragging huge textbooks all across campus and into class with them. Instead, she simply took her casebooks and textbooks, scanned them in, PDF'd them and then she had to bring nothing but her handy tablet PC to class. With just Adobe Acrobat Pro and MS Powerpoint, she would simply copy the pertinent sections of the PDF into a slide, annotate them and then show it to the class, post them online or if needed, print it for her reference later.

I highly doubt this, as most law professors would understand this practice to be approaching illegal duplication and redistribution of copyrighted material.

Most schools will want you to have a machine that can run exam software. This means, most likely, running a Windows machine (or boot camp Mac).

The iPad is a neat gadget, but would I have one if I already had a lap top? No.

vanwinkle wrote:

krzyreeesh wrote:I happen to know a professor at a law school who when teaching her first class, was appalled at how antiquated the processes were at not only her's, but most law schools. She observed students dragging huge textbooks all across campus and into class with them. Instead, she simply took her casebooks and textbooks, scanned them in, PDF'd them and then she had to bring nothing but her handy tablet PC to class. With just Adobe Acrobat Pro and MS Powerpoint, she would simply copy the pertinent sections of the PDF into a slide, annotate them and then show it to the class, post them online or if needed, print it for her reference later.

I highly doubt this, as most law professors would understand this practice to be approaching illegal duplication and redistribution of copyrighted material.

I had plenty of professors in undergrad who did this (or something very similar).

No thanks. I want paper I can hold in my hands to read. I can't retain as well off a computer screen.

chitown825 wrote:April Fools was Wednesday

yeah but the iPad didn't come out until today

krzyreeesh wrote:I happen to know a professor at a law school who when teaching her first class, was appalled at how antiquated the processes were at not only her's, but most law schools. She observed students dragging huge textbooks all across campus and into class with them. Instead, she simply took her casebooks and textbooks, scanned them in, PDF'd them and then she had to bring nothing but her handy tablet PC to class. With just Adobe Acrobat Pro and MS Powerpoint, she would simply copy the pertinent sections of the PDF into a slide, annotate them and then show it to the class, post them online or if needed, print it for her reference later.

Thanks for posting that Krzyesesterwerg. Sounds like my kind of prof. I would probably make fun of anybody using an iPad in my class, but at the same time, I would secretly desire the convenience that comes with it. Here's to hoping that all of our 1L textbooks are available in digital format by the Fall!

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I just read about a university providing IPads and macbooks to its students next fall. but it's not a law school.

April 2, 2010

Next year's freshmen at Seton Hill University in the United States will be issued iPads and MacBooks in a mobile technology program.

The program is part of the university's Griffin Technology Advantage Program. The campus has also upgraded its wired network infrastructure to a wireless one under the plan.

The new networks support VoIP and have greatly improved security and management, according to the university.

The liberal-arts school of about 2,100 students will give every newcomer Apple's latest tablet computer to hit the market and also a 13-inch MacBook laptop. Current students will also the choice of opting into the laptop program, in which they can have their laptops replaced by the university after two years. Students are also allowed to take the laptops with them after they have graduated.

Of course, these students aren't in for free. They will be charged $500 more per semester or $1,000 for the entire year, though the university is said to be paying for the iPads.

"The iPad was chosen by Seton Hill because of its mobility and the ease with which faculty and students, in the future, will have immediate access to e-textbooks and comprehensive and integrated learning," according to Mary Ann Gawelek, provost and dean of the faculty at Seton Hill.

Other schools, such as Abilene Christian University in Texas, are also making big-time commitments to wireless Apple devices (iPod Touches and iPhones in its case) in the name of advancing education.

http://ibtimes.com.au/articles/20100402 ... cbooks.htm

for taking notes and general tom-foolery (surfing the net), netbook > ipad

I just think an Ipad specifically for law school seems very unnecessary. I guess if you already had one then sure, but I think a netbook would be better than an Ipad.

kalvano wrote:No thanks. I want paper I can hold in my hands to read. I can't retain as well off a computer screen.

+1

Just thought I would toss in my two cents as I am writing this on my iPad. It is a great device. I was a sceptic and thought I would not buy one. Then I pre-ordered one and found myself in the front of a line yesterday morning. It is much more than I expected and is so fast it is ridiculous. That being said it is not really for law school. Well, not a solo device. I will obviously have mine in law school but it will not be in the classroom as my note taking device.

Or my reading device for that matter. It is just nice to have as an extra piece of cutting edge technology.

Panther7 wrote:I had plenty of professors in undergrad who did this (or something very similar).

Not being law professors, I wouldn't expect them quite so much to appreciate the illegality of their actions.