Have you ever used a Smartphone, iPad, Ereader, or other personal device? If you have you know the computing power of such devices. They can help students in school. I myself have used them to research facts and read a book in school. There are many apps for educational purposes such as notability (which helps take notes). There is a controversy about whether they should be used in school or not. I myself believe that Smartphones, iPads, Ereaders, and other personal devices should be used in the classroom.
Tablets make learning more fun and help kids learn better. In a recent study 266 kindergarteners in Auburn, Maine were given iPads. Those who used them scored higher on literacy tests and were more enthusiastic about learning than those who didn’t. Students can watch speeches such as Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a Dream,” speech instead of reading them. Students can have a ‘flipped’ classroom where they learn the concepts at home and practice them at school. Then the teacher could help the students who need help while not holding back students who learn at a faster pace so students could learn better at a more personalized pace. Do tablets and other personal devices really seem that bad? I mean, how bad can they be?
Tablets actually save money, and not just waste it, on textbooks and other materials they also weigh less than a fourth of a single textbook’s weight (this will help students who have backpacks with 20 + pounds because all the books are on a device that weighs less than 1 textbook! It will bring the weight down to 10 – 14 pounds!) Apple’s interactive textbooks cost less than half of real textbooks. According to high school superintendent Daniel Brenner, his 2 IPad classrooms save $7,200 per year for materials. Students would have a textbook, dictionary, and thesaurus with them at all times and the IPad only weighs 1.6 pounds. This weighs about as much as a paperback book. This takes the strain of kids who have really heavy backpacks because of textbooks. Do you still believe that tablets and other personal devices are really bad after all these pros about them?
Smartphones make teaching easier and enhance learning. Students from Appalachian State University (NC), partnered with Watauga River Conservation Partners (WRCP) to create mobile scavenger hunts to teach the community about wetlands and conservation. The students used Smartphones and applied their classroom knowledge in the field. Another example is Project Noah where students take pictures and document wildlife using an app to share their findings with an online community. Some teachers use poll everywhere to ask if they read a particular chapter and more students responded because of an anonymous text message. Students can Google information to add to classroom discussions and essays. All these things make learning easier and students more productive. They are not so bad after all, right?
I think Smartphones, iPads, Ereaders, and other personal devices should be used in the classroom. The worst thing that could happen is students play games in class. All you have to do is not get games on the personal devices and set restrictions on the app store in the general section. Now think about it are they really that bad or are you just jealous of the people who own them?