The iPad, Opening New Doors for Educators
Author: Travis Allen // Category: Apple, applications, education, iPad, iPad for students, iPad in schoolsAs I am sure everybody knows, Apple showed us the long rumored "iPad" yesterday.
I can't quite express how amazed I was when I saw this. As my team and I watched the following video, we were excited with the technological and educational possibilities that the iPad presents.
As John Ive said "I don't have to change myself to fit the product, it fits me." I'm looking forward to exploring this myself and truly seeing how versatile it is.
The little details are what really caught my attention, even something as small as how the album springs to life at the touch of a finger.
What I am really looking forward to though, are the new and creative ways people will use this technology. For example, the applications. The calendar has been completely redesigned into something that looks to be an easy-to-use, highly graphic agenda. I believe the iPad will change peoples' opinion of mobile devices and applications, from thinking of them as a gaming, music and video platform, to a fully capable device with amazing unrealized potential and the tools to educate.
How do I see the iPad and applications being used in classrooms?
Imagine easy to read textbooks, interactive assignments, accessible lectures, notes and video straight to your iPad, and paperless schools.I can't wait to see what new and improved educational applications this device will bring.
What will the iSchool Initiative be doing with the iPad?
To the best of our ability, we are going to research the full potential the iPad will bring to the classroom. What works, what doesn't work, what can be improved, and problems schools may run into. As we gather this information, we will constantly be providing tools for schools, students and app developers to collaborate with each other and learn the best ways of implementing this technology.
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As with any new device, there are critics. Many people have commented that it is just an over-sized iPhone, but I personally don't think they see the real value of the iPad and its use of apps. The larger screen opens a new gateway for educators to explore, making learning more involved and easier than ever.
Comments and opinions are appreciated.
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Hi Travis,I think in the past technology has been bent to fit the classroom eg Interactive Whiteboards, with the ipad, and all tablets in fact it will need education to bend to the technology. But will it?
Bob
Hey Bob, I wouldn't even say that education really has to bend that much to fit the iPad. I think schools, students and teachers need to just keep an open mind and realize the full potential this device could have for education. Thanks for the comment!
To Bob Harrison,
I do think the classrooms/education will come to the technology. We have already gotten emails from educators asking if we are going to optimize our apps for the iPad. Even got a request from a foreign country about this the same day it came out. The iPad might be like a tsunami in the open ocean; cannot be seen or even felt, but watch out when it hits. The real issue will be budgeting; the price point is over 2X that of the iPod and the iPhone. The question is not if schools want it, it will be can they afford it in this fiscal environment.
Johnar
This is simply ( a word I use a lot) powerful technology delivered into the hands of everyone. This is the device to break down the digital divides, but for education it is the device nearest to a blank sheet of paper with infinite uses. OK, it has been parodied already on FOD by Peter Serafinowicz, but you know, that is not so silly.
I hope the Educational software industry sees the potential. This could spawn a reemergence (I say this for iPod Touch also) of the Hypercard cult. Indeed, what is needed now is an iPod/iPad Developer application almost exactly like the model Hypercard offered.
One of the propositions made in the first iSchool Initiative video was that the cost of textbooks for one student exceeded the cost of an iPod touch for that same student. I think that the same can be said of the iPad but with that device, the assertion is more plausible. That plausibility derives from two things: 1) more screen real estate equates to more of that text book experience and 2) the iPad introduces support for the ePub standard which means that content creators, like teachers, need not be iPhone app developers with serious coding chops.
The focus of the iPad on the book experience is key. How this impacts the costs of textbooks is vital. The greed of traditional publishers has yet to be reckoned with and I think that there is a big fuss ahead. Alternative texts could emerge. Maybe David Wiley's flatworld knowledge http://www.flatworldknowledge.com/ has the ticket, maybe it lies elsewhere but something's got to give with respect to the cost of text books.
Then there is the question of whether students will trade in a backpack containing a laptop and a bunch of hard cover text books for a purse-like bag holding only an iPad that equals the functionality of all that was in the back pack.. I think that this will have student appeal.
I think that the real power of the iPad is the same as the iTouch or iPod-open application development. Allowing others to make money by creating apps for it seems like a win-win for everyone involved. It makes the device flexible to the needs of whoever is using it. I am sure there will be a lot of educators creating apps that will make it a very useful educational device.
Hi Travis. I feel that if the iTouch was perfect because of its blank slate nature (ie. it becomes whatever the student downloads onto it), the iPad will be even more so. These are just about the first consumer devices that are perfect for education because of the level of personalisation control that is possible. So bring it on! WIll follow your research and thoughts on the iPad with interest. The group of iTouch educators I work with here in Australia (that includes Louise Duncan) have updated the beta of the iPod touch, iPhone and iPad beginners guide for educators that we are putting together with info on the iPad also. Would love your feedback if you get a chance to head to www.slidetolearn.info . Cheers.
I think the iPad will have a tremendous impact on schools and how classrooms function. I have written a blog post about six things that will change because of the iPad. You can read more about what I said at http://www.edutechnophobia.com/2010/02/six-ways-the-ipad-will-transform-education/.
Thanks Jonathan and Trevor for the comments. Jonathan, your site/PDF look amazing so far. I would love to work with you and Louise on it. I have just created a ning network that is accomplishing the same thing, giving schools the tools to incorporate technology like the iPod Touch. I would love for you to join and add some of your own content. www.ischoolinitiative.ning.com
Trevor, great blog on the iPad! I would advice anyone interested in the iPad to definitely check it out!
I too am very interested in what the iPad can do from an educational standpoint. Unfortunately we will have to wait and see how rugged it is before we can do much with it. We can't have $500 devices breaking every day!