How quickly will these devices permeate our schools as barriers to adoption fall?
The other night in a meeting at my son's high school, a science teacher held up an iPad and exclaimed, “this is what they should be using instead of this“, holding a text book in the other hand. The next day it hit me, as if I'd known it along and had just failed to grasp it - it's only a matter of time before computer “tablet” devices displace text books and note-taking devices in our schools. It's hard to imagine a scenario in which this would not eventually be the case.
Of course, some of us may remember the first coming of the tablet, which fizzled. There was some excitement over their potential in the earlier 2000's that didn't really pan out. But as the decade drew to a close, Apple's iPad raised the tablet game to a whole new level. This year, following close on Apple's heels, a lot of other players are going to try to get their new or updated tablet devices in on the game.
Education technology blogs and forums have no shortage of stories about the iPad and e-readers being adopted in schools, and ways to use them in the classroom. There are even websites named with specific tablet device market leaders in mind (just check out ipadeducators.ning.com, www.ipadinschools.com, or www.edukindle.com).
The trend is strong, as evidenced by this quickly captured list of stories focused on schools adopting or considering the adoption of the iPad as a standard:
- Durham Public Schools wants to give students iPads
- Tennessee's Webb School makes iPads mandatory, still looks down on note …
- At one D.C. school, iPads for everybody
- California Schools Replace Math Textbooks with iPads
- iPads set to replace school textbooks in Georgia state?
- Rise of the iKids: Schools test iPads in classrooms
Even with the growing acceptance of the iPad and other tablet devices in education and business, they still have a long way to go before they achieve mainstream adoption. What do you think stands in the way of this in the educational environment? What are the biggest barriers - money, standards, awareness? How about the main factors in favor of their adoption? And just what might you want from a tablet device as an instructor? (Click here to comment. Thanks!).
Related Posts (if the above topic is of interest, you might want to check these out):
5 Internet Technologies That School Administrators Need To Know About
Cool! 3D motion video created by capturing extruded light from an iPad
5 Examples of Improved Approaches to Assessment (from the 2010 NETP draft)
