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iPads, Surfaces, and Nexuses, Oh My! Are Tablets the Best Solution for Schools?

Michael Nutter

May 10, 2017

As the use of tablets in the classroom continues to rise, educators are seeing impressive results from their implementation. But is this piece of technology really the most effective option for schools?

From the moment the first iPad was introduced in 2010, tablets have shown promise as tools in classrooms at all grade levels. Since then, more than seven million tablets have been introduced — today, as much as 66% of K-12 students have access to mobile devices at home and at school. These numbers are only expected to rise, and are indeed already making an impact on educational performance in the United States.

Yet despite this marked success, the path to adoption of tablets has some considerable obstacles. These problems need to be addressed to make sure every child receives the best, most dynamic, and most comprehensive education possible.

In Early Education

From kindergarten to high school, teachers with the available resources are integrating tablets into their curricula. The touch screen has made it possible for younger and younger children to engage with computers, despite a limited range of motor of skills.

Kindergartners at Drayton Hall Elementary in Charleston, South Carolina, are using tablets to learn to read, and each student can customize his or her selection of books. They also play educational games that integrate with the curriculum, and use the iPads to create projects that demonstrate what they have learned. The class’s teacher, Kristi Meeuwse, can personalize the iPads for individual students, taking care to tailor them according to each kid’s abilities.

And the results are pretty astonishing. In Ms. Meeuwse’s 22 years of teaching, the year she implemented tablets was the first that 100% of her students advanced to a first grade reading level. In Auburn, Maine, the district conducted a study on tablets and early literacy that found that students who learned with tablets generally scored higher on assessments than those who did not. It’s clear that, while it’s very difficult to make this expensive technology available to all students, it can have an exciting impact.

In High Schools

In high schools, too, the devices are showing some potential. Teachers like Shawn McCusker of William Fremd High School in Palatine, Illinois, are making use of tablets by taking advantage of their streamlined collaborative capabilities.

Using the cloud, Mr. McCusker lets his students provide one another feedback on assignments and encourages active research that results in “community construction.” In this way, the students have created meaning for a given topic on their own, says McCusker, improving the likelihood that the material is actually learned and retained. Still other teachers are finding value in tablets as a tool for teaching a language, and they are especially effective in special education.

Tablets allow students to learn at their own pace, and empower more reserved or shyer pupils to communicate with the teacher and interact with the class on group projects. The mobile devices also collect valuable data for the students, teachers, and parents alike, highlighting problem areas or topics.

The Limitations

While these results certainly are laudable, it’s worth noting that tablets prove most effective in 1-to-1 computing programs, situations in which every student has access to his or her own device. The reality is that, despite the relative affordability of tablets, most schools do not have the means to provide one for every single student. In fact, only 16% of students attend schools with such programs, and not everyone has access to the same technology at home — this leaves those without tablets or computers outside of school more likely to fall behind.

Training can also be a problem, as the students often end up instructing the teachers on how to use the devices. The Los Angeles Public School district launched a $1 billion initiative to provide all of its 650,000 students with iPads, but had to halt the program after students easily hacked the devices to surf the web. The plan’s massive scale made it ripe for mistakes, but its ambition still makes it a worthy example for future initiatives.

Tablets are clearly a critical asset to the United States’ educational system and have the power to affect meaningful change on a profound level. Ironing out the kinks, however, will take time, patience, and a lot of funding. In the meantime inexpensive cloud connected devices like Chromebooks are being adapted by schools at an incredible pace.We’ll stay tuned.

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