One of the reasons I wanted to start this blog is because I feel pretty strongly that the iPad is a game changer when it comes to schools and the experience of accessing information. Think about it. In the past most of us had to go to the library to access any kind of additional resources beyond our text books. And there were special classes set up to teach young people how to use the library and to access resource materials.
Today, with the iPad, a young person can have access to anything they need – at their finger tips!
Will the iPad replace text books?
I believe they will – unequivocally! The iPad and other tablet like devices will definitely replace text books.
Here’s an article about a school in Santa Cruz, CA where they have purchased 60 – 16gb iPads to replace history books (obviously they replace more than history books but that’s the experiment).
California School Introduces iPad into the Classroom
The article says the iPad is 1/3 the cost (which I don’t fully understand yet – since if that’s true there will be no reason this wouldn’t be happening everywhere!). The school also says,
“There are so many academic advantages. They provide new access to photos, videos, daily newspapers and resource material that enhance the curriculum”, he says.
The Sentinel reports how English teacher Marcus Schwager taught his students to look up the meaning and pronunciation of unfamiliar words in Shakespeare’s The Tempest on the iPad with just a tap, and Science teacher Cynthia Armstrong showed her class an interactive display of a cutaway view of the female body, zooming in when necessary. All of the teachers involved in the pilot scheme expressed their excitement and enthusiasm for the many benefits that the iPad has to offer as a teaching tool. The students were just as impressed, as you might expect, with 15-year-old sophomore student Alyssa Villanueva saying that in comparison to a text book, the iPad is “a little easier to use. You can really focus on where you’re studying.”
Here’s a youtube video by someone expressing the same sentiment. He believes the iPad will replace text books!
What do you think?
