iPads in the Classroom

The iPad is a great example of the kind of accessible technology that's going to change the world - a mainstream, multi-purpose device that's customizable, has built-in accessibility features, and incorporates the principles of universal design.  In this post, I'll cover some of the ways educators are experimenting with the iPad in the classroom.

I've been following with interest how some school districts and colleges have purchased iPads for their students.  See Apps in the Classroom,  iPads at Reed College, and Schools Embrace the iPad.  I thought each of those articles did a good job highlighting the pros and cons of technology in the classroom, and how both primary and secondary schools found the iPad a more flexible, cost-saving, and multi-purpose device  than other new technology (such as the Kindle).  I'd point to the iPad's embrace of universal design principles as the reason why that tablet is proving more appealing to kids and schools.  Of course, there's also the story of the school district that purchase iPads for its school board so that...they could take more efficient notes during meetings??  I will decline to pass judgment on that one).

Educational publishers are on board with adopting new technology, too.  According to some estimates, the market for educational technology now tops $8 billion each year.  Publishers can't afford to see that money go elsewhere (to, say, Apple and its hordes of app developers).  The Houghton Mifflin Harcourts and Pearsons of the world need to partner with schools to create the textbooks and classroom materials of the future.  And in that scenario, everyone wins: publishers retain their market share, schools obtain educational materials in an efficient channel that makes the most of limited budgets, and students develop technological skills, and access to cool ways of learning educational materials that traditional textbooks can only hope to rival.

I'm excited by the risk that these schools are taking - they are definitely ahead of the curve when it comes to integrating technology into the classroom.  But I do have more questions than answers.  What is the breakage rate of the iPads?  (Seriously - I've heard this as one of the reasons that we should buy a traditional AAC for our daughter vs. an iPad with Proloque2Go).  Who is providing training for the teachers on how to use the iPads effectively?  Are they integrating the iPad into the special education services for kids on IEPs?  Are school districts with disadvantaged students as willing to take this leap over the digital divide?

For one school's answers to some of these questions, check out the Bronx Middle School blog at Bronx Middle School iPad Blog