"'The iPad weighs something like 700g and everyone knows how heavy a bag of school books can be,' Mr Finn said" (Top Marks for the iPad, 2011, p. 20). An iPad could hold thousands of textbooks, articles, encyclopedias and still weigh next to nothing. The battery in the iPad was nothing short of revolutionary. Most laptops will only run two to four hours between charges. This means that any classroom with laptops would have to provide expensive power stations. "The iPad can go for ten hours without a charge. That will ensure it can be used seamlessly in class" (Top Marks for the iPad, 2011, p. 20). Then there's the apps. The App Store has thousands of apps, many of which are perfect for the classroom. There are language translation, flash card apps, math, vocabulary, and spelling apps just to name a few. The only downside is the price. iPads start at $499. While that is still cheaper than most laptops, it adds up quickly when buying them for students.
Many schools have started pilot programs to test the iPad out in classrooms. Here is an example from YouTube.
Pros:
- Lightweight
- Nine hour battery
- Access to Kindle book store
- Thousands of apps
- Easily locked down for security
- Touch screen
- Large screen size
- Easy to install apps
Cons:
- Price
- No education discount
- Only certain apps on general one iPads will work with a projector
- Some apps are pricey
- No easy way to sync 25 iPads
- If dropped, can break easily
- So small, could easily be stolen
Unfortunately schools really don't have an alternative to the full featured iPad. However, in the last few weeks there have been some interesting events. When HP decided to discontinue the Touch Pad they dropped the price to $99. This created a huge demand. Within three days of the price drop, you couldn't find a Touch Pad anywhere. Another development in the last week was the new Kindle Fire. Which, priced at $199, is $300 less than the iPad and still has many of the same features. Most schools are under a budget crunch which makes it difficult to justify buying iPads. As a result many are still looking for a cheaper alternative to the iPad.
Top Marks for the iPad as It Replaces Textbooks in Mayo School. (2011, May 30). The Daily Mail (London, England), p. 20. Retrieved October 9, 2011, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5049123067
iPad. In Wikipedia. Retrieved October 9, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPad
YouTube (2011). School trades paper for iPads . Available from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUl1m8lVjdU
While I don't personally own an iPad, I do have an iPhone and have experienced the joys and benefits of the Apps. There are so many that can be used in classrooms, however most teachers aren't trained to actually use them. In the prekindergarten classroom I did student teaching in, my mentor popped out an iPad, still in original packaging after she noticed me using my phone for writing practice with the students. There are many seminars and webinars that can be provided for teachers so that when the school districts do spend that large amount of money, it can be put to good use.
ReplyDeleteApple also offers some bundling discounts when buying in bulk, as in a school district buying for multiple schools, but I was unable to find specifics when skimming through Apple's website (http://www.apple.com). The benefits of the iPad are endless and I definitely think we will be seeing them more and more in the classrooms.
As an Ipad user and as a teacher at a one-to-one campus I'd love to weigh in on this. I think for this to work best for the schools, the use of Ipad Learning Lab (carts) as seen on the Apple website (http://www.apple.com/education/labs/) are the way to go. The school will have more control and hopefully less student lose or damage to the equipment. They'll be charged and should be better managed. If students were taking the Ipad home, the chance of theft/loss is pretty high, as is the chance of the student primarily using it for entertainment out of class. Students wouldn't have to leave an Ipad somewhere while in PE, lunch, band, or other class where it won't be utilized. Since many textbook publishers have online versions, if the school give access or serve their books from within their own network, not buying physical textbook will greatly offset school investment in the Ipad carts. The use of a Kindle type device again, left in the classrooms, is a viable alternative too.
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