The iPad: Not the Right Product for Education
I’ve been reflecting the last couple days on Apple’s new iPad. The product that, before it’s announcement, some had claim would revolutionize education.
If it does…..it will be a shock to me.
I have nothing against Apple (I’m typing on a MacBook that I love), I just think this piece of hardware is not what we need in education.
I had high hopes for this new piece of technology. Enough to stay up until 3am on a school night to watch the live announcement. Throughout the keynote, I was waiting to be wowed by something new, something different, something that would allow me to produce content in a new way.
But it didn’t come.
Leading up to the keynote I was watching TWIT.TV and their coverage. I don’t remember who said it, but one of the host said something to the effect of:
“It will be interesting to see what they come out with, when you start with the questions ‘How do we allow people to consumer media?’”
It’s a great question and I think the iPad nails that question on the head. If you want a new way to consume information, it’s a great piece of technology that allows you to do that.
We already have ways to consumer information in education. Consuming information has never been our issue. What we need help with is teaching students how to become producers of information and knowledge.
I wrote about this almost two years ago in a post titled “Moving from Consumers to Producers of Information” and have created a presentation that I give by the same name that has been well received.
I have no doubt that the iPad is a great consumer device, but I want my students to be able to produce videos podcasts and blog posts. I want them to be able to edit wikis with full editing features (Safari browser does not support many WYSIWYG Editors….including the one built in Moodle…an online course program used by a lot of schools). I want my students to becoming producers of knowledge not just consumers of it. We already have ways in which we consume information that work….I think…pretty well.
Apple’s own iPad website states:
The best way to experience the web, email, photos, and videos.
That might be so, but what’s the best way to create web pages, emails, photos, and videos. That’s the device I want. That’s the device I want in the hands of my students!
Mac’s in fashion product will rapidly evolve after the first pumped up launch during it’s unveiling. The lack of keyboard and Job’s potential to fix defections will help to make the iPad a success in years to come.
Jeff, I appreciate your initial take on the iPad, but I hope that what Apple have conjured up is not just a “passive” device for “watching” media. The line that you quoted used the word “experience”, and an experience should be active, not passive. I’ve already summed up my positive response to the iPad, but now the ultimate potential of the device lies in the hands of both Apple and 3rd party developers to create something that’s not just ‘an inflated iPod Touch’. As for whether iPad can be “The One Ring to Rule them All”, well that’s just not going to fly – we’re not looking for any one device to be a ‘product messiah’, but I can see iPad taking a strong role in the life of students and their active work in its current form.
I think price alone will limit it’s educational use. Since keyboards and usb connectivity will be extra add-ons, it becomes a costly method for doing school work, when compared to netbooks and even some full sized notebooks. Most students don’t have that much money, when they can still read and watch video on full computer.
I would have to disagree that the iPad is not the right product for education. I have written several blog posts about it at http://www.edutechnophobia.com/. I have even written one about how the iPad could help change the face of virtual schools in America at http://www.edutechnophobia.com/2010/02/whats-next-virtual-k-12-schools/.
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