Friday 24th May 2013 - What are people doing on their iPads?

At one time if people were getting a little bored in a conference presentation they doodled on their note pads, whispered to their companions, or rifled through their papers for something more interesting to keep them occupied. I will confess that in some boring lectures when I was a student I wrote my weekly letter home.

My first encounter with mobile technology in a lecture or conference setting came in the very early days of mobile phones, when they were the size of a house brick.  It was at an 'international' conference in Italy ('international' although I was the only foreigner present).  As the afternoon turned into the early evening (many of the papers were too long, but the chairman held no one back to their allotted time) a man on the other side of the auditorium from me decided to make a call to his wife to explain that he would be late home.  That simple message led to a domestic dispute, which we could appropriately (since it is an Italian term) describe as molto crescendo during which the conference speaker gave up his address from the rostrum so we could all participate in the more engaging drama of the phone call - the audience member involved being completely oblivious to the fact that he had his own personal audience of 50 or so.

Mobile technology in lecture rooms, conference presentations or in training sessions is now ubiquitous.  And perhaps we have all learned how to use it more discreetly.  But when I am giving a presentation, as I was today, and everyone is busy with their iPads, I am never sure what is happening.  The room is quiet - probably quieter than in the days of the whispered conversations.  But what are colleagues actually doing on their iPads?  Are they taking down notes? Are they switching the microphone on to record some of the gems of the presentation?  Are they checking their e-mails?  Are they writing messages to others?  Are they checking ther diaries for their next engagement?  The speaker can't tell.  At least I've never yet had anyone plug in their earphones when I have started speaking, but that could yet happen. Will I be up against their favourite YouTube clip, or will the soundtrack from their favourite music accompany what I am saying?  Conference audiences today may outwardly appear to be more attentive than they were years ago, but the possible distractions are actually much greater.  That attentiveness may be deceptive.