“Just a half-inch thick and roughly 25 ounces, the iPad is a slatelike device larger than a cell phone but smaller than a laptop. Released five months ago by Apple Computer, the devices can connect to the Internet and download textbooks and thousands of ‘apps,’ or computer programs,” Dinges reports. “‘It’s about what kids are going to use,’ said Scott Wolfe, the principal at South Mountain Elementary School in Millburn. ‘Are they going to use a laptop more than they can use an iPad? It’s that touch, that holding it in their hand. We want to see what works.'”
“The South Mountain Elementary School Parent-Teacher Organization raised funds for the school’s purchase of two iPads, and is hoping to buy 10 more. Public schools in Montclair and Freehold also plan to get a few in the hands of teachers and students,” Dinges reports. “Spurred by the prospect of reinventing the classroom, experts and educators have increasingly pushed new devices into schools. They cite the need to acclimate students to new technologies and engage them better.”
Dinges reports, “The Morristown school wanted to see how the devices would work in a variety of subjects, and administrators selected tech-savvy teachers who pitched proposals on what they would do with the iPads. If the experiment works, administrators at Morristown-Beard will consider iPads for all 540 students in the 2011-12 academic year.”
Read more in the full article here.
Wow, just wow!
I love how they say ‘apps’ like it something new and different.
Take a couple of thousand dollars per year from the waste that’s in Washington DC schools and spread it around to functioning schools.
Vouchers would be even better, then parents wouldn’t have to buy iPads.
” And the D.C. district’s annual budget for 2008-2009 of $1.29 billion places … $28170 per pupil is not quite enough for D.C. schools.”
Google it.
DC schools. Wow, just wow!
Must be a small, rich, suburban minority of them. With the way governor Chris Christie is gutting the New Jersey education system, soon the majority of students will be using rocks and stone tablets rather than any with an Apple logo on the back.
The iPad is clearly a device with probably the greatest potential in the classroom. What’s needed is creative developers who will take the initiative and work with some imaginative teachers to come up with most appealing, intuitive, effective, attractive and addictive applications for learning. When you think about a quarter of a million apps out there, and isolate top 100 most imaginative ones, those apps should provide creative ideas for use. Multi-touch and gyro controls should allow for some incredible stuff, as long as someone actually realises the potential. Eventually, this can become a massive market for such (an) app(s), and all that’s needed is a good catalyst.
Let’s see if the people from Jersey are it.
When the Slashdot crowd hears about this they’ll blame it on the ever-increasing epidemic of “shiny object syndrome”, once again. The mentality over there is, “If I can’t f–k with it up one side and down the other, then it’s a piece of s–t”
It’s only that 5% of Alpha Geeks who think that if something is intuitive and easy enough for their Grandma to use then it can’t be any good.
The trouble is that it’s the Alpha Geeks that should be making things intuitive and easy to use, not screwing with archaic, poorly designed software and hardware.
Alpha Bastards.
@R2
Governor Christie isn’t solely responsible for the gutting of the NJ education budget. The teachers union and school boards share that responsibility as well. Just saying you can’t honestly blame it all on him.
MDN Magic Word: book
Is anyone seeing the BIG picture yet? And that is just the tip of the iceberg that will come soon. This is happening in universities all over.
Again, I filled out another paper medical questionnaire form for therapy today. I was there 4 years ago for the other knee. GIVE ME AN iPAD AND LET ME UPDATE THE RECORDS FOR YOU. ARE YOU GOING TO PAY TO HAVE SOMEONE ENTER THESE FORMS INTO YOUR SYSTEM? WHY!!!
I am in charge of technology for a K12 district, I was pushing for the adoption of a 5 pack of iPads (with the support of the teacher who would be using them) and cam across completely irrational and thick-headed opposition from the school administrator.
There was so much mis-information and fud out there, he was scared to death of them. “What if they drop it” was one of the inane arguments against. (Easily mitigated by an inexpensive square-trade warranty)
The two biggest threats to this being the best tech to happen to schools are:
1. Thick-headed admin types that do not get it.
2. Greedy, foot dragging edu (K-12, colleges are all over it) textbook/software makers. (Ie too slow to market and cost prohibitive)
For years we have read about 1 to 1’s, well this device is IDEAL for that. They do not need the laptop with all it’s heavy and breakable moving pieces. iPads are much better suited. Most of the schools I am familiar with only use web.office and mabye some creative software anyway..
This is one case where I feel the “progressives” may be right. An iPad is a beautiful thing. Who knows, maybe it will turn some young minds full of mush to actually learning something.
@R2
Maybe if the over paid NJ school boards spent more on educating students then the administration of students Gov. Christie wouldn’t have to get involved and regulate what should be common sense
What’s an ‘app’?