I just came upon a conversation that’s been taking place for more than a month now on a bulletin board about whether or not it makes sense to buy iPads for two high school students and a middle school student.
It’s interesting the various types of responses people are giving. Numerous people are giving parenting advice – and NOT answering the question about the utility or usefulness of the device in school. And opinions are mixed – however those that are answering the question seem to feel the young people would love it and it would be something very useful for them.
Several people bring up something I wrote about in another blog post on another blog. I think the iPad creates a problem for schools. The iPad is primarily a consumption device and laptops/computers are (or can be) primarily production devices. The problem as I see it is that we really want to get young people creating more and consuming less (in the passive sense.
So, what do you think? Are you buying your high school age student an iPad?
As with most other technologies and tools introduced into high schools, the valuable use of iPads will depend on how teachers learn to do valuable activities with them. If it’s primarily a ‘consumer’ device that enables reading and research, then we now have a most powerful tool for reading and research! Let’s use them creatively in the teaching process.
Thanks for your comment. Very well said! I wrote about that in another blog post. I think the iPad actually creates a problem for schools (http://www.innovationlabs.com/blog2/2010/05/ipad-creates-problem-for-schools/ ) in that, as you say, if it just enables consumption (reading and research) it keeps us stuck in an old paradigm of learning. We have to find ways of getting young people creating things – so, again, to your point, that means getting teachers to use them creatively in the learning process!