Last July, Apple reported it sold one
million iPads to schools and universities, roughly doubling the number it sold the
previous year and solidifying the tablet computer as the technology of choice
for many in the education market.
“Education, traditionally slow to
adopt new technology, is bucking tradition snapping up iPads faster than many
people have expected,” wrote Beth Bacon in a blog post at Digital Book World. “K-12 schools all over the United States are
integrating tablets into their classrooms and opting for iPads instead of
laptops or desktops.”
Students like using the lightweight
devices and can make use of all sorts of interactive features that facilitate
learning. Tablets are portable, powerful, easy to use, and available at lower
prices than most desktop computers.
Cost is still the top concern facing
technology in education. Bacon reports on a recent survey of K-12 educators that
found 57% identified lack of funds as the biggest challenge to incorporating
tablets into their classrooms. Other top issues in the use of tablets according
to the survey, include problems some students have with using the touchscreen
keyboard and teachers’ difficulty monitoring what their students are doing on
the tablets.
