Independent School Educators' List (ISED-L): Re: ipads Lower School

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Re: ipads Lower School

Len,

You raise an excellent question. I don't recall Apple positioning the iPad =
as anything other than a consumer product. Somehow, over the past few years=
, somebody has turned education into a consumer product instead of a profes=
sional service. "Give me 10 hours with your child at $200 per hour, and I g=
uarantee I'll raise his or her SAT scores by 200 points." It reminds me of =
the old Castrol oil commercials. Buy the latest additive or lubricant, and =
you will see better performance.=20

I wonder how much of the current iPad craze in schools is about attractive =
cost and form factor. Certainly it isn't about the tools and applications b=
ecause very few were designed for teaching and learning. No Logo, no Sketch=
pad, no Inspiration, no Flash, etc. I have a personal iPad, and I recognize=
the genius of creating a very portable personal information and entertainm=
ent delivery platform. One of the reasons Apple has been so successful is t=
he understanding that their respective products can't be all things to all =
people. When I read critiques of the iPad written under the rubric of the l=
aptop, I smile. It means the reviewer doesn't understand the product he or =
she is reviewing.

I'm not suggesting we, as educators, ignore the iPad or any other innovatio=
n, but in the spirit of Len's comments, why not buy a few, give them to stu=
dents and teachers to use for a year, and after that year, ask them if and =
when the iPad improved their teaching or learning. Then we have some sage c=
ounsel from which we can make a more informed decision.

Joel

--=20
Joel Backon
Director of Academic Technology / History
Choate Rosemary Hall
333 Christian St.
Wallingford, CT 06492
203-697-2514

On May 27, 2010, at 2:27 PM, Len Doran wrote:

> I have to wonder why we continue to chase technology and not let it chase=
us. A parent asked me this morning if we still taught cursive writing. I w=
onder if we are moving too fast just to be trendy and not really looking at=
the educational values and, perhaps, consequences? The APPLE store at the =
local Mall seems to be mobbed, but I wonder how many people are buying IPad=
s for the right reasons?
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> Len=20
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> -----Original Message-----
> From: Gary S. Stager <district@stager.org>
> To: ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
> Sent: Thu, May 27, 2010 12:54 pm
> Subject: Re: ipads Lower School
>=20
>=20
> Just curious, why do you think that younger children need less of a compu=
ter?
> I have two iPads and I find their best use to be watching TV on them and =
looking=20
> p trivia while watching TV on my television.
> Knowledge is a consequence of experience and the richest experiences with=
=20
> omputers are when you construct things of meaning, beauty, purpose,=20
> ophistication, etc...
> The iPads have a long way to go in achieving that objective or in support=
ing=20
> roject-based learning.
> I've also written about the inadequacies of the iPad as a book reader -=20
> ttp://stager.tv/blog/?p=3D1189