Communications of the ACM
More Schools Embracing Ipad as Learning Tool
Sixth grade students Kaitlyn Zmek (left) and Madison Justice with an iPad during class at Pinnacle Peak Elementary School in Scottsdale, AZ.
Credit: Joshua Lott / The New York Times
A growing number of schools across the United States are embracing the iPad as a teaching tool. New York City public schools will spend $1.3 million on more than 2,000 iPads, and Chicago public schools are asking the state of Illinois for a $3 million state to provide iPads to low-performing schools. The Roslyn school district in New York hopes to provide iPads to all 1,100 of its students.
Some parents and scholars have raised concerns that schools are rushing to invest in iPads before their educational value has been proved by research. Technological fads come and go, and educators are still divided over the value of giving every student a laptop.
Spending $750 apiece on iPads may seem like an extravagance at a time when many school districts are dealing with tight or reduced budgets. "There is very little evidence that kids learn more, faster or better by using these machines," says Larry Cuban, a professor emeritus of education at Stanford University, who believes the money would be better spent recruiting and training teachers.
From The New York Times
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