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School District Abandons iPad Program
posted by: Garry | October 07, 2013, 09:22 PM   

According to review board members, the goal to incorporate iPads into classrooms is unrealistic. Due to inadequate skills and concerns over implementation, the district is favoring more traditional strategies.

The district’s judicious approach to technology implementation provides a unique example for schools considering new technology. While iPads, laptops, tablets, etc. are useful and sometimes preferable in achieving excellence in education, technology is not a silver bullet for learning.  Computers, tablets, and other devices do not change the reality that having quality teachers is the most factor in creating a successful learning environment.

M.I.T. professor and author, Cherry Turkle, writes about the unanticipated consequences of electronic technology: “We become smitten with the idea that there will be technological solutions to these knotty problems with education, but it happens over and over again that we stop talking to kids.”

Joel Klein, chief executive officer of Amplify,
only partially agreed with Turkle, saying, “The world is living in this tech-driven experience. Maybe we all should be concerned about it, but think about how empowering it’s been, and the notion that a device is going to make us less good at producing citizens runs counter to how democratizing this technology is.”

Teachers who can effectively communicate and excite students about learning will always be paramount in education. New York Times author Carlo Rotella, perfectly summarizes the issue of technology in the classroom: “To get the most out of educational technology, teachers must combine those traditional classroom skills with new ones. And their repertoires will have to expand as the tablet’s powers grow.”

What do you think about the growing use of technology in the classroom? Do you think iPads can be effective classroom tools?
Comment below.

 

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