With a large touch screen that can display electronic texts in color, Apple’s iPad was greeted with huge enthusiasm by many ed-tech advocates when it debuted earlier this year. The device also inspired a host of competitors and sparked an eReader price war as it threatened to shake up the eBook market.
“I think this changes the picture for eBooks considerably,” said Larry Johnson, CEO of the New Media Consortium, after Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the iPad in January. “This has a lot of potential for … education. [Apple] has really seemed to think through the book experience.”
Johnson’s remarks were prophetic, as the iPad has had a huge impact on educational technology in just its first year of existence. Seton Hill University was among the many schools to give iPads to incoming students this fall, and Abilene Christian University made its students newspaper available for iPads. The device has even changed medical school, where first-year med students at Stanford University are finding several ways to use the iPad to help them learn.
In K-12 education, some Long Beach schools are teaching algebra with the iPad, and Virginia has launched a pilot program that uses iPads to teach social studies. The tablet design, meanwhile, has inspired the nonprofit One Laptop Per Child organization to refocus on issuing a tablet-style device for learning that reportedly would sell for just $99 by 2012.
Not everything has gone smoothly, as technology officials at a handful of universities warned that the iPad might not be compatible with school networks or could overwhelm campus bandwidth capabilities. Others expressed concerns about the iPad’s inability to print—a deficiency that Apple resolved in November with a new operating system for the device.
“Printing is a critical operation, as is editing,” said Jim Hirsch, associate superintendent for technology at the Plano Independent School District in Texas. “The printing is still weak, with only support for a single HP printer included, and Apple still is not providing [the ability] to allow full editing of web-based applications.”
Still, Hirsch said, the new software “is a definite move in the right direction for printing and holds good promise for the future of the iPad [and] iPhone” in schools.
Related links:
Educators intrigued by Apple’s iPad [1]
Future of eReading might not be iPad, but Blio [2]
Textbook firms ink e-deals for iPad [3]
Will $99 Moby tablet swim or sink? [4]
Developers seek to link iPad with education [5]
After ballyhooed debut, some schools see problems with iPad [6]
One Laptop Per Child’s next move: $100 tablet [7]
New assistive technology research focuses on iPad, communication skills [8]
Are standalone eBook readers doomed? [9]
Feds: Make eReaders accessible to all students [10]
iPad pilots launching in higher ed this fall [11]
Sony cuts eReader price to stay competitive [12]
All-digital newsstand coming to college stores [13]
Barnes & Noble launches eBook software for students [14]
India unveils prototype of $35 tablet computer [15]
In price war, new Kindle sells for $139 [16]
Do kids learn as well on iPads, eBooks? [17]
Replacing a pile of textbooks with an iPad [18]
How schools are putting the iPad to work [19]
Supporters of eBooks say they make readers less isolated, more social [20]
Early iPad adopter to use art application this fall [21]
Samsung takes on Apple with iPad rival [22]
iPad competitors lining up [23]
Long Beach schools teaching algebra with iPads [24]
How the iPad is changing med school [25]
eTextbooks expected to grow with iPad on campus [26]
Google tablets may pass iPad with more accessibility [27]
Google promises Docs editing for iPad [28]
RIM readies its answer to iPad [29]
Kno announces single-screen tablet textbook [30]
Survey: Children like eBooks, parents not so much [31]
Virginia using iPads to teach social studies [32]
Enhanced eBooks could entice a new generation of readers [33]
Discovery Education launches iPad platform [34]
University of Minnesota to provide free iPads for research [35]
Blurring the line between apps and books [36]
Multitasking, wireless printing come to iPad [37]
Nearly 1 in 3 kids want an iPad for the holidays [38]
Google’s new eBook store: One store, any device [39]