Many schools have recently become fascinated by the iPad.
There is no doubt that the iPad is an amazing device. I believe that it is part of a revolution that will prove to be even greater than the revolution that was started with the invention of the personal computer. But I wonder whether schools are succumbing to "shiny-object syndrome" in their fascination. Or whether, with the iPad, schools realise they can place a personal device in the hands of every student at a fraction of the cost of a notebook computer.
If all our teachers are doing is replacing textbooks with .pdfs and replacing worksheets with colourful tutorial apps, then we are selling our students short. Parents, in the end, will feel disillusioned, as they fund every investment that school systems and governments make. They want to see value in the money they have spent.
If we are to use the iPad in our schools it must be because with this tool we can fundamentally change the dynamics of learning for the better; and because this tool makes it so much easier to do this than any of the other tools we can use.
If we can answer the question "Why?" with clarity and with a sense of purpose, then we'll be on the right track.
There is no doubt that the iPad is an amazing device. I believe that it is part of a revolution that will prove to be even greater than the revolution that was started with the invention of the personal computer. But I wonder whether schools are succumbing to "shiny-object syndrome" in their fascination. Or whether, with the iPad, schools realise they can place a personal device in the hands of every student at a fraction of the cost of a notebook computer.
If all our teachers are doing is replacing textbooks with .pdfs and replacing worksheets with colourful tutorial apps, then we are selling our students short. Parents, in the end, will feel disillusioned, as they fund every investment that school systems and governments make. They want to see value in the money they have spent.
If we are to use the iPad in our schools it must be because with this tool we can fundamentally change the dynamics of learning for the better; and because this tool makes it so much easier to do this than any of the other tools we can use.
If we can answer the question "Why?" with clarity and with a sense of purpose, then we'll be on the right track.
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