Apple iPad and Education: Teacher’s Aid or Student Learning Tool?

Fernando

Thursday, 28th January 2010 at 12:03 pm

 

I was personally very disappointed by the iPad. I expected a small, tablet-like Macbook and what I saw is an iPhone on steroids. As competition to the Kindle, it looks fine… but still disappointing.

-No flash means a lot educational websites and materials won’t work.
-No multitasking means (were back in the 50s computing) you open several books at the same time, or chat/tweet/etc. about the book you’re reading, you can’t send email and read a book, or prepare a class (in Word?… it won’t run word!) while looking at the book your students read… you can’t… so many things.
-No webcam… boo.
-No USB to transfer content. I guess they expect us to buy everything from the DRM protected Apple Store. Not available in my country, BTW.
-Apple store vetting of apps… no freedom from indie developers if they compete with an Apple product like safari, mail, ical, etc.
-No Firefox!

In short, I wouldn’t put money into it for 1:1 or to give to teachers.

In very short: Disappointed, frustrated…

Jason

Thursday, 28th January 2010 at 1:03 pm

 

Although I agree that the iPad may make a lot of sense for K-12 schools, it isn’t a comparison of $499 to textbooks. Whenever people make that claim, they forget that content, especially content that is keyed to student reading levels and curriculum standards, isn’t cheap and will likely still cost money. Don’t make the mistake that the average teacher can effectively “use the Internet” as a textbook…

ededco

Thursday, 28th January 2010 at 2:01 pm

 

See why I think educators will need to wait for the 2.0 version:

http://www.ededco.com/ipad-in-the-classroom

Michael

Thursday, 28th January 2010 at 2:14 pm

 

While being a machead myself; i would love to own the new iPad; however, looking at it from the educational uses it needs a few more shots of steroids. multitasking is a must! running flash content is a must! and i agree that apple leave very little room for indie developers to come up with educational content. Adding a webcam would be most prudent as well. it seems that the cost of the hard ware is great but when you start adding the cost of buying textbooks to install on it i see a whole new way for the textbook companies to rake in the money. Now as for an earlier comment about no “Word” application… i disagree. you can add Pages which very easily can be saved as a Word Document. I see a use for it but before we educators run out and write grants a for 1:1 iPad classrooms let’s ask Apple to up the ante and add what we need.

Todd

Thursday, 28th January 2010 at 2:16 pm

 

It seems like an overgrown iPod touch… which is fine if that’s what you want. Netbooks are less expensive, run a complete multi-tasking OS, full blown apps like office and fully capable web browsers, video out, webcams, connect to USB probes, and I can install any application without having to go through the Apple store. The iPad may have a place in the classroom but I see less expensive more capable devices available right now. Probably less fragile also. No drool on my keyboard…

Traci Lawson

Thursday, 28th January 2010 at 2:36 pm

 

It would be great if Apple would release a teacher friendly computer interface for iPod Touches and iPads. I think the devices have great potential in the classroom, but as we’ve already seen with the iPod Touch, it can be a major handicap to have to individually sync devices for every student in the class through iTunes. You should be able to sync a batch of devices without so much hassle.

Jason

Thursday, 28th January 2010 at 4:45 pm

 

Traci… there are 3rd party hardware solutions for the classroom set problem; I am not sure there is going to be a better answer for that unless Apple develops wireless sync. And… remember… you can’t sync a laptop/netbook. :)

[...] ISTE Connects – Apple iPad and Education: Teacher’s Aid or Student Learning Tool [...]

Trevor M.

Wednesday, 3rd February 2010 at 3:47 pm

 

The iPad will definitely have a positive impact on education. I have an article that describes six ways education will change because of the iPad at http://www.edutechnophobia.com/2010/02/six-ways-the-ipad-will-transform-education/ . Any suggestions or comments would be appreciated.

The Chriso

Friday, 5th February 2010 at 10:21 am

 

It seem that many here are ready to critically analyse the iPad for is lack of capability which is fine for a power user but for those who do not have the skills in using a full blown computer then the potential for ipad as an educational device has great potential.

Although k-12 will be educated in the use of computers there is a great market for adult learners. The big highlight is the multi touch screen and the ability to change content by rotating the device. Connected to the internet there are many other collaborative software to use and a camera can be added via the usb camera adapter.

I am sure that there is many uses for iPad in education.

The Chriso

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Kate Wallace

Monday, 8th February 2010 at 2:42 am

 

I also agree that running flash content is an essential part of using the internet. Why didn’t Apple figure this into the original ipad? And some sort of a camera!… Or is it a marketing ploy to guarantee ipad 2.0 customers? Hmmmm.

Jon

Tuesday, 9th February 2010 at 2:36 pm

 

There are programs for remotely controlling your PC from the iPod touch (which will work on the iPad). Set up your PC to your projector, remotely hook your iPad through downloaded software to your PC using WiFi, and now you have a touch enabled smartboard type pad with the screen in your hands. You are no longer connected to a teaching station and you can write directly on the iPad screen and it will appear up on the projected screen (with more free software of course). Also, because you can remotely hook to your iPad to your PC anywhere with WiFi, you can be using ANY program that is on your PC on your iPad. Your PC has a usb, can multitask and can see flash. Presto! A truly mobile device that can easily go anywhere, that is touch enabled, and can do anything your PC can do. I am not focusing on what this product lacks (flash being the biggest hit to me), but instead looking at the possibilities it opens up.

Dave

Saturday, 27th February 2010 at 10:48 am

 

I’m a middle school music teacher, and I’ve blogged about the iPad’s apparent deficiencies and how they can be seen as positives in a classroom setting. From my blog (ipmep.wordpress.com):

As I imagine students using iPads in my classroom, I appreciate the fact that they will not be able to plug in a flash card from home, potentially exposing the system to junk (at best) or security breaches (at worst). Lack of multitasking will mean the students who should be doing their classwork can only do one thing at a time. The lack of a camera is somewhat disappointing to me, especially because the rumored facial recognition of users would have been amazing with 150 students, but its absence will mean one less distraction to their music education. The closed nature of the App store and iPhone OS (which the iPad also uses) is, in fact, ideal when attempting to keep 40 students focused on their work and not on other endeavors. Students could only download and install more apps if they used a iTunes store username and password, and downloading from the web will not be allowed. I imagine blocking Safari access through my server may be needed except in cases when I want them to visit specific sites, and I appreciate being able to load only specific apps on each iPad.

With the iPad interface’s simplicity, I imagine my students moving easily from a writing activity to a theory lesson, to playing notes on a keyboard, to flipping through PDF copies of music. Their learning curve will be significantly reduced because the interface is free of complication: tap, swipe, drag, pinch, twist, or press the home button. The technology gets out of the way, and the learning can occur, motivated and monitored by the use of the device.

Ideally, Apple will recognize the importance of use in education markets and allow networked iPads to log into a central server with unique usernames and passwords, as well as make setting up that network easy to do from a single computer. I’d like to see even greater control of the user interface, password protecting the deletion of movement of apps on the screen, etc. I hope for my students to log into any iPad and find their progress in theory assignments, PDF music files which they’ve put their own score markings into, and all the work they’ve done so far.

Oh, and one more thing: the lack of a keyboard is a definite plus: a lab of old iBooks was constantly plagued by the loss of keys, removed by students (fortunately, many were caught, having removed their own initials!) A lack of ANY removable physical parts is definitely a plus in a classroom.

Anne Fitzpatrick

Sunday, 11th April 2010 at 1:01 pm

 

I see a really practical application for using iPads in the classroom to formatively assess students in elementary reading workshop classes. One of my colleagues has developed such a record keeping app for the iPod that would work even better on the iPad. Instead of having heavy notebooks filled with data on student progress, an iPad would make it incredibly easier.

Drew

Sunday, 16th May 2010 at 10:09 am

 

The Ipad’s ability to integrate so much information in this form is amazing. The Army has looked at many solutions For technical manual usage, most of their manuals being PDF is ideal for the Pad but because it is so fragile it’s not practical. The army classroom on the other hand is a great opportunity because of the number of manuals needed (up to 15 per aircraft) the security of the operating system and the wireless factor, we could save millions of dollars and have seamless integration but alas the armies mind set is so closed to such cutting edge ideas it would take five years to before any integration happens. I own one and have shown it to my fellow instructors but many dismiss it as a big iPad touch out of hand, but that’s how great ideas happen, the idea that’s right under your nose really takes off.

Dan

Friday, 21st May 2010 at 10:46 am

 

These NEED flash, and they are very cumbersome when it comes to firewall authentication. I work for a school district and we have purchased 15 of these. Were trying to see what we can and cannot do and so far the CANNOTS are winning. I work the for the tech department so if it can be fixed, we will make it happen. So far they are not worth the money in the educational system, unless a grant pays for them. Hoping some updates will cure these issues

Radio Guy

Thursday, 3rd June 2010 at 3:20 pm

 

iPAD is the message. Look past the current inadequacies and at the flexibility and ease of use this portal permits. It is already revolutionizing the way other manufacturers are building their competitive products. iPAD is invariably the next step toward virtual computing. Embrace it.

[...] iPad for several years — or even trade it in for new updates every so often — it is far cheaper than purchasing a whole new set of textbooks for each child from kindergarten through 12th [...]

catb

Saturday, 26th June 2010 at 9:33 am

 

I’m very interested to see what can be done in this field. I think the important thing to remember is it’s not an all or none, the iPad can be very effectively used as a tool. I’m on a hunt for great apps to help my kid enjoy practicing different skills and learn – http://apps4ikids.com. Even without flash, there are some great apps with a lot of promise.

[...] same iPad for several years — or even trade it in for new updates every so often — it is far cheaper than purchasing a whole new set of textbooks for each child from kindergarten through 12th [...]