iPads in Education have come a long way since 2010. In the beginning, people started off with chalkboards, pencil, paper, and whiteboards. Now, technology is taking over education. There are many benefits from having iPads in the classroom but there are also many limitations as well; iPads in education have gained a lot of popularity in the last couple years.
Ipads in Education
By: Rahul Hassani
Background by The Columbian
Some positives to have an iPad in class are: there are over 65,000 educational apps on the App Store, which includes just about every type of subject, learning style, and grade level app out there. In the last 4 years, there have been over 8 million iPads sold to schools and educators in the United States alone. Another benefit of having iPads in education are that teachers can teach via AirPlay and can demonstrate a procedure once, record it, and then play it back on a larger screen for students to view and discuss. The utilization of iPads in class also stimulates the productivity of students and maximizes learning. They device is light, powerful, and the battery is also very sufficient and can last a good amount of time.
The good, the bad, the ugly, and behind the scenes of using iPads in the classroom
Some cons of having an iPad in school consist of cost, concentration and the the risk for behavioral disorders. Ipads are taking over education and are expected to be a 60 billion dollar industry. IPads require tons of bandwidth (data transfer rate) so again, that costs a lot of money. Children and teens being raised with technology all around causes them to struggle more with attention and focus. Also, they seem to suffer from an adolescent malaise that appears to be a direct byproduct of their digital immersion. Too much screen time correlates to increased ADHD, screen addiction, increased aggression, depression, anxiety and even psychosis. ADHD rates have shot up by 50 percent in the last ten years with the CDC indicating that rates continue to rise by five percent per year. Many neuroscientists and researchers believe that the ADHD epidemic is a direct result of children being hyper-stimulated (exposed to too much technology). Schools use hyper-stimulating digital content to “engage” distracted students which creates a vicious and addictive ADHD cycle: The more a child is stimulated, the more that child needs to keep getting stimulated in order to hold their attention.
Some of the many educational apps in the App Store.
Photo Courtesy of Michael Gorman
The positive and negative effects of having iPads in school can correspond with the fact that 75 percent of students agreed that the iPad enhanced their learning experience and 80 percent of students do better on exams by using iPads in their class. While some believe social networking to be counterproductive and a distraction, the fact of the matter is that it is a dominant form of communication with students today. It can be used for educational and entertainment purposes. A research study, conducted in Auburn, Maine showed that students in kindergarten, who were using iPads, scored much higher on literacy tests than students who were not.
Teachers can also benefit from using technology in the classroom due to the many online apps that make it easier for teachers to grade papers and upload it into the gradebook.
Starting iPad use early in life improves literacy rates.
Photo Courtesy of Derek Colesman
There are many mixed effects of iPads being allowed in day-to-day educational activities. Most people say that it has a positive influence on their life while others say that it can be very distracting as well as annoying at times. Some people prefer computers while others prefer paper and pencil; therefore, it’s only a matter of perspective.
55 percent of students say they wish their instructors used more simulations or educational games. Using the iPad the options are almost endless and are only limited to our imaginations. This is because they like to have fun while learning while some teachers prefer just textbooks and lectures. By using the touch screen capability, students who lack motor skills can actually watch their finger move and write directly on the screen, which greatly improves their fine motor skills. The iPad allows teachers to easily and creatively tailor their lesson plans for each student based on what that student needs. Students always have books to carry while they progress with their school career, so it seems that each year growing up students had more and more books to carry.
The use of online textbooks via the iPad can alleviate that burden and can also erase the large amounts of needed to print these books. Everything from handouts, tests, presentations and textbooks can now be delivered to you and you no longer have to replace old textbooks and digital updates make this cheaper, easier and faster. Teachers also don’t have to worry about damaged or lost books as well, all of this saving big bucks in the long run.
The negative effects of iPads in education include that there are no USB ports and one of the biggest criticisms of the iPad is it’s lack of ability to work with Adobe Flash and Javascript. A lot of content in schools and websites for kids are dominated by Flash. Although, some argue that the abundance of educational apps make up for it. As you can see, there are more positive than negative effects.
Adobe Flash are not supported by iPads
Photo Courtesy of Mark Arouj
The Charger, March 2017
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Online textbooks can really save paper and weight in school
Photo Courtesy of Isaiah Xavier