IPads to Outpace Computers in Schools by 2016, Poll Says
RSSBy SLJ Staff Are iPads on their way to replacing computers in K-12 schools? It sure looks that way. A recent survey of district tech directors found that all were testing or deploying tablet devices—and they expect them to outnumber computers by 2016. Munster explained that the trend in education may be due to a familiarity with Apple devices among students and school employees. The IT directors polled indicated that within the next five years, they expect to have more tablets per student than they currently have computers. Since iPads represent most of the tablets seen in schools, Munster said the word "tablet" is basically synonymous with "iPad." "Within the next five years, our respondents expect to have more tablets per student than they currently have computers" Munster said. The school districts represented in the poll have about 10 students per computer, but in the next five years, IT directors for school districts say they expect it to drop to about six students per iPad. Devices like the iPad are preferred over computers in the classroom because they provide more individualized learning than a traditional computer. Earlier this year, Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook indicated that demand for the iPad is strong among education customers. In February, Georgia Senate President pro tem Tommie Williams (R-Lyons) proposed a plan to replace conventional textbooks in middle schools with the iPad. Williams met with Apple to discuss a plan to make the iPad a central component in the state's education system. "[Apple] has a really promising program where they come in and their recommending to middle schools—for $500 per child per year, they will furnish every child with an iPad, wifi the system, provide all the books on the system, all the upgrades, all the teacher training—and the results they're getting from these kids is phenomenal," Williams said at the time. "We're currently spending about $40 million a year on books. And they last about seven years. We have books that don't even have 9/11. This is the way kids are learning, and we need to be willing to move in that direction." This article originally appeared in the newsletter Extra Helping. Go here to subscribe. Recently a teacher in my area who has brought her class to our public library for research visits cancelled the visit because she had just learned that the class was getting iPads and she decided to take a different approach. I reminded her about the databases, ebooks and library catalog she could access remotely through the library website, but it didn't seem like she would be pursuing these with the class. I hope teachers realize that the iPads are another tool for accessing online sources, but students still need to learn the same research skills we've always taught, including evaluating sources, and that the library is still the best place to look for information. Computers are used for almost everything these days, most people should learn how to use a computer. If you don't know how a computer works, this article gives a great explanation on how a computer works.
http://explainlikeakid.blogspot.com/2011/10/computer-parts-and-what-they-do.html The Georgia senator in the article states that textbooks only last about 7 years, therefore iPads are better because the content . Fair enough. But how long can they expect something as fragile as an iPad, in the hands of a middle-schooler, to last? And who will pay for the broken/stolen iPads, if the parents cannot? Please don't flame me and call me a technophobe, because I'm not - I love my iPhone, desperately want an iPad, and as a university librarian, I'm well aware of their potential as educational and productivity tools. But I just have to wonder if, in spite of the senator's good intentions, that this will end up costing a lot more than buying textbooks. Cost isn't the problem that be considered first.The most
important thing is how to organize content with iPad in
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November 3, 2011
Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster questioned 25 educational IT directors at a conference on the integration of technology in the classroom, and his small survey, "Tablets in the Classroom," reveals that all were using Apple's iPad in schools, while none were testing or deploying Android-based tablets.
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Posted by Heather Norquist on November 3, 2011 03:47:10PM
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