New Article Review (Lisa)

Why iPads ? - iPADs apps for Learning

http://www.ipadsforeducation.vic.edu.au/why-ipad

Educause, a Learning Initiative, presents a persuasive argument for the value of iPAD apps in this article (Feb 2011). Its powerful conclusion sums up how “these applications that live in the spaces where education and entertainment overlap can capture the imagination, enticing students to learn on their own”. Imagine a teaching resource with such innovative and inspiring educational potential.

It describes how Apple’s iPAD tablet is a cross between the smartphone and the laptop. The iPAD offers more interactive visual content than a cellphone screen. It utilises navigation with taps, finger swipes and pinch zoom currently not available on a laptop or desktop. It is presented as a feasible and functional learning tool.

The article further describes how the iPAD is designed to offer a crisp visual display and built in wireless connectivity to facilitate easy download of hundreds of thousands of applications. The apps offer a large information consumption and interaction and exploration with a touchscreen interface, web access and large tablet display size. Educational app examples include a flashcard app like Cram, a graphing calculator, vocabulary word games like Word Warp and polling apps like eClicker.

The article discusses the iPAD’s potential to replace printed textbooks and other course material. As an e-reader it allows for searching, bookmarking, tagging and sharing of content which could turn textbooks from a static resource into a learning hub. The evolution of the iPAD is matched by the development of more applications with tools and updates that extend the potential of the iPAD for learning in different educational settings.

Educause does acknowledge that there are downsides to the educational use of iPADs and its applications. These include the fact that their hardware can be expensive and that the number and range of available apps are limited by the exclusive distribution through the iTunes store. Moreover if a whole class was running apps on their iPADs the wireless infrastructure would be tested.

However, with greater knowledge of iPADs and the prospect of more useful applications, education could be the winner. Accompanying the article is a scenario that illustrates how surprisingly effective the introduction of an iPAD and its relative app can be for education.