After all the hype/hope/dismay, the iPad is here and it has led some to ask whether it will revolutionise education. Personally, I think this is the wrong question to ask as it supposes that a technical solution can solve what is essentially a human centric question. To put it more bluntly, the iPad it is merely a tool and it is (echoing something Chris Harte from Cramlington Learning Village said on Twitter) only as good as the tool using it (although I might have to revisit this idea once we have Matrix style loading programs)!
That said, I think the iPad offers some tantalising possibilities for teaching and learning. You now have a device with ‘instant on’ that is portable, has a larger screen than an iPod Touch for viewing information but physically much smaller than a desktop computer used to create content or capture data. Without much thought, I could see the Geography/PE/History department taking this tool outside the classroom as a support to learning on the environment/field/site visit. The lack of a camera does not worry me as I always think a dedicated camera is much better for any shots (and these can easily be transferred to the iPad if needed). I’m sure that over the next few months, we will see examples far more developed than the brief reactions I can give.
From another point of view, it may prove to be revolutionary. For educational publishers, the ability to view media rich content (video, presentation and audio explanations) and electronic learning resources (thinking skills diagrams/drag and drop exercises) as well as the ability to update and add new textbook information at a minimum cost are now possible. Doug Belshaw and I have been working with a very large publisher talking about these kinds of issues in terms of resources for the classroom. I am sure that our next discussion will be pretty interesting…
I think that the iPad will offer something different to the classroom as a learning space and I am looking forward to exploring how it will enhance historical understanding in my lessons. I will have to wait a bit longer before I can be ‘Morpheus’ to my History students…
Image: cattius.photos@Flickr
As we've already discussed, if our plans come to fruition on this device, it could revolutionize classrooms...
Being the cautious type, I think it will change some aspects of the classroom interaction to a large degree but it may look ‘revolutionary’ to others…
What is interesting are the dismissals in the press and on the web and I think many have been carried away with the hype. Before it was announced, we had the discussion about how brilliant it would be to have a iPod Touch with a data contract for schools because the iPhone/iPod Touch OS is simple to use. Well, we practically have that and it is larger with more functions and as an educational tool, I think it resolves many issues around the use of technology in the classroom. I also believe that many of the comments show a profound lack of understanding of how tech can (or should be used) in the classroom. Yes, multitasking would be great (I’m thinking about the Palm WebOS here) but the majority of use is based on using a single app. I think that once we start using it, it will open up possibilities for all sorts of things… 