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May 7, 2012 By Sarah Rich
Much like with toy cellphones, kitchenware and hardware tools, children under a certain age once played with toy computers to simulate the experience of working on the real thing. But in recent years, children as young as 2 and 3 years old have eclipsed the step of starting out with a toy version of a piece of technology and are now playing on iPads and other devices before they start kindergarten.
And with the rising fad of mobile devices, public schools are left to decide if the use of devices like iPads should be integrated into class curriculums. While some education officials praise the newer strategy for aiding learning, others claim devices like iPads have no place in the classroom.
In April, an elementary school in Auburn, Maine, was given permission to distribute iPads to kindergarteners next fall — an expense with a $200,000 price tag, according to local media. But not all were in favor of the decision including former Assistant Secretary of Education Diane Ravitch, who claimed on Twitter that she hoped the students would break their iPads since they should be playing instead of using the devices.
Has the Information Age turned into an information overload? Mali Mann, adjunct clinical assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Stanford School of Medicine, said the abundance of technology can create a “technology addiction” in children.
“In the past, we only had to be concerned about too much TV exposure,” Mann said in a statement. “Now we have video games, computers and cellphones. It is overwhelming for young children and creates patterns of behaviors similar to addiction patterns.”
The iPads Are Coming …
But some education leaders feel that incorporating mobile devices into the classroom is essential for students, even as early as kindergarten.
Bernajean Porter, an education consultant and former educator, said schools that want to integrate mobile devices into classroom curriculums need to do more than simply distribute them to students — schools need proper communication and strategies for using them before students receive the devices. Although the use of mobile devices in public school curriculums isn’t the norm, Porter said it will become the trend in the near future. “You might as well send a modern-day Paul Revere through the universe because they’re coming,” she said.
Porter said the fears of parents or critics who believe that children will break or lose school-issued devices are unfounded because schools that have been piloting the use of iPads and other mobile devices in the classroom have not had that problem.
“We are not finding that that disaster fantasy is actually playing out in real life, including being in socioeconomic neighborhoods in which those devices might be taken from kids,” she said.
But Porter said there needs to be an open line of communication between the schools and the parents before the devices are distributed. Schools will need to address and set up systems so that the students can use the devices properly such as creating a check-out system for the devices and deciding what backpacks students should use if they will be carrying the devices.
Other concerns deal with the costs associated with incorporating the devices into classroom use. For school districts like Inver Grove Heights in Minnesota, voters turned down a referendum measure that would have raised money for the district to ramp up the school’s technology needs in part by giving iPads to students.
Lucy Gray, an education consultant, said it can be a smart investment for schools to purchase iPads for students since the costs involved with maintaining PCs in the classroom can be more expensive. In addition, because many apps are free or inexpensive and since schools can get access to volume purchasing, they can purchase iPads and apps in a more frugal manner.
“If it’s done well and thoughtfully,” Gray said, “I don’t think it needs to cost a gazillion dollars.”
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You can hear more thoughts on this topic from a panel of experts at http://www.bamradionetwork.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=811:how-we-teacher-girls-to-have-unhealthy-self-image&catid=35:jackstreet54&Itemid=89.
The answer is YES. iPads are awesome, stimulating tools that are extensions of what students have at home. Why was no one asking this question about laptops or desktops makes me suspect that people asking this question are not actually educators.
I think this has to be one of the worst ideas to ever come about. I've been involved in technology since 1982. Technology is a tool, not a replacement. I've figured out calculations faster in my head and with pencil and paper than others have with calculators. I recently had someone try to calculate a mortgage payment on their iPhone (using the calculator) after I had shown them how I arrived at the number with my financial calculator. "How" is pretty easy to teach (think "rote"). "Why" is not only more difficult (when compared to "How"), but necessary to change the mindset of this country (and the world)to insure sustainability, environmental responsibility, and equality. There's much more I can add, but I'll close with this - this, along with the BYOT ("bring your own technology") movement, is going to create "tech envy" in schools. Kids will be shamed/humiliated/made fun of because they don't have the latest and greatest technology to bring to school. Not to mention that the kids with devices will be able to "cyber bully" and make fun of those less fortunate easier and faster. Use technology for what it's designed to do - supplement and assist, not replace.
Kindergarten is where you learn to write and if they can't write, why give them an iPad.
I'm with Auburn Schools, and it was actually last April that we decided to move ahead with a literacy and math initiative that included 1to1 iPads in Kindergarten. We're a year into the program and are finding that student engagement is up, teachers find that they are getting to reading groups earlier in the year than in the past, and that it is easier to customize learning for students. We even did a customized control trial on the pilot which found a statistically significant improvement in the iPad classrooms. But it is all about the right tool at the right time. We still teach handwriting with pencil and paper, students still play and pretend and read books and work with teachers (all things that some people thought we had plans of stopping once students had iPads - for what reason, I can't even imagine). But now that we have actually done it, we entusiastically say yes, iPads do belong in kindergarten.
Sorry. "customized control trials" should read "randomized control trials."
You are on the right track. When schools providing iPads use them in conjunction with other learning tools (including pencils, paper, books) to teach children of any age--engagement goes up, enthusiasm for learning does also, and individualization of learning can improve immensely. As an autism consultant, I see children use visuals to communicate in ways we had not thought of before, and resulting improvements in behaviors and skill development can be significant. Use the right tools for the right task, and kids LEARN.
One of the most exciting things about being in the teaching profession is the challenge of learning New Ways to solve Old Problems. New Media has helped in solving some old problems while presenting new puzzles to solve for all of us as learners. New media has presented new media literacies build on traditional foundations important to all learners like Play. Keep the conversations going there is so much to learn and who better to help us than our young children and teens?
I completely agree!
Gotta agree with you, AvgJoe. I'm an educator and I'm seeing this already. We're waiting for the Windows 8 slate (the real deal, with touch-optimized Office thrown in at no charge) and will shop for the "sweet-spot" between build-quality and price. Not gonna gouge parents with an "Apple tax" when we all know Win8 will outshine the rest. And it will only be used as a productivity tool, under appropriate circumstances. Maria Montessori rolled over in her grave when she saw the Apple commercial showing a child learning letters by tracing them on a sheet of glass. Me? I will continue to let my students trace over the fine- grit sandpaper letter board I create for $15. Been using it for 10 years, by the way, no worries over hard drive failure. Creative, energetic teachers are the key here. No debate, that's the deal. Too many view the profession as a "job" and I wish they would leave the profession and go get one.
SmartBoards, iPads, Document Cameras, Computers, Projector Systems, etc. Can not you, as a creatvie teacher, keep your students engaged throughout the day? You talk about this stuff as though it's free, just another item delivered to your door by the pixies. You talk about this stuff as though it is some sort of miracle answer to education woes. I think hiring/firing based on merit would produce a top-flight teaching force in this country within two years.
I've given this thread much thought and agree with blinkdt. I respond to the person, not just the tools at my disposal. Additionally, as blinkdt points out, who pays for this, not just to make it available, but to recycle. I agree with the blend of traditional and new. But I think what's necessary, if not fundamental, is understanding what drives the topic. I know many commercial airline pilots and I consider a commercial airliner to be a complex piece of machinery. That said, I'm all for making available to pilots all the necessary training, tools and technology that will keep commercial aviation as safe as it can be. I also know many of these commercial airline pilots also fly gliders, an extremely simple (analog?) platform. These same pilots tell me that being a glider pilot makes them a better commercial airline pilot. Why? Because it's easy to make corrections when they have engines they can manipulate as needed. With a glider, they can only rely on the wind (as Mother Nature intended).
I agree that we should begin a dialogue about the appropriate use of educational technology with early learners. It is important to consider the research (http://ow.ly/b0FO6 ) by leaders in the education field that concludes that educational technology for early learners is appropriate and effective in preparing young children for school if it is designed to be a PART of an early childhood classroom not a replacement for traditional activities. Early learning technology supports learning outcomes in the academic/cognitive and social-emotional realms, particularly for children who are under-resourced. Schools should supply technology devices because there are presently wide inequities in classrooms. Requiring children to bring their own technology device has the potential to further the digital divide. Some good resources regarding early learning technology include our blog about the iPad’s use in early learning (http://ow.ly/b0FTm ), our review of the National Association of Young Children and the Fred Rogers Center position statement (http://ow.ly/b0FUy ) on the use of technology in early childhood and Lisa Guernsey’s blog (http://ow.ly/b0FWB ) at Early Ed Watch from the New America Foundation. You might also follow leaders like Fran Simon (http://ow.ly/b0FYt ) at ecetech.net; and Dr. Chip Donahue (http://ow.ly/b0FZm ) at the Erikson Institute and Technology in Early Childhood (http://ow.ly/b0G10 ) to learn more. Dr. Dale McManis Research Director Hatch Early Learning www.HatchEarlyLearning.com
um no children this young should not know what an ipad is. Sorry. I know everyond disagrees but thats crazy. The educational assistant always brings hers in and makes the kids play, it really angers me when they should be teaching children to limit their screentime. I will deal with the fact she goes to the library to use the computers but an ipad? no! I really wish there was something i could do about it. Maybe in the older grades it wouldn't be such a big deal.
why does it have to always be an "ipad" when more than enough people know what a tablet is? Yep, ipads are tablets made by Apple...very expensive tablets. Beyond that, what is this necessity that everyone feels towards tablets? What new thing is being taught or accomplished on it that justifies the expense to the taxpayers. Aren't tablets, essentially, just dumbed down pc's? Most of the apps that I've utilized are just that...dumbed down computer programs for a tool with limited pc/laptop qualities save for their extremely convenient portability. @Tim Holt ; you sound like a fanboy and really provide no valid argument as to what make it awesome, nor, now that pc's and laptops are integrated into schools, what the benefit of this new gizmo is. Does it help to teach beyond what the other technologies can or is it just a shiny new gizmo and everyone's got one at home so we should all go out an get one, cause, you know, they're awesome.