iPad+Articles

Productivity, convergence and mobility highlight this article. The iPad tablet will engage the students in their curriculum through the use of a variety of educational apps. It will also provide more productivity than an e-reader will because of its ability to run multiple apps, not just textbooks. Finally, they will be able to be transported by the students to anywhere they need to go. The article also mentions price and availability as a positive, but this is something that I don’t see as unilateral benefit. Many school districts can purchase desktop computers for well under the price of an iPad. It also mentions that using tablets such as the iPad is a community experience. While true, teachers create community within their classrooms, schools and world without tablets already. Having students use iPad’s in groups may create another community, but it will not be the sole reason that there is a community within the classroom.

Reynolds, Rob. (2010, January 27). How will the iPad change education. Retrieved from []

 While excitement and optimism go hand-in-hand with new technology, there is also a level of indifference and uncertainty. Digital natives are hard to astonish since they are hardwired into the culture and have high expectation of new devices since their current ones are already performing efficiently for them. A level of uncertainty comes from not knowing how this technology will be used in the classroom, who can afford it, and if it will provide a viable alternative to what is already in place, or just a more expensive alternative. It reminds us to think about technology, what we have already and try to make the best budget choices for ourselves and our students. After all, schools have limited budgets and not every school district can afford SMART Boards in every classroom along with laptops and/or iPad’s for every teacher and student. Still, this all amounts to obstacles that we must overcome. Technology is here and we need to embrace it in order to become better teachers for our hardwired students.

McCrea, Bridget. (2010, January 27). Measuring the iPad’s potential for education. Retrieved from []

This article talks about the basics of the iPad in education and how some districts are willing to pay the money for them now in order to save more money later. Many districts are trying to cut down on paper products and the cost of textbooks. Districts are starting to see the potential on multiple fronts, from e-textbooks to apps that make art come alive by manipulating the colors of paintings, iPad’s are a new way to expand learning beyond the four walls of the classroom. Several districts are paying for the hardware through ‘Race for the Top’ federal grants which have proved to be very competitive. Not everyone is sold on iPad’s quite yet though. Arguing that these could just be the next fad, Larry Cuban from Stanford University, explains how money might be better put towards training and retaining teachers.

Hu, Winnie. (2011, January 4). Math that moves: schools embrace the iPad. The New York Times. Retrieved from []

Create, connect and collaborate. It’s easy to get lost in the flashy apps that come with new devices but this author explores how to use those flashy apps to capture his students attention and then to capitalize on it with solid teaching. He explores how iPad’s are not at their full potential yet (it should be noted that he wrote this 2010, but it seems that all technology can be improved upon) and his worries about purchasing a piece of technology that can soon be outdated. His greatest point is to remind us all that just because a classroom has an iPad, it doesn’t make it a 21st century classroom. Only the correct usage of the apps and a teacher to guide the students through them will make it a 21st century classroom. The iPad may make it easier to create, connect and collaborate - but the teacher combined with their students is what makes it really come alive.

Gonzalez, Alfonso. (2010, August 18). IPad’s promise and how to use it now. Retrieved from []

What strikes me most about this article is how quickly the large textbook company, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, moved to make a tablet version of their textbooks when the iPad came out. Their Algebra textbook costs $73 per book, while their online version is only $60. That is an immediate savings of $13 per student (which can be applied towards the cost of the iPad’s). What the accounting books won’t show you is that the online version also includes interactive and video tutorials as well as a graphing calculator to help students understand and master the content. This is a great way to blend the textbook content with the power of a tablet and have it be more advantageous to the district and students than simply saving money or weight in backpacks. This article also touches upon different policies about technology in the summer. Should we let our students keep their iPad’s over the summer, or should the district collect them at the end of the school year? It raises an interesting question of if that sends a message that learning is over during the summer or if it is protecting school district property.

Reitz, Stephanie. (2011, September 3). Many US schools adding iPad’s, trimming textbooks. Associated Press. Retrieved from []

Exploring the many benefits of the iPad from the hardware position is also necessary for educators. This article explores how different features of the iPad will help educators in their lessons, such as a long battery life even when on Wi-Fi or 3G to its ability to hook up to a projector. These are factors that usually cause us to curse technology, but the iPad is reliably avoiding these sources of headaches. A docking station can be added for ease of work when more typing needs to take place in Numbers or Pages and a built in camera eliminates the need for students to check our Flip or digital cameras. It’s nice to be reminded that the hardware is sometimes more important than the software, even if we are in awe of the software that runs the iPad so well.

 Harrison, Denise. (2010, October 13). Ushering iPad into the classroom. Retrieved from []

The University of Notre Dame ran a study originally designed to see how students would do when given an iPad for reading their course work. Students did enjoy reading on the iPad but found it difficult to highlight passages, something we may take for granted with our post-it notes. Students participating in the study also found themselves reading their leisure books on their iPad’s as well, further adding to the evidence that they became comfortable with it. Researchers also found out other things as well, such as students collaborating more with different file sharing sites like Dropbox and students reporting an increase in positive attitude towards learning. Still, college students cited the price and the lack of multiple screens open at once to be negatives. Overall though, 65% of those with the iPad’s in the study did not want to give them up at the end of the study.

Woyke, Elizabeth. (2011, January 21). Pros and cons of iPads in the classroom. Forbes. Retrieved from []