Through my research of the Apple iPad and its place in education, I discovered more than hoped for, as I now wholeheartedly support iPads for student learning. While the obvious drawbacks of price stand out to many educators, as well as the price of accessories such as storage devices for the iPads, as this equipment easily adds up to a pricey sum, the overall return of what you buy is well worth its initial cost. While the benefits that I discovered from the Apple iPad are numerous, the most prominent aspect of iPads in education today is their program, iBooks, and its capabilities for textbooks. There are thousands of educational apps available as well through the iPad that can’t be accessed through other types of devices, such as eReaders. The possibilities for the iPad seem endless, and so it was difficult for me to find any major drawbacks of using them in education and in the school library setting. Even with the minor drawbacks that I did discover, such as with price, I quickly discovered solutions including Apple’s education pricing program and the volume purchase program that both work to help educators attain these life-changing learning devices (Apple in Education, 2012).
The importance of iBooks textbooks for the iPad, and the benefits from this program alone are monumental. The thin, and sleek design is user friendly, and attracts the digital-native students of today. Even if a school is only able to purchase a few iPads for use in the school library, this is easily enough to begin to engage learning as students have the opportunity to come into the library and access education apps, textbooks for their classes, other books for reading, and use other features such as email, and the web all in a new, vibrant and interactive format that just may be the spark a student needs to be turned on to learning. Even with the skepticism that naturally comes over the Apple iPad’s improvements in education, it’s difficult to ignore the “exuberant and unnecessary amount of money on paper textbooks year-after-year” and realize that “it’s highly likely that when teachers or students do use these more classroom-friendly Apple devices, it will improve the learning process” (Cheredar, 2012). Some specific benefits that the iPad offers for school library media centers and the education system as whole from just iBooks textbooks alone is the development of a textbook that is completely “Multi-Touch,” as well as filled with “engaging layouts, interactive images, 3D graphics, and more” (Apple in Education, 2012). There are so many types of these interactive features that help students learn and succeed, such as the built in dictionary that allows students to find out the meaning of a word in their readings by just a tap of the finger, or rotating “a 3D object to show a human brain from every angle” (Apple in Education, 2012). Apple’s iBooks textbooks also helps to solve the much debated “textbook dilemma” as “budget constraints force schools to use the same books year after year, long after the content is out of date, but with textbooks on iPad, students can get a brand-new version each year, for a fraction of the price of a paper book” (Apple in Education, 2012).
The next major benefit of the iPad in education and the school library media center are the “more than 20,000 educational apps” for both students and teachers. (Apple in Education, 2012.) There are apps for students to “track assignments, take notes, and study for finals,” and apps for school library media specialists to “give lessons, monitor progress, and stay organized” (Apple in Education, 2012). Apps such as Keynote for example help both library media specialists and students create “presentations with stunning animations and effects,” while video mirroring allows these presentations, lessons, and web pages, to be shared on the big screen for the entire class (Apple in Education, 2012). While these apps are extremely beneficial and not found on most other educational tools, the iPad is also universally accessible to those with hearing, or vision impairments, and physical or learning disabilities. All of these features are included with the iPad and include aspects such as a screen reader, support for playback of closed-captioned content, the multi-touch display, countless languages, and zoom capabilities just to name a few (Apple in Education, 2012). An iPad is incredibly helpful for students that struggle in school, and could be the very tool a library media specialist needs to reach a particular student with a disability, and make sure that he or she is receiving what they need to learn and succeed.
Even with the easily recognizable drawbacks such as the fact that more students still need easier access to these devices due to price and other restrictions, and the worry that budgets will be blown on iPads while forgetting about “other non-digital materials that could be just as helpful,” the benefits still seem to outweigh these factors (Hardawar, 2012). While Apple is criticized for their overly idealistic ways, my research has shown the company’s gradual and steady commitment to improving education through the iPad, and their efforts to correct any problems, as is shown with their revised version of iBooks textbooks that makes textbooks even more accessible, as they have created a program for publishers and authors to create these books for free (Apple in Education, 2012). Overall, through my collection of information from new articles, interviews, the library media specialist listserv, other related websites, and the Apple company, I have discovered an educational tool that seems to have endless possibilities in the possible ways it may help each individual student, librarian, and teacher. While there are major capabilities that many will benefit from such as iBooks textbooks, and certain apps for learning, this is really just the beginning of all that the iPad can do in terms of engaging students, and improving the educational system.
References:
(2012, Month. Day ). In Apple in Education. (chap. The device that changed everything is now changing the classroomTextbooks; Apps; The Classroom; Accessibility) Retrieved Feb. 15, 2012, from http://www.apple.com/education/ipad/
(2012, Jan. 20). Cheredar, T. Can Apple’s new textbook initiative save U.S. education?. The Washington Post Retrieved Feb. 12, 2012, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/can-apples-new-textbook-initiative-save-us-education-infographic/2012/01/19/gIQABD7JEQ_story.html.
Barack, L. (2010, May 1 ). Is the iPad fit for school?. School Library Journal from http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6727279.html?q=ipad.
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