Using the iPad in a public school classroom as a 1 to 1 learning device is very difficult. The iPad is different than other devices. It is extremely portable, has 2 cameras, a microphone and is truly a multi-media device. This is a huge plus and strength of the device. It is also one of the reasons that this device is very hard to manage in the classroom. There is a reason that the Chromebook has overtaken the iPad as the most purchased device by American Schools and its not because the iPad design is bad, its more because it is so good.
The iPad goes everywhere. The bus, the classroom, the bathroom and everywhere in between. The iPad becomes attached to its user, much in the way a “smart” web enabled, cell phone does. And here in is the problem, with classroom management continuing to be a huge part of the learning experience, the iPad makes it harder to manage a classroom. As the user integrates the iPad into their life, it is mostly centered around entertainment. The games, videos, and social networking communication capabilities are so instantaneous that it becomes very difficult to use the device as a learning tool because that entertainment is always there.
American children spend an average of 7 hours with a screen, with the majority of that being entertainment, not educational. Tablets like the iPad increase the accessibility to time with screens because they are so portable and easy to access. This is a big problem in the classroom. If a teacher wants their students to lets say, complete a reading and answer some questions, many times the iPad screen makes it a much longer and less productive learning experience because the student is so attached to the device as entertainment. The reading turns into checking their game, to watching a quick video, to posting a snapchat and then finally, maybe, getting to the reading. This is what the iPad is designed for, being a media consumer, not being a productive learner. The iPad doesn’t even have a keyboard, another clear sign that it is not designed, first to be an education tool.
The iPad is an amazing device, coupled with full access to the Apple App store it is hard to beat the overall capabilities of the machine as an entertaining, multi-media device. Speaking from personal experience however, as a classroom tool, it can make the teachers job harder, not easier.
