I found a video on CNN's website that caught my attention and I thought it would be interesting to share here. In Kindergartners getting Ipads, they tell the story of a school district in Maine that voted to provide Ipads for every Kindergartner in the district. While teachers and administrators overwhelmingly applaud the move, some community members are skeptical about giving the young students the responsibility of caring for the expensive tablet computers.
While it may seem a bit absurd to be giving Kindergartners Ipads, I think it's a brilliant idea. The teacher in the video raves about how the Ipad has motivated students to be excited and engaged in their own learning; what more could we ask for as teachers? I suppose the true success of this move will be measured by test scores at the end of the year, but if the district is willing to foot the bill for the Ipads, I don't see why anyone should oppose it.
It's so important to remember who we are teaching and why we are teaching them. I've heard it said that the point of school is to prepare students for the "real world," but in case you haven't noticed, they are already living in it! What better way to integrate them into today's technologically-driven world than to integrate technology into the classroom in truly meaningful ways? Regardless of whether the Ipads actually help these students learn more, they are gaining the invaluable computer skills necessary to thrive in today's world.
My only criticism of this move is that it should be available to every child in the district, not just kindergartners. There are so many great learning opportunities available to students through the use of personal computers and it's absolutely necessary to provide all of our students with that. Of course, this can be expensive and I wonder if anything like this would happen in a less affluent state/school district. Either way, I think it is a great idea and I'd love to see this happen in more districts across the country.
Natalie,
ReplyDeleteiPad's are extremely expensive and all I can think about when I picture kindergarteners getting their hands on them is BOOM than DESTRUCTION. Okay maybe I am being a bit dramatic but I speak from experience no matter how careful children try to be something always happens. My eight year old is still clumsy and my three year old drops things on a daily basis my laptop and iPod included. Your post didn't mention this but would these children be allowed to take them home or would it be a in-class use only? Is this being publically funded? If so that worries me a bit as well. I think I need more background information on this school district before I really get into it? I am also curious as to why they did not pick a higher grade to give iPads out as a tutorial. Is it because they feel the younger children are easier to mold and teachers can more easily keep them away from socially devious sites. I understand that they want to them to be technologically savvy but what happened to good old art and music classes? Which are always the first to go, where children would look forward to finger painting and banging on drums. They have so much time to grow up and learn to be technologically savvy. Why bombard them with iPads something that their parents might not be able to afford if they put it on their Christmas wish list.