iPads in classrooms
I’ve done some thinking before writing about this article, but sometimes it can be useful to point dumb things out too.
Gizmodo rants against iPad adoption in the classrooms in one of the most incoherent and un-documented way. Maybe I say that because I believe the opposite: iPads are at least as good as any other computer to be used in a teaching class.
The news originally appeared in Fast Company then in Time, but their tone of voice is settled and mild; they concentrated on the “mandatory” side of the school decision. Gizmodo thought they need to take attitude, so they fired a small editorial.
The story reads Webb (a school in Tennessee) decided all its students from 4th to 12th grade to use an iPad, be it owned or rented for 200$ / year. The decision is sustained by the idea iPads are much better than books in terms of capabilities and weight.
Gizmodo says iPads do not fit educational purposes for the following reasons:
iPad is a first-generation device, with first-generation problems and limitations
What are these educational blocking limitations and how do they compare to physical books limitations? Lack of a NFC chip? Lower-than-the-iPhone’s resolution? Half compatible AirPlay applications? Lack of camera? Three fingers swipe? None of these can be considered a “first generation limitation” in education.
On the other hand, Apple got rid of these “first generation specific faults” starting with iPhone 3GS. iPad is, generally speaking, fault free.
It’s too expensive
I say 200$ / year, paid in monthly installments, makes the iPad a very cheap book. Look.
There’s not enough education-focused content
Like school digitized courses and books, Gutenberg, open forums, digital workbooks? Really?! (actually, what the author considers to be “educational content” is Amazon’s educational content exclusively)
It’s distracting
I guess a computer isn’t, just because people don’t get excited anymore when in front of one?
Not all textbooks are available on iBooks or Kindle
How about in .PDF, .rtf, .doc, .txt? For a student to use a laptop is it mandatory his / her books to be available on Kindle?!
Staring at that LCD screen all day? Uncomfortable at best
I guess that’s the reason children don’t all use individual computers at school…
Tablets are inherently gadgets you consume things with, not produce
This phrase has become a mark of incompetence and narrow-mindedness long before this article was written. I heard some people still think Earth is flat.
You’re not going to write a term paper on your iPad
Wanna bet?!
Forcing the iPad into the hands of students—and making their parents buy or lease them—will be a disservice.
What’s the difference between forcing an electronic device as content carrier and forcing a paper content carrier? How old are you, Brian, anyway?! Does “Logic” ring any bell to you?
The quicker the kids get used to tablets and especially to iPads, the quicker the educational apps and digital projects will take off. Keeping them away from the “new age diabolic machines” is the main believe that we have to fight. Gizmodo here doesn’t actually argues against iPad’s usability and proficiency in education, nor does it argues against imposing a device to the children. Gizmodo is witch-hunting; there is no other possible explanation this article is so poorly argumented.
