iPhones and iPads, have given birth to apps that add value and functionality to a device. Developers across the globe are now working on developing apps for smartphones and tablets. For people who are unfamiliar with the nature of apps, they are available in different categories, including education, news, entertainment, social networking etc. Just in the education category there are thousands of apps available. In fact, the iPad is being positioned as a “Learning Companion” in the classrooms.
Apple revolutionizing education with iPads
Recently, Apple launched iBooks textbooks for students, transforming paper textbooks into multi-touch textbooks with 3D content and interactive images. Since the debut of the iPad, tablets have captured the imagination of consumers. Recent iPad pilot programs at schools across the country also have been positive. A new study shows that students who use iPads in the classroom score better in literacy tests than those who don’t.
So why the sudden focus on the education market? “Education is deep in Apple’s DNA and iPad may be our most exciting education product yet,” said Phil Schiller, Apple’s SVP of Worldwide Marketing. Indeed, schools are embracing the new tablet from early elementary to higher education, lauding the iPad for improving classroom engagement and teaching methods.
The question, however, is; how can tablet computers or touchscreens penetrate the education system of the developing world, if the cost of an iPad is (in some places) equal to the annual salary of a teacher?
By looking at all that tablets offer in the context of student behavior and some of the recent trends in education, it’s clear that tablets are ready for the classroom. Here’s a look at the top reasons why.
1. Apps: The tablet shines is in the hands of a tech savy teacher who can produce captivating alternatives to the usual dry text books. Apple’s iPad promises 62 interesting ways to use it in a classroom and each of the 62 is a winner. Apps can turn a teacher's tablet into a piano to help teach music. A tablet can also be used to help student's learn to read. Disney has published its first app for the Android Market, a book featuring Winnie The Pooh which offered different allowed kids to hear the book read to them while viewing the pages on a tablet.
2. Visual Effect: Tablets offer images, video and audio. These elements are impossible to include in print or in a standard ebook. You can just see a picture of Martin Luther King, Jr. as you read his “I Have a Dream” speech but with one tap of a finger, you can watch it. The result is a more appealing experience, which is more engaging for students. This isn’t the future — this is today. Tablets can also help college students save hundreds of dollars on textbooks.
By allowing students to highlight text, take notes in the margin and access a dictionary directly within the book itself, tablets are matching (and in some cases, surpassing) everything that a traditional book — print or digital — can offer.
By allowing students to highlight text, take notes in the margin and access a dictionary directly within the book itself, tablets are matching (and in some cases, surpassing) everything that a traditional book — print or digital — can offer.
Tablets can also help college students save hundreds of dollars on textbooks.
By allowing students to highlight text, take notes in the margin and access a dictionary directly within the book itself, tablets are matching (and in some cases, surpassing) everything that a traditional book — print or digital — can offer.
3. Students are ready for Tablets: Students in high school and college have been using smartphones for years, and are already well-acquainted with touchscreen technology. Because they’ve become so accustomed to using these devices, they are increasingly expecting to use them in the classroom setting. When classrooms don’t implement what has now become “everyday” technology, we’re doing students a disservice.
Additionally, students — and consumers in general — are becoming more comfortable using tablets for advanced tasks. According to a new Nielsen survey, 35% of tablet owners said they used their desktop computers less often or not at all now, and 32% of laptop users said the same. Most tellingly, more than 75% of tablet owners said they used their tablet for tasks they once used their desktop or laptop for.
4. Portability: Tablets are thin and lightweight making them much easier to take to (and use in) class than a laptop or netbook. Longer battery life means that students don’t have to worry about carrying a charger with them. Forgot what the professor said in the class? Launch Tegrity, tap the lecture and replay it in just seconds. That’s faster than texting a half-dozen classmates and waiting for what might be an inaccurate response.
5. Software: Some of the most innovative software around is being developed specifically for tablets. In addition to the thousands of exciting educational apps available, tablets are fully compatible with online teaching and learning platforms, such as Blackboard, which are becoming the norm at colleges and universities.
6. Collaboration: Students can easily meet online to collaborate on classroom blogs, wikis, education-focused social networks and other cloud-based tools like Google Docs. These tools provide venues for students to work together in real-time. With tablets and cloud-based systems, students can work anywhere on campus and make sure that their work is saved in a central location and accessible from all of their devices. They also don’t have to pay for this.
7. Availability: One of the primary reasons that tablets have been faster to penetrate the higher education market is their availability.
Examples of Colleges adopting Tablets
According to the New York Times,New York City public schools ordered more than 2,000 iPads for $1.3 million. The Virginia Department of Education implemented a $150,000 iPad initiative at 11 schools, while Chicago public schools applied for $450,000 worth of 23 district-financed iPad grants.
The University of Southern Mississippi acquired 1,000 Samsung Galaxy Tab 4G devices for its Honor students program. One manufacturer, VINCI, is even coming out with rugged 7-inch tablet made just for toddlers.
This is the only way new methods of teaching will emerge.
