Tablets in education: The pros and cons
The use of tablets in schools is
starting to pick up pace, with hundreds of schools introducing them as a
learning tool, either through a government scheme, or part funded with parents.
I will look at some of the funding challenges in part II of this blog, but
first I thought it would be good take a look at the actual pros and cons of introducing
tablets into the classroom.
Pros
1. Personalization
The one (teacher) to 30
(students) model of learning is fast becoming redundant. Classes are getting
bigger, and students are receiving less and less individual attention.
Personalized learning is the model that will replace it, with students empowered
to take control of their learning by working at their own pace – and tablets
will be the means to do this.
2. More flexible learning
Traditional curriculums are
rigid, and any changes take time to provide the feedback required to make the
necessary tweaks to ensure the right balance between keeping the targets
achievable whist still stretching the students. Trials rolled out in schools
like that in the Stephen Perse Foundation have set the benchmark for rolling
out tablet learning, including training teachers, evaluating apps, and shaking
up the strategy when the students race through courses quicker than expected.
This kind of dynamic academic curriculum setting is simply not possible in the
traditional classroom.
3. Integrated learning
Often, computer rooms are
completely segregated from the normal classroom, meaning kids are shunted off
to a different part of the building to get on the computer. Tablets allow
learning to continue to take place where they are, as part of the subject they
are learning about. The very nature of tablets makes them more collaborative as
they are one plane rather than two planes (horizontal and vertical), meaning
there is no physical barrier between the teacher and child or between children
collaborating.
4. Enhanced student – teacher communication
Student participation in the form
of a ‘show of hands’ is a great way to demonstrate a key point, but is not very
scientific in larger classes, but can be overcome by the use of polling apps.
It’s real-time, accurate and fun for students to participate. Communication can
also involve the ability to ask questions and make comments during lectures,
which is great for shy students who want to contribute to the lesson without
having the spotlight on them – indeed, we’re starting to understand that
introverts generally can offer better insights, if only they spoke up!
5. Students love them It’s sounds
obvious, but students love
tablets. They are ubiquitous in
their lives already, and they are more than familiar with this technology
outside of school. Tablets in the classroom undoubtedly get even the most
stubborn and uninterested students engaged in learning.
6. Elimination of networks
Network problems and issues with
logging in actually account for a huge amount of lost time, and there is an
over-reliance on technicians to fix simple issues. Tablets on the other hand
are ‘always on’, have very little maintenance and software installation is as
painless as downloading an app. In short tablets put technology back in the
hands of the people that matter – the children and the teachers.
7. Auto-save
Tablets have a superb battery
life, but just in case, progress is automatically saved in the background
constantly. Children therefore don’t have to worry about saving their work
regularly, and teachers no longer have to hear that time-old excuse of “I lost
my work”.
8. Huge library of apps
You only have to do a quick
search on Google for Educational Apps to see just how many there are available,
catering for every imaginable age, subject and skill – there are over 65,000
educational apps available on the iTunes store alone! The thing about Apps is
that they do one thing very, very well, which is why they are so perfect for
developing very specific skills. Students will also be able to take advantage
of the audio-visual tools the tablet offers such as the camera, mic and video,
to enhance creativity in the classroom.
9. A lighter school bag
No more back-breaking textbooks
that are out of date the moment they leave the printing press. I remember
lugging around so many textbooks at school, it almost seemed cruel. All of
those books could easily be available as e-books, which generally cost less,
and significantly, never go out of date, with publishers having the ability to
update as and when necessary. Not only that, you could essentially replace all
of the contents of your schoolbag with one single tablet crammed full of apps
to cover all your needs. Exercise books? Use Evernote. Pens and other writing
instruments – not needed, or use a stylus if you really have to! There are
however pitfalls to introducing iPads in the classroom.
Here are the key Cons:
1. Cost
This is probably the biggest
issue for schools and educational establishments. It’s not just the cost of the
tablet itself, but also, cases and repair costs. Of the schemes that have been
rolled out across the country, there have been a range of financing mechanisms,
ranging from fully funded by the school,
to optional ‘Bring Your Own Device’ solutions, with a range of options in
between where parents part fund their child’s tablets. Part II of this blog
looks at the various funding options and
the challenges faced by both parents and educational establishments to avoid a
two tiered education system where only
the kids of well off parents have
access to a tablet.
2. Teacher training
Whenever a new technology is
introduced into schools, there is inevitably a challenge to varying degrees to
the teachers who need to get up to speed with it, and understand basic trouble
shooting. Things are different now, and most teachers are far more comfortable
working with new tech, but there will inevitably be training required, as well
as on-going technical support to ensure
tablets remain locked down, and deal with any issues that may occur.
3. Security concerns
Tablets are highly desirable
items, as they are valuable and very portable. Many parents would feel
uncomfortable allowing their child to carry around an item of such high value
and putting them at risk of muggings and theft. The option is to keep the
tablets on school premises at all times, but that would not be making optimal
use of them, and it’s been proved that students that can continue their school work at home on the
tablets have an enhanced learning experience and attain better grades than those that only have access to
them at school. There have been studies to show that by giving children responsibility for their own tablets
by giving them clear guidelines on their care, in addition to a policy for
parents to sign up to laying out the insurance and excess policies, the risk of
the tablets coming to harm are much reduced.
4. Breakages
Tablets are not the most robust
items in the world, especially when they transported around in a school bag
which may be used as a goalpost during lunchtime, along with the usual rigors
of school life, the risk of breakages, particularly cracked screens are very
real. This can be negated to some extent by investing in a good shockproof case
as well as providing guidelines on how to look after the device, but it’s a
risk nonetheless. Other factors have been cited as reason for tablets
unsuitability for school use, but these have either been addressed by
manufacturers (such as Apple’s Mobile Device Management featurewhich allows administrators to
restrict access to certain sites and apps – something this LA school could have
benefited from), or the availability of alternative solutions that render the
concern invalid (such as a lack of USB ports, or in iPads, the lack of Flash.
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