Does your school use iPads?

[NewtonMP2100]

.......if Apple went into the comfortable toilet seat business.......that would be a great name.....iPads.........

[samintx]

hal wrote:
very informative posts from our members in edu - thanks

yes, I too found the posts here interesting. You see hospitals and everyone using iPads of similar but I guess it depends for school kids. I don't have any school kids but information is interesting.

[Acer]

My son was selected for a pilot program for his cyber school (he was in 10th grade or so) where they gave him an iPad. Except, there was some software that required a full OS, so they also gave him a little netbook, too. Except the netbook was horribly underpowered and had a dinky netbook keyboard and screen.

He ultimately ignored both and kept using his standard school laptop. I've not heard any mention of the program since, even while his three siblings have continued at the school after him.

[bfd]

You would likely have to look at districts with a 1:1 iPad program meaning that every student has an iPad in order to really see a difference in how things are done. If they're shared tech - or worse yet just a few iPads for a whole class, then it's probably not worth having them. While iPads are not great for typing, the addition of a keyboard solves that problem. The non-Flash capability is probably a problem for some as well, but HTML5 is the solution.

When an entire system is using iPads, there are probably strong benefits. So finding those places with 1:1 placement across all grade levels (not just a few) is the key to getting a more complete answer.

bfd's sense is that if the technology is just being used to deliver boring reading and crappy worksheets on pdf then nothing's really changed except the delivery system. If used in an innovative way - using iMovie, Keynote, Explain Everything, Animation Editor, and similar creative apps, there are probably some good overall results within those districts.

[Markintosh]

I have used a lab of 30 iPads in my classes for 4.5 years now. There's also a lab of older MacBooks. The new rollout this year was Chromebooks for everybody.

Out of the students I see daily, about 98% of them prefer to do work on iPads and NOT on the Chromebooks. Both Pages and Keynote are far superior to the Google app equivalents. Some of them choose to use Google apps on the iPad because they prefer the iPad keyboard.

Thats right, I said it. People under the age of 20 something have absolutely no problem ripping out content on the iPad. Its only most adults that have this preconceived idea that they just cannot do work without a real keyboard.

Sadly...textbook manufacturers and standardized testing creators are pushing the drive toward Chromebooks.

Durability? I had my first broken iPad this year after 4.5 years of use. Our Chromebooks? 14 killed in the first year of rollout, not counting those that just stopped working.

[Sam3]

The article did mention, though almost as an afterthought, that iPads worked quite well in the elementary schools.

[bwicklander]

We use both at my elementary. iPad has great educational programs. The kids like XtraMath on the iPad compared to the computers and chrome books. The upper elementary uses the chrome books for papers and slide shows. The collaborative aspect of google drive is amazing and lets kids work on the same document at the same time. Both have their uses. Our district is going to give our kiddos a chromebook to use next year. Our IT dept/person is against anything Apple. And just confusedly looks at our iPads with disdain. I like both.