Of course the iPad is also a worthy consumption device. Think of FlipBoard, Reeder, Safari, Guardian Eyewitness, The Elements, Solar Walk, and any other app that allows anyone to easily explore information, imagery and data on the web or embedded within the app.

The Dark Side

Yet, the iPad has a dark side.  Particularly for a teacher working with a class of students, each with their own iPad. Consider a teacher that simply wants to facilitate teaching and learning and does not wish to devote hours to dealing with an interface that can at times be clunky, inconsistent and simply involves too many steps to get it to work.

Which interface!? The conventional task of collecting, assessing and returning student works that were created on an iPad.

Imagine that the students have created an elegant report in Pages, a short movie in Avid Studio or a sketch in Art Rage. As a teacher you would like to assess the students’ output. Ideally the teacher would like to receive all of the students’ works in a setting that allows the teacher to verify all of the submissions in a single directory or folder and then to assess each item. In addition to that you require a facility that allows the students to submit their works in such a manner that one student cannot access the work of another. Some teachers are concerned that students may simply copy or mimic the work of others. Fair point.

Transferring files is not easily accomplished, if at all.

Why? The iPad’s proprietary iOS operating system does not possess a file system like the directory and file structure of Windows or the folder and file system found in the Finder of the Mac OS.

So, what are some of the stumbling blocks?

• One cannot upload a file to a LMS or CMS via a conventional browser upload.
• You cannot drag & drop files so as to save them to other computers, external hard drives or portable flash drives.
• You are not able to export files via a simple drag & drop or automatically sync to networked servers and non-Apple cloud based file storage systems such as DropBox.

This is due to the fact that each app on the iPad manages its own files independently of all the other apps. Files are saved with the app. They are not saved to a system wide directory or folder structure. Transferring files is challenging.

Educators and other iPad users have written about this dilemma. Check out these posts and consider the steps or variety of apps that some of the authors have set out in order to establish a workflow.

• History Tech: iPad favorites for improving student “workflow”
• The Mac Observer: File Sharing with an iPad: Ugh!
• Ben Schmidt: iPad Office Workflow
• Wandering Academic: Collecting, Annotating and Redistributing Student Work using an iPad, GoodReader, Dropbox (and optionally Jotform)
• Developing Education: Dropbox & DropDav as an iPad Filesystem…Finally!
• Brett Burney: How to Move Documents From Your Computer to Your iPad and Back Again (PDF)
• Tech Republic: How to share files using the iPad

This is madness. Some of the processes described in these posts are not workflows. They are obstacle courses. There is not an elegant solution to this dilemma. The iPad does not afford a consistent approach for the transfer of files from one device to any other device whether it be an iPad, PC, Mac or server.

Transferring files using an iPad

Let’s consider some methods for transferring files from an iPad to another device. This list is not exclusive. These solutions are designed for a single user of course. The iPad does not allow for multiple users and multiple accounts.

iTunes

You can transfer files via the File Sharing window within the Apps tab of this desktop application. One device at a time. That is impractical with a class of 30 or more students. The File sharing is not consistent. Some apps only allow single files, others allow you to drag folders. Some apps only allow you to transfer files created on the iPad.

File App

This app allows for file transfer and sharing across a wireless network. One device at a time. The teacher would need to connect to each iPad wirelessly. Locate the file and copy it to their own device. There are many other apps similar to this.

GoodReader

A good app no doubt. One of my favourites. Yet GoodReader has a strangely complex user interface. You can link GoodReader to a Drop Box account that is shared by the students and the teacher. Students can download and upload files to DropBox via GoodReader. That works well for PDFs that are annotated within Good Reader itself or images that have been saved to the Photos app and are then accessible within Good Reader. Limited possibilities. Complex to set up. Read this post to review the steps outlined by this educator.

GoodReader App

DropBox

One possibility is DropBox however it has limitations. After a DropBox account has been established folders can be shared with others.

One can access the same files on an iPad via the DropBox app on the iPad. The user can also access those files on the iPad using applications such as QuickOffice, GoodReader, MindNode, Photogene, WhiteBoard HD and OneEdit. A number of these apps also allow you to export to DropBox as well. GoodReader allows you to establish a two-way sync with DropBox. The problem is that although students can exchange files wirelessly with their teacher all the students have access to the works of the other students.

DropBox App

Email

Many apps allow you to email files to another person. Have you ever received 30 assignments from a class of students? How about 180 assignments from an entire cohort? Ridiculous. Sure, you could set up a smart mailbox that directs all of the incoming student emails to a particular folder within an email client. You could even create a shortcut to the attachments folder on your PC or Mac. This method requires discipline on the part of the students. Each submitted file needs to be logically titled so the teacher can easily identify the identity of the owner. In addition to this there are issues regarding file size limitations and the allowed server space for each email account. It is not an elegant solution.

Wireless file transfer

Some apps, such as GoodReader and MindNode, allow users to transfer files wirelessly. The app allows the user to set up the iPad as a wireless server. The IP address can be shared with others and users can drag and drop files between a computer and that app on the iPad. It is not a simple or elegant solution.

Third party desktop applications

There are a number of third party desktop applications that allow you to browse the apps and files on an iPad, iPhone or iPod.

These third party desktop applications include:

• Disk Aid
• PhoneView
• PhoneDisk

Each of these applications perform a similar function. They allow you to explore the apps and their contents. Your iPad can also perform like a thumb or flash drive. In addition to accessing the contents of apps on the iPad you can also access music files, podcasts, video, playlists, contacts, notes and images. You can transfer the contents from the iPad to a computer and vice versa via a simple drag and drop. You can drag and drop folders as well.

Disk Aid Application

These third party desktop applications are not perfect. Not their fault however. Dedicated Apple apps such as Pages and Keynote do not play well with these desktop solutions. They are useful solutions for an individual that wishes to gain greater access to their iPad yet the same issue applies… one device at a time. Not an entire class.

PhoneView Application

Transferring photos and images

There are numerous methods that one can apply to transfer images between the iPad, a computer and a digital camera. These include:

• iTunes syncing (Computer to iPad only)(Mac and Windows)
• Apple iPhoto (Mac OS)(iPad to computer only)
• Image Capture (Mac OS)(iPad to computer only)
• Import Image function in Pages (iPad to computer only)
• Import from Camera function in Preview (iPad to computer only)
• Apple Camera Connection Kit (Digital camera to iPad)(Expensive)
• App to server (Photogene and OneEdit, etc)(iPad to server)
• Bluetooth via Bluetooth Photoshare App (iPad to iPad)

You are required to ensure that the iPad is connected to the computer using the USB Dock Connector with all but the final two of those eight methods. Each method is different. Each require mastery of a varying set of skills. Most of them are designed for a single user simply transferring files. A teacher confident with information technology would probably find it an interesting challenge however a teacher who has been handed an iPad and told to teach will be frustrated and I do not blame them. You can explore these possibilities in detail in this document.

Apple Camera Connection Kit

In essence there is not a simple and seamless solution that teachers can tap into to easily collect and assess students works created on an iPad.

Are there possibilities?

A school could set up a dedicated WebDAV server such as that established by Redlands College in Queensland. Shared folders on a WebDAV server may enable students to easily share files with their teachers. Not all apps on the iPad, however, allow access to a WebDAV server. The shared folder would need to ensure that is permissions settings do not allow students to access the works of other students.

Private companies are providing possible solutions. eBackpack iPad Module is one example. It is not free of course.

Conclusion

One can only hope that the operating system on the iPad evolves and allows this neglected aspect of its design to simply improve. Sure, one can conduct research and be quite creative on an iPad. Yet, if you have a class of students all creating projects and media I would like to take this opportunity to wish you good luck when it is time to collect, assess and return the projects.

Please share your solutions and workflows via a comment.

In the meantime you can read this iPad File Sharing document which I recently put together. It outlines in more detail some of the ideas referred to above.

Some time back I wrote an article about my father, Frank, and I mentioned that there were gaps in my knowledge about the experiences of my father as a POW as his force were moved around southeast Asia and Japan during his incarceration from January 1942 through to September 1945. I have created a web site about my father’s war time experiences.

Then, one day I received a moving letter from Charles Edwards, one of my father’s friends in the 2/19th battalion, 8th Division, AIF. He was replying to the article I had written. Charlie had been with my father for almost every single day of their imprisonment. I had mentioned Charlie in my article. Charlie’s letter included detailed maps and photographs. I shall publish those in the near future. This is Charlie’s letter…

Dear John,

Thank you for making reference to my story in the “Grim Glory” and conditions in Pudu Gaol. Yes, I am the same Charles Edwards and I can tell you a little about your father NX 43393 Frank X. Larkin.

Frank Larkin, newly recruited soldier in the AIF

I guess you are aware of the circumstances of the Battle of Muar. On the 16th December 1941, the 2/19th Battalion was shifted from Jemaluang [in Malaya] where it was reserve battalion guarding an expected landing on the beaches at Mersing, to assist the 2/29 battalion who were being hard pressed by the Japanese just south of Muar on the west coast.

The Japanese, on their thrust towards Singapore, had been ambushed with heavy casualties on a bridge at Gemas, by the 2/30th battalion under Colonel “Blackjack” Galleghan. They abandoned this thrust, and being masters of the encircling movement, turned south and crossed the Muar River at Muar, and continued their thrust along the south road.

Here they met the 2/29th battalion, and inflicting heavy casualties on them the 2/19th battalion were shifted overnight to assist them. The Japs who with superiority in the air, and with tanks, we had neither, gradually pushed us about 16 miles to a kampong Parit Sulong on the banks of the Sungei Simpang Kiri where on the 21st January 1942 we found ourselves surrounded, again the Japs had encircled around and held the bridge.

H.Q. was on the east side of the road, and I was among ten men who were sent to fill a gap of a hundred yards in the perimeter defences. The following morning, the 22nd January, we came under heavy machine gun fire from a Jap tank. Of a group of about 30 men there were just eleven left alive.

It was then that we sent a man over to the east side to H.Q. and found it deserted. They had made their get-away in the night crossing the river. It was here that Frank would have assisted others to ford the river Simpang Kiri… Now I believe with a name change to Sungei Lenik.

It would have been after this that he was taken prisoner. I was taken prisoner on the 22nd January 1942 and three days later entered Pudu Gaol. I recall that over the next fortnight small groups drifted into the gaol. Frank, as I recall, came in with Captain Reg Newton and Sergeant Sam Cameron, “D” Company, Quarter Master Sergeant. They were all in a very distressed state about the end of the first week in February 1942.

About the middle of March, well after the Fall of Singapore, we were moved, the Australians first into the gaol proper, from the very crowded and insanitary area of the Womens’ prison. Here the boredom of a P.O.W.’s life went on, and most of the men stricken with diaorrhoea or dysentery as well as malaria, and all on very tiny rations.

After a while the men started to succumb to three other diseases and all were diet deficiency diseases. Beri-beri, extreme tinea, and “happy feet”. With beri-beri the ankles, testicles and face all swell up like footballs. I recall on my way back from the tong a fellow said “good day Charlie”. I looked at him and all I could see was three slits, his two eyes and mouth, even his nose had disappeared. He was unrecognisable.

Tinea started at the scrotum and continued in about a four inch strip down to the knees on the inside of the legs. The itch was unbearable, and if you scratched it, it only became worse. The only remedy we had was coconut oil, and when we applied this we could hardly stand it. “Happy Feet” was like having pins and needles in the feet only about ten thousand times worse than ordinary. Frank would have suffered at least two of these diseases.

Days ran into weeks and weeks into months. It must have been into May when we had a change of administration to a Naval camp Commandant who was much more lenient. We all said he have been round the world a little bit more and learnt to be a bit more compassionate. He introduced a canteen where we we were allowed to buy peanuts, bananas, and other fruit and tobacco. With these extra nutrients these diseases disappeared.

So life in Pudu went interminably on until about the first weeks in September, when rumours began to fly that we would be moving. So, on the 30th September, 1942, the Australians were moved by train to Singapore.

On our arrival in Changi it was almost like coming home. Everyone was well dressed and looking fit. In Pudu the Japs had given us nothing, we were in rags, some of the men were still eating out of hub caps and coconut shells.

And, yes Frank was absolutely correct in saying we were only in Changi three to four weeks when we were shifted to a camp in Havelock Road. As near as I can make out it would have been somewhere I have indicated with a small red dot. Then we were only there about a month when we were shifted across a path over a boggy area to River Valley Road camp. About where the large red dot is on the map. Here we remained until about the end of February 1943, when we were shifted back to Changi.

Here we got ready to go to Thailand, and again Frank is correct in saying we only had a short time in Changi, both times totalling only about six weeks.

From here we were prepared to go to Thailand, a train load of about 3500 men who were to become known as “D” Force. After a horror trip of five days in which we were crammed 30 men to a rice truck, and about 20 sacks of rice, which were to be our rations, we arrived in Bam Pong where we were broken up into butais ~ the Japanese name for battalions ~ and then designated alphabetically, and we were called “U” Battalion, or “U” Butai. A name which instantly became “You Beauties”.

John, I’ll leave out the horrors of life on the Thai-Burma railway, but if you need to know about it you could let me know, but it would be much the same as described in the “Grim Glory“.

After 455 days the railway was finished and those of Reg Newton’s “U” battalion who were still in good nick were called the “good looking boys” by the Japs and were sent again by train back to Singapore, where we were marched again to River Valley Road camp. After a few days there we were again marched to the Empire Dock and on 1st July 1944 boarded the “Byoki Maru” and on the 4th July set sail and after a 70 day voyage arrived in Moji, Japan (now known as Kita Kyushu) and then by coal barge to Ohama.

My father, Frank Larkin, photographed a day or so after he arrived in Ohama POW Camp, Japan

On arrival there were about 200 British men in the camp, and Reg Newton’s policy of whatever proportion of Australians were in the camp he insisted on the Australians have that proportion of the good jobs such as cooks etc. The camp had a small bakery so I became the camp baker with the already existing British man, but Frank was like most of the other men and became a miner. The coal was about two kilometres out under the seas, so being a miner was an unenviable job.

About six weeks before Christmas 1944 the Camp Commandant Shosa (Lieutenant) Kushimoto brought in two large pigs which were to be our Christmas treat. I don’t know by which process but Frank was made “buta otoko” or pig man. I was “pan otoko” or bread man. Frank’s job was to look after and feed these pigs. This was a weclome respite for Frank, from the drudgery of working down the mine every day. He had freedom to go and cut grass or anything that looked like feed for pigs.

Then he was told about Okita San, a lady who ran a hostel, located at the other end of the village about 800 metres away, for Koreans working in the mine (in Japanese San is Mr, Mrs or Miss).

There were three guard commanders, Nagashme San, Nagatomi San, and Kotakihara San, all were ex-service men with battle disabilities, and we had nicknames for two of them, Nagatomi walked with a limp so we named him “Hopalong” after the American movie hero Hopalong Cassidy. Kotakihara San wore a heavy leather wrist band, so he was “Leather Wrist”.

Okita San always had a bit of left overs from her tenants, and Frank went and picked up what I called pig swill, and carried it home for the two pigs in two wooden tubs with a bamboo pole across his shoulders like the Chinese. One day he asked me whether I would like to help him. I think the tubs were almost as heavy as the contents. So I readily agreed as I didn’t get out of camp much, but always under guard.

It so happened that Leather Wrist (Kotakihara San) was engaged to the daughter of Okita San. She was also known as Okita San (Miss San). As a result Leather Wrist was always our guard. As soon as we appeared in Okita’s kitchen Leather Wrist would disappear upstairs with young Okita. The first thing I noticed in the kitchen was a row of potatoes above the window. Frank said to me to make no comment about the potatoes, not to even see them. When it came time to go Leather Wrist would appear and while he was saying goodbye to his fiancee Okita would turn her back and throw the potatoes into the pig swill. Frank and I would now carry the buckets between the two of us making Frank’s jobs so much easier. When we arrived back at the camp Frank would smuggle the potatoes to me and I would bake them in their jackets in the oven. For a few weeks we had that little extra to eat. Christmas came and the pigs were slaughtered by Dick Fair who was a butcher. So ended our little outing to Okita San’s. Frank went reluctantly back to the mine after Christmas.

The picture* that you have had published was taken by a Japanese photographer after the surrender out to make a few yen for himself.

*This photograph was taken on or about August 21st, 1945. Charlie is in the second row, my father in front.

The area to the top right of the photograph shows the boundary fence. It was made of bamboo, with sharpened criss-cross bamboo along the top, live wires running between the criss-crosses. Also a strip one metre wide running the entire inner boundary with nothing in it. This was out-of-bounds, and if you ventured on to it this was regarded as an attempted escape and you would be fired on.

After the war Frank and I had a day out in Sydney, ending the day at his sister’s house who was married to a Jewish man. We stayed the night, having to share the same bed. After all we had slept much closer than this during our days as POWs. After this we both went our separate ways, and through the years I observed that Frank was a very generous donater to the 2/19th battalion magazine.

It must have been sometime in the 1970s my wife and I were traveling through Wollongong when we stopped for petrol. I asked the attendant if he could tell me where Frank Larkin had his business. He walked a few steps until it came into view and there up on the hill F.X. Larkin Pty. Ltd. in two metre high letters. When I walked into his office I noticed an array of his children all in their academic gowns, and I have no doubt you would have been there among them.

Frank told me that all the time he had been in business, I was the only 2/19th chap who had come to see him, even though he had so generously advertised in the 2/19th battalion magazine.

After this we exchanged Christmas cards for a number of years, right up until he had a stroke.

So John, thank you for taking me for a brief trip down memory lane of the events of your father, generous to a degree and upholder of his Christian faith, but to me a very good old mate, who I always called simply “F.X.” and he in turn called me “C.E.”

And I couldn’t agree more with him about his remarks about “Roaring Reg” Newton. My comments are “the greatest officer that ever pulled boots on”.

I hope that I have filled in a few gaps in your father’s POW life.

Yours very very sincerely,

Charles Edwards

Have been to Shih-Lin to visit Shao Ping’s family. The view from their apartment is amazing. The mountains that surround Taipei are much more impressive than the rather undulating escarpment that borders the Illawarra. In fact Taipei and Taiwan are characterised by rugged peaks.

I know the town well and getting around is a breeze with the excellent MRT and public bus system. The town is always busy. It is a mix of the old and the new. Like many cities across the world there are always idiosyncrasies that fascinate the visitor.

I am always intrigued by the ad-hoc addition of apartments on the top floors of existing buildings as well as other seemingly chaotic architectural modifications. More images below.

I visited the National Palace Museum in Shih Lin, Taipei, just the other day. I have been to the museum several times over the previous 15 years however this visit was different. The museum was packed with countless tour groups and the museum was also adorned with numerous signs imploring visitors to be quiet. The signs had not been evident during previous visits.

The tour groups kept arriving in waves, one after another. The museum shop was also awash with members of the tour groups.

In addition to the plethora of new signs instructing visitors to be quiet there were also museum volunteers walking around the museum with polite signs asking visitors to be quiet.

The museum is such an impressive institution however it was nigh on impossible to listen to the recorded commentary on the listening devices with all the loud talking and yelling being made by members of the organised tour groups. When members of the tour groups were politely asked to be quiet by the volunteers they would sometimes be rude to the volunteers.

The members of the tour groups occupied all the seats designed for resting by the elderly. They also crowded the displays, pushed others along and generally ignored all the signage regarding the maintenance  of silence and dignity.

The impact of similar tour groups in other venues across Taipei, including the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, is just as noticeable.

It is a pity. These places used to be characterised with dignity yet no longer.

Not too long ago Taiwan opened its doors to tour groups from the PRC.

You could write a reflection regarding a photograph, share some kampong stories, sketch a scene from your past, or even write some poetry. It is up to you how you share your memories of Singapore.

I have collated a number of online sites to assist you with your project.

Yesterday.sg

This web site is rich in memories of Singapore. Over the years many contributors have shared stories, photographs and relics from Singapore’s past. Explore the Categories of Hot Topics located in the sidebar on the right to help you in your search of useful resources. You may also like to explore the galleries of Yesterday.sg.

Picture Archives Singapore ~ PICAS ~ Windows to our Past History

This database hosted by the National Archives of Singapore contains a rich selection of images and photographs for you to explore. As the web site indicates there are two modes of search available. ‘Simple Query’ for a general search, and ‘Specific Query’ for a more precise search.

The National Archives of Singapore

As they indicate on their site, “The National Archives of Singapore (NAS) houses the collective memory of our nation. This memory allows current and future generations of Singaporeans to understand our different cultures, explore our common heritage and appreciate who we are and how we became a nation.” You can explore Archives Online and the eCards.

National Heritage Board

The NHB has a number of online exhibitions and links to other sites that you may like to explore for ideas and supporting material for today’s project.

Discover Singapore Heritage Trails

This site contains valuable information regarding historical sites from across Singapore. Review the information for the NHB Marked Trails, the Public Trails and Historic Sites for text based data that can be used to support your project. The site includes useful descriptions of each point on the particular trail.

SGCool: Singapore Collections Online

You can use the search engine of SGCool to search the collections of six of Singapore’s museums.

myStory.sg

You might like to explore MyStory.sg for inspiration, images and ideas for your project. Explore the stories, photographs and the video gallery.

www.sg ~ Singapore at a glance ~ Our History

This site provides an overview of Singapore’s history. It is text based in the main yet the articles also include some photographs.

HDB Info Web ~ HDB Towns, Your Home

The HDB site has information relating to the history of the HDB and facts about the HDB Towns.