The theme of this week is Hardware; I will talk briefly about tablets here in my blog. Tablets become the most popular gadget in the last five years. For instance: iPad, Google Nexu 7, Samsung Galaxy Tablets, Acer Iconia, Amazon Kindle Fire etc. There are tons of brands you can choose from and each of them offers a unique characteristic: such as appearance, function, and connectivity. Their popularity among students is grown at a daily basis. As a cutting edge device, its integration into education will materialize in the foreseen future.
There are some controversy surrounding its
Pros and Cons when introduce tablets into education.
Pros:
Improve our education system and allow alternative
teaching method in a cutting edge way;
Create immersive learning environment;
Help students organize their school works;
Teach kids about technology;
Save money on traditional textbooks;
Cons:
Potential to be a distraction, especially
for some kids in attention disorder;
Connectivity, the Internet accessibility
could bring inappropriate information to students and such information will
propagate between classmates rapidly;
The cost is very expensive.
Some of public or private schools have the
advanced technical devices such as laptops, Mac, or even Tablets. “Charlottesville public schools were issued tablets midway
through this school year 2012.”
“Carmel
Catholic High School freshman Nicole Dowd gets a look at the new tablet she
will use in all of her classes next year with her mathematics teacher, John
Titterton. All Carmel students will receive a tablet next year and all classes
will incorporate this technology.” However, not all
of our schools have that accessibility to this new technology since there are
limitations in government funding.
The situation not only happens in K-12
education but also exist in college and universities. In order to truly
accommodate the trends of technology and catch up with the digital age, devices
are essentially not only for students but also for professors and administers
as well. Is this possible to accommodate
such devices college wide to each student and faculty? The answer is apparently
no for now.
However, for college students, BYOD is
going to be a trend in the future.
So, what can companies do to solve this
problem in education? How to win the competition in the market of tablets? Its attractive
appearance and fancy features? Those cannot help; the most important thing is
the price. One decade ago, computers and laptops were quiet luxury products,
but now, almost everyone owns one, simply because it becomes cheaper and
cheaper, yet with improved performance year by year. Hence, it can be concluded
that tablets will replace computers in the near future. “A new report reveals that most US
schools are testing tablet devices, with the aim of having more tablets per
students than computers by 2016.”
References:
Eric.S (Aug., 2012) Why innovative hardware is not enough. [Internet Article] Retrieved from: http://www.forbes.com/sites/ciocentral/2012/05/08/tablets-and-education-why-innovative-hardware-is-not-enough/
Megan E. D(Apr.,2012) Tablets in Charlottesville schools prove successful. [Internet Article] Retrieved from:
http://www2.dailyprogress.com/news/2012/apr/29/tablets-charlottesville-schools-prove-successful-ar-1878331/
Russell. L(Jun., 2012) Carmel High School to provide personal tablet computers to all students next year . [Internet Article] Retrieved from :http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20120430/news/704309742/
Jason. A(Jun., 2012) Pros and Cons of iPads in the Classroom. [Internet article] Retrieved From:
Doug. D (Oct,. 2012)Schools will have more tablets than they do computers 2016. [Internet article] Retrieved from: http://tabtimes.com/news/education/2011/10/31/schools-will-have-more-tablets-they-do-computers-2016
Very interesting post, especially as it relates to our hardware chapter in the text! I just read another blog about E-readers and the future of the library book, and I commented that Tablets and iPads are probably the future of our classrooms. So, it was great to read a whole blog post about that exact concept!
ReplyDeleteI agree that there are definitely pros and cons to any added technology in the classroom - the main cons being the initial cost of providing every classroom or student with the new tech and the possibility of it posing more of a distraction. However, as I posted in my blog about SMART boards, there is actually a ton of research that says interactive technologies actually hold the attention of students better, because they are more actively engaged and interested in the content. Plus, the initial cost of the tech is just that - an initial cost. Long term, I think switching to E-readers or Tablets would be cheaper than buying new textbooks and new supplemental resources every year.
There is definitely a trend leading towards digital text books and using more interactive digital devices in the classroom. Our students are being born into a digital age and I think, as educators, we either need to jump on the train or get left behind. In my research into interactive white boards, I read some articles about interactive/SMART desks and tables! Soon, students will no longer be using hard textbooks or pens and paper, they will be doing everything on their interactive desks, using technology that's either like a small SMART board or a large iPad/Tablet.
Hi Kaitlyn,
DeleteYou are right, actually spending money on textbooks are not cheap as well, for a long term development in school, digital learning tools no matter what will integrated into our classroom. For the time period the initial cost was still a thing that school wide need to consider about. When the funding is available, make the learning and teaching environment digitalize will be a trend. We will see that day coming soon.
Thanks for your comment!
Yun
I was sent an interesting email about an article refering to tablets, particularly the IPad. They talk about the craze in school purchasing IPads and the lack of training. there seems to be a lack of data on how the IPads are bringing about positive learning outcomes. I agree with you about the pros and cons and this article pinpoints a con. We need to continue to teach our students using the new technology being careful not to purchase technology for the sake of just having it. I own an IPad and love it. I use it with my students every chance I get. http://thejournal.com/articles/2012/10/09/stop-buying-ipads-please.aspx?=THEMOB
ReplyDeletePlease comment on my post if you have some time. Thank you
Hi Araceli,
DeleteThanks for the journal you bring it here. I thinks for the digital age, students will interested in anything about technology than the traditional method of teaching. From the big perspective of view, the pros will out the weight. We can not stop the pace of technology, so just relax and enjoy teaching and learning from it. I agree with you that teaching the students how to use technology than just having it. Thanks for your comment.
Yun