It was a short three and a half years ago since the iPad was introduced. There were viral videos of a German man with a bad mustache ranting about the shortfalls of the device. It could play flash, it didn't have a usb port, no expandable memory, and so on. It didn't matter, everybody wanted one. and all of the competitors started pushing similar devices. Now, just three and a half years later it would be difficult to imagine life without some type of tablet. I'm partial to my kindle fire HD.
One of the things that was not anticipated at the time of the launch was the use of the iPad as a assistive technology. With the huge range of third party apps available for all tablet computers it is a plain to see how they can easily be used by students to help them read, to help the communicate and to help them better understand the text. Zooming in on the text can also help a students that might have some visual impairment. Tablets are very versatile. Universal design plays a large part of the popularity of tablet computers. Even my four year old son knows how to navigate around on a tablet that he has never seen before.
Yea, the iPad is certainly the tool to turn too for education due to how user friendly it is. I read a journal piece from a year ago that discussed how they were so intuitive that they have been put to use with great results in pre-school class rooms. By far the iPad is the tablet device that is leading the way, while the others may be great for business I think the iPad will own the classroom for a while.
ReplyDeleteI am astonished when I see young children playing with IPADS. I think that IPADS will be in corporated in classrooms at all ages. I am currently working in a first grade classroom that has eight IPADS. Students take turns using the IPADS during reading time because they get to interact with their readings on the computers more so than they do with their own books. It may take them a few classes to understad how to use the IPAD but now when the teacher asks them to get the IPAD and sign it, it does not take the student long to do. They are excited to work with them and it gives them something to look forward to.
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