A disagreement on the iPad potential…

I got a nice comment respectfully disagreeing with my point of view about the iPad and education. For reference, the commented post was here, and perhaps he might of missed my pre-tablet hype post here).  Trevor M, (who I haven’t met, but I suspect we are kindred spirits in educational technology) lists these ideas about how the iPad will revolutionize education: 

1.  Textbooks
2.  Note Taking
3.  Paperless Classroom
4.  Studying and Reviewing
5.  Student Interest Level
6.  Individualized Curriculum

He then goes on, in another post, to talk about three concepts for iPad applications:

1. Note Taking
2. Studying and Reviewing
3. Individualized Curriculum

His enthusiasm and excitement is clearly evident in his writing.  I wish he had been a bit more verbose when he discussed what he didn’t agree with in my post.  Anyways, in the spirit of fostering healthy conversation about something that hasn’t seen the light of day yet, I remain skeptical.  Why?

Textbooks.

iPads look like fantastic textbook readers - really great. I’ve even written a piece that they may be version one of the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.  But is that what we want technology to do? Just be a textbook reader? Thats not revolutionary at all - it’s just more efficient “same old same old”.  So kids go online and look at flash-based animations Wikipedia, national geographic, and other fantastic resources. Then what? I would like them to be able to use the images and ideas they find to create their representations of knowledge. But without multitasking, how will they do this? 

And there is the idea of support. Do textbooks break when you drop them? Do they need to be charged? Who fixes them when they break? How do we ensure they are all running the same version of the same stuff? What happens when one gets stolen (1 textbook = $70.00, 1 iPad = $500.00)? How long will they last? Textbooks are good for about 10 years. Same for iPad?  Technology is, for all it’s coolness a high-maintenance spouse.

I’m not asking these questions to be a curmudgeon, but these exact questions and issues have stymied growth in technology education for years. I’ve always thought we should get away from textbooks and use laptops or full-blown tablets.

Note Taking.

You write “One of the largest complaints I hear from my students is that the lost their notes.  They either don’t know where they put the paper or it got thrown away by mistake.  The same thing goes for homework.  Students tend to not be very organized, but how can you blame them?  They have grown up in a digital world.  They are used to having the things saved automatically on a computer or iPod.  If they need to find something they just do a keyword search and it finds it form them.”

Yes. In fact, I do blame them.  One of the many tasks we need to teach our kids is to be organized and responsible.  It is utterly foundational.  I repeat my systems argument above: a lost notebook is $5.00 an iPad, $500.00. And are iPads really better? Digital devices are just as prone to failure and data loss as losing a notebook - but far more catastrophic.  Do the kids bring the iPads home with them? Really? I live in New York City and I’m not sure how I feel about 100 7th graders toting around an iPad…

Paperless Classroom

I’ll stop with this one, because I’ve always thought the “paperless classroom” was some kind of Nirvana we should all aspire to. But it isn’t. You can’t draw on a tablet like paper (try shading), tablet handwriting recognition is an oxymoron, and flipping through pages isn’t the same as a paper notebook. You cant easily draw a table or venn diagram on a iPad or incorporate all those yummy meta cognitive skills into normal note taking.  My point?  An iPad isn’t paper - it cant do the same thing as paper. Why are we trying to bend it to do the same thing as paper.

Just so you know Trevor, I’m not knocking you here - I would love to have an iPad for my hour-long commute. But for my classroom? I just don’t see it. At least not yet.

On 09 February 2010, Trevor M. inscribed the following thoughts about this post:

Bill,
Your points are well taken.  I went back and read your other posts as well about tablets.  I apologize I did not make myself clear about my disagreements with you on your previous post.  I also agree with your comment that we are kindred spirits; that’s a nice touch.

The iPad is definitely not the cheapest device out there, which will make it rather difficult for some schools to make the decision to purchase them.  Many schools have a one to one computing program set up already, and I think the iPad could be an attractive alternative to netbooks for schools interested in starting their own in the near future. 

The iPad will never be a laptop replacement, but that does not mean it does not have a place in education, and not just as a textbook reader.

All technology can and does break.  The schools can get insurance/replacement policies for accidental breaks that will inevitably happen.  And the iPad does not have to be taken home if the school does not want that to happen.  Also, schools could charge rental fees to students who want to be able to take them home.  This is commonly done with expensive graphing calculators for students who cannot afford to purchase their own.

As far as each iPad running the same set of apps, that could easily be accomplished by syncing them all to the same computer/Mac based account.  But of course the maintenance of the devices will never be a cheap proposition.  But because of the “lack of multitasking” there should be fewer optimization problems over time as is common with PCs and even Macs as more programs get installed and run in the background.

The future of the world IS digital, so I think it is very important for schools to embrace the digital age.  Pen and paper do have their place in education, but the same pen and paper can easily be replaced with the iPad.  Of course a digital format is NOT the same as a paper format, just as VHS is NOT the same as Blu-Ray.  They are different means to accomplish the same thing.

Contrary to what you stated in your post, it is quite easy to draw on tablets.  As an amateur graphic designer, I use tablets a lot to draw.  Sometimes I’ll draw on paper then redraw it on the computer with a tablet.  Think of the tablet as a different medium for drawing (like ink, paint, and clay are different mediums).  It does have a learning curve, but once learned can actually produce results BETTER than normal pen and paper.  The iPhone has a popular app called Brushes where people have created wonderful paintings on an iPhone.  (examples of Brushes drawings can be found at http://www.flickr.com/groups/1238939@N25/)  With a larger “canvas”, the iPad should make it easier to draw even better.  With the proper drawing apps, it could be much more powerful than traditional pen and paper.  You will just need to learn how to master the medium first.

I will admit the cost and maintenance will be the largest obstacle with the iPad.  But, I still feel the iPad (and its future iterations and copy cats), with the proper apps, will be a force to recon with in education. 

Bill, we might just have to agree to disagree on the topic though.  Thanks for the conversation and friendly debate.  It is helping me clarify my own thoughts about the iPad and its uses in the classroom.

On 09 February 2010, Trevor M. inscribed the following thoughts about this post:

Bill,
I just updated my blog with a summary of your post and my comments so that my blog readers can become more aware of our discussion.  I am really enjoying it.  Thanks for helping me further refine my thoughts.  The post can be found at http://www.edutechnophobia.com/2010/02/a-friendly-disagreement-about-the-ipad-and-education/.
~Trevor