iPads in the Classroom

iPads in the classroom:

            It is that time of the year again! Summer has officially come to an end, and the children are back off to school. You may notice though, that these students who are getting onto the school bus or walking to class, that their backpack may look reasonably smaller. The reason behind this fact is that schools across the country are no longer using traditional textbooks, and are switching to iPads. Although there has already been some positives to this modern switch, the use of iPads in the classroom may be a slippery slope.

            For the students who have made the switch to iPads there has already been noted upsides. After numerous of surveys students have said that the biggest upside is being able to have all of their textbooks right at their fingertips. Students also reported that by having the iPads instead of textbooks, resources are more readily available such as dictionaries, thesauruses, and the internet. Students have also said that since everyone in class has the same devices it makes working in groups much easier. They can brainstorm and save their ideas on sites like Dropbox, and don’t have to worry about technical issues or compatibility problems because of the uniformity in devices.

            Although there are numerous perks of using iPads instead of textbooks, but more and more negatives are resulting from this switch. The first being very obvious, which is the cost. Many schools do not cover the cost of the iPads, but make them a requirement, leaving the parents to have to cover the cost. Another downside is the fact that students can become easily distracted. Since teachers do not control what the students are viewing, they can very easily go on websites such as Facebook or Instagram. This takes away attention from the teacher and the coursework, possibly resulting in students not retaining the material set before them. This also leads to probably the biggest issue with the switch to iPads, which is the loss of control for the parents. Some parents do not want their children having these devices, but are now forced to purchase these for children. Parents now also have to monitor their children more closely. Some do not want their children having social media or even simply be able to text, which is a feature of the iPad being able to iMessage others. Parents now have no say in this matter, and all they can do is just monitor their children more closely making sure they are not taking advantage of these devices.

            The implementation of iPads instead of textbooks in the classroom has most definitely had numerous advantages. Students no longer have to carry around extremely heavy backpacks and have so many more resources available to them. But there certainly are some downsides for with this great power does come great responsibility. Students must learn to not let things such as social media distract them from learning, and parents now more than ever have less control of what their children view, and must constantly watch what their children are doing.