iPads began creeping their way into highschools upon their release in April of 2010, but by the start of the 2011 school year, the iPad has exploded into school districts across the nation. Whether it be by state aid or private donation, districts are doing everything they can to ensure their children get a crack at enhancing their learning experience with the use of iPads in the classroom.
According to USA Today, schools in the Zeeland Public School District in Michigan have embarked on an ambitious project this fall which has given an iPad to each student in grades 3-12. Administrators were quoted saying, "They think technology now — live, breathe and eat it, We're coming to their world, instead of them coming to ours". They also said that the iPad would be a game changer in education. I think their approach is smart. They're basically trying to use technology and the things that usually distract children, ie. iPads, iPods, etc., to better the learning experience in the classroom. What they're doing is showing kids how to use new technology to help them grow, learn, and become more educated while making the classroom learning experience more fun, interactive and techy, which is what most kids world revolve around these days.
An article posted by the New York Times reported on Roslyn Highschool on Long Island which is another district that is using iPads in the classroom. They have handed out 47 iPads to their students and they hope to hand out another 1,1oo to the rest of their student body by the end of the year. One of the ways that Roslyn Highschool is putting the iPad to use is by having their students submit their papers and projects on-line using their iPad to create online portfolios that each student will build as they progress through school. Larry Reiff, an English teacher at Roslyn who now posts all his course materials online said, “It allows us to extend the classroom beyond these four walls". He also said,"If there isn’t an app that does something I need, there will be sooner or later,”. He said he now used an application that includes all of Shakespeare’s plays.
The list of school riding the iPad train doesn't stop at Rosly Higlschool. The New York Times says that New York City public schools have ordered more than 2,000 iPads, for $1.3 million. More than 200 Chicago public schools applied for 23 district-financed iPad grants totaling $450,000. The Virginia Department of Education is overseeing a $150,000 iPad initiative that has replaced history and Advanced Placement biology textbooks at 11 schools. And six middle schools in four California cities (San Francisco, Long Beach, Fresno and Riverside) are teaching the first iPad-only algebra course, developed by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Even kindergartners are getting their hands on iPads. Pinnacle Peak School in Scottsdale, Ariz., converted an empty classroom into a lab with 36 iPads — named the iMaginarium — that has become the centerpiece of the school because, as the principal put it, “of all the devices out there, the iPad has the most star power with kids.”
The list of schools using iPads goes on and on, and althought there are many advantages to iPads, there are some major concerns. Larry Cuban, a professor emeritus of education at Stanford University said “There is very little evidence that kids learn more, faster or better by using these machines”. “IPads are marvelous tools to engage kids, but then the novelty wears off and you get into hard-core issues of teaching and learning.” He believes that the money would be better spent to recruit, train and retain teachers.
Anthor issue, which might be the most important one to think about is, will the introduction of the iPad into school classrooms further expand the digital divide amongst students in different school districts.