How good are iPad/tablets for education?

[kyrax12]

In your own experience....

 

[ThatsABigOne]

Not really. They are toys that make it very distracting to study.

 

[kyrax12]

Not really. They are toys that make it very distracting to study.

Well what about for E-textbooks?

 

[corkyg]

Well what about for E-textbooks?

Any good e-reader will work for that. And, some tablets are good e-readers.

 

[luv2liv]

IPad are expensive toys. Useless after 2 years once a new system update is required.
Reading books on them for a long time cause eye fatigue

 

[IamDavid]

Our school district just ditched all IPads. Expensive waste of time. Teachers teach, not toys. We could've hired many additional teachers for what we wasted.

 

[kyrax12]

Any good e-reader will work for that. And, some tablets are good e-readers.

Can you recommend a good e-reader?

I was planning to use my parent's Ipad air...

I just thought it was good because it has retina display and a fast processor.

 

[Mopetar]

It depends entirely on how they're used and the software that's available. Expecting an iPad (or any other tablet or technology for that matter) to solve all of your problems is foolhardy. iPads are nothing more than a tool. Treating them otherwise won't actually improve outcomes.

If you're interested in the thoughts of someone who's been using iPads in education and the problems, challenges, and successes that have come from that I'd recommend this blog.

 

[maxi007]

Giving tab would not be an great idea since kids attracted more towards bad thing and can misuse them .
Kindle would be a good idea , but not better as bad pdf books are also present
better i suggest have a pc in home and they run under parents guidance

 

[Capt Caveman]

Typical ignorant responses.

A friend of mine is taking graduate classes at MIT. All of his books and learning material is on his iPad. Takes notes on his iPad with a stylus. Multiple apps available by the school for lab and research work. Etc....

 

[jacktesterson]

Typical ignorant responses.

A friend of mine is taking graduate classes at MIT. All of his books and learning material is on his iPad. Takes notes on his iPad with a stylus. Multiple apps available by the school for lab and research work. Etc....

Good for your friend. Doesn't mean its the best option.

Its a good option however.

 

[dagamer34]

1 iPad-per-student programs make no sense. An iPad gets software updates up to 4 years and then becomes a paperweight, however during that last 1-2 years, it's so freaking slow, kids are waiting for the tablet to do something. At the very least while tablet SoCs are still exponentially increasing in performance, it's a terrible time to buy (much like computers in the 90's that really did need replacing every few years).

The most I would recommend is giving a teacher an iPad, having an Apple TV in the classroom hooked up to a TV, and apps that improve learning of concepts through interactivity far better than pen and paper ever could. Keeps costs very low, doesn't give students iPads to distract themselves with, and even if they need to be replaced every few years, it's not a criminal use of the limited funds a school has.

 

[dagamer34]

Typical ignorant responses.

A friend of mine is taking graduate classes at MIT. All of his books and learning material is on his iPad. Takes notes on his iPad with a stylus. Multiple apps available by the school for lab and research work. Etc....

"Graduate student at MIT" is not the same as "10 year old kid with the attention span of a cat". I would have hoped you could tell the difference. :whiste:

 

[mmntech]

If you're using it to take notes in class, the Surface Pro is probably a far better option unless you require iPad specific apps. I wish they had something like that when I was in university. My iBook weighed a ton compared to what's out today. I think I may have actually wrecked my back lugging it and all my texts around. D:

Apple giving the iPads away to schools though is more clever marketing gimmick than educational initiative. Same reason why they flooded the schools with the IIGS and Macs back in the late 80s. If you're taught computers on an Apple product, you're more likely to buy one years down the line. It all worked because Gen Y loves all things Apple.

 

[NutBucket]

Apple is giving away iPads to schools? I guess LAUSD didn't get the memo since they were paying upwards for $600 each for the things (price included software and insurance or something).

 

[Mopetar]

1 iPad-per-student programs make no sense. An iPad gets software updates up to 4 years and then becomes a paperweight, however during that last 1-2 years, it's so freaking slow, kids are waiting for the tablet to do something.

That doesn't make much sense. If they can already run the software that they need, then it doesn't matter if they stop getting OS updates (and frankly 4 years is better than anything else out there) and they shouldn't run any slower over time unless they ran slow to start with.

They aren't meant to be used to play bleeding edge games or anything so intensive. If it's mainly for digital versions of text books and a few educational apps, there's no reason why a tablet couldn't last for 5 years.

 

[corkyg]

In your own experience....

It would really help if you would specify at what age and level.

 

[ponyo]

Chromebooks are superior to iPads for education at half the cost. Schools are slowly realizing this but there's lot of corruption and kickbacks involved to go with the more expensive iPads.

 

[Strk]

For education? I'd have to go with a Surface Pro 3. Sure it's more expensive, but you get a full laptop out of the deal. I think regular tablets are just too limited to be considered much more than a toy.

 

[boomhower]

Chromebooks are superior to iPads for education at half the cost. Schools are slowly realizing this but there's lot of corruption and kickbacks involved to go with the more expensive iPads.

Our school system last week just made that same decision. They are replacing aging desktops with HP Chromebox's. They are XP box's that obviously aren't getting security updates anymore so this is the route they went. They are also running a pilot program with a group of students doing the college-in-high school thing and are giving them Chromebooks to take home during the school year.

 

[Capt Caveman]

"Graduate student at MIT" is not the same as "10 year old kid with the attention span of a cat". I would have hoped you could tell the difference. :whiste:

Who said 10 year old kid? OP is in college.

My 5 year old nephew has used a number of the educational apps on my brother's iPad to learn the alphabet. reading and more.

 

[openwheel]

LAUSD spent 30 million on outdated iPads and tax payers were outraged. We all forgot about it now and someone made a fortune from it.

 

[maxi007]

Who said 10 year old kid? OP is in college.

My 5 year old nephew has used a number of the educational apps on my brother's iPad to learn the alphabet. reading and more.

yes its good when your nephew is under some attention ,else if he start misusing ,then u cant stop .