Massachusetts High School Goes for all iPad Curriculum

This Blog come from listening to two Interviews with Robin Young on NPR’s Here & Now, on March 23, 2012 and January 7, 2013.

Last year I spent a portion of my blogging discussing e-books in the classroom.

Last year, Burlington High School Principal Patrick Larkin (in photo, source = Here & Now Website), decided to get rid of all textbooks and use iPads in the classroom.  Apple Corporation reports schools in more than 600 districts throughout the US have bought iPads for their students. So, if this is happening in high schools, grammar and middle schools, what will colleges do to keep up with the process?  How do you tell them that they can’t use these devices in the classroom once they’ve been using them for their education up to higher ed? There will be great inequities between students with and those without.

Burlington High history chair, Todd Whitten, said he was afraid the kids would spend all their time playing video games and texting friends, but in a recent NPR interview with Robin Young, he changed his tune and said that he “...likes it.” He really likes it.

It cost Burlington about $500,000 for the devices, and Principal Larkin said the school paid for them within its existing budget because of closing down three tech labs and a language lab, which is no longer needed as students use their iPads for language classes.

And even more controversial, “Larkin said that the school isn’t even buying electronic versions of textbooks, since they end up costing the schools more than traditional ones in the long run.” (NPR WEBSITE SOURCE)

FOLLOW-UP ISSUE: I am going to continue to track this to see how teachers and students feel they are doing with it. In the meantime, the following are the pros and cons that I can identify right now regarding this:

Pros
Cut out lab costs
No text book cost
Web-enabled device
Learner-centered education
Student learns how to “police themselves” around plagiarism
More flexibility, more up to date information
Ability to use open resource information
Saves time
Better note-taking
One device has ALL the information
Students will be tech-savvy for college life

Cons
Cost
Process of curation of information
Students not focusing on current material
Facebook/Twitter usage
Playing games
More of an issue of social media bully-ism
Teacher must change classroom logistics
Student learn bad practices around plagiarism
Are colleges ready for tech-savvy students at this level?
Some students have issues with technology
Some teachers have issue with technology