The two articles I used.
http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/the-state-of-ipad-in-education-a-giant-mess
http://www.zdnet.com/ipads-and-tablets-in-k12-when-will-we-get-it-together-7000004656/
There has been a big push for schools to get iPads, tablets, etc. However this article poses some good arguments for why the iPad wouldn't be very good for the classroom. The main problem that the article states is simply the cost. Besides the $399 that it cost for one iPad, there are more expenses that go along with these. The article states that "That $399 cost doesn't even begin to address the less obvious costs of appropriate content and device management systems, school bandwidth, teacher training/professional development, and network infrastructure required to fully leverage the hardware." Teacher training is the biggest part of the cost of bringing iPad into the classroom. Teachers are now getting hounded to integrate technology into their lessons, but they can't keep up with the expectations. There are a lot of teachers that are going to need a lot of training to incorporate these technologies.
Besides what the article says, I think that these can be very helpful when it comes to the "campfire," and they are worth the cost. New teachers will have a good understanding of these new technologies. These tablets provide so much more material for a teacher to use. There are apps. that the students can use to help them understand a lesson, and students can even access the internet for even more uses for the student. With these tablets, it makes the teacher able to access tons more information that they can then pass on to the students. This makes the "campfire" more like a bonfire.
You definitely make a good point about the costs of integrating technology into the classroom. Often times all people consider is the $400 price tag on the object and for some school districts that is no big deal. But we almost always over look the hidden costs, both of purchasing school wifi and apps for the ipads, but also with training the teachers and students in how to use the technology.
ReplyDeleteThis technology can definitely add to the campfire aspect of a classroom, but I also think it can serve as a distraction. Perhaps, using the campfire analogy, the teacher is telling a story about some historical/scientific event, they can even be using the ipad to do so. But with the unlimited access of the ipad a student may choose to go look at other, more entertaining, campfires, such as facebook, youtube, etc. The ipad gives us access to millions of campfires, it is now the teachers job to direct the students to an educational one.
I think the article brings up a good point in saying that it is almost impossible for schools, let alone public schools, to front 400 dollars in order to bring everyone to the same level of educational opportunity. Learning from past teachers, if there was something that could possibly be integrated into the classroom, the teacher always made sure everyone had access to it, otherwise this goes against the equal access to education that every student deserves and needs. Most likely, this technology would have a positive impact on education, however, it needs to be reduced in price before it can ever be fully introduced into the classroom setting, available to everyone. It would, like you mentioned, create a more creative and exciting campfire, i.e. a bonfire.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the article that the cost of giving out Ipads to every student in a school at this point in time doesn't seem very logical, especially when most public schools grades k-12 give out free text books to their students anyways, but I also agree with you that there would be a lot of benefits for students and teachers if everyone did have an Ipad. There are tons of apps available that could help students in all three of Thornburg's concepts, the only question is whether or not it would be worth it for schools to pay that much money to provide Ipads to every student.
ReplyDeleteI like how you pointed out that teachers are getting hounded to incorporate technology in the classroom and sometimes they may not know how to or even how to use these new tools themselves. They may be having trouble keeping up with expectations. The principle and others in the district will have to step in and help. This will give teachers the confidence and knowledge they need to properly instruct their students.
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