As you flip through the new textbooks with multitouch, you'll be able to tap on pictures with interactive captions, view diagrams, or even play full-screen videos. You can also highlight text with your finger, or tap on any word to get its definition. Most of these textbooks will cost $14.99 or less.
While this new technology may be mindblowing, some people aren't sure if the iPad really should be used in the classroom. Matt Burns thinks that iPads would harm kids' education, just as the pocket calculator means kids can't do mental math as well.
"Kids are now taught to pass tests. Knowledge is externalized, stored on some Wikipedia server or graphing calculator until needed. Learning is still prevalent in schools, but the storage of facts and thoughts is not. Digital textbooks will only further this problem. Just click on a word to get its definition, says Apple."In addition to this, Burns believes the iPad will be a major distraction for kids. However, Greg Kumparak believes that the iPad has the potential to become a very useful learning tool for students.
"I honestly believe it’s entirely possible — nay, crucial — to teach a kid to live both with and without technology. Teach and test them on how to do it the hard way (and more importantly, to understand the underlying concepts)… then drive it in with technology. If you instill a sense of pride in doing things with your very own brain, perhaps all that junk won’t fly out the window as soon as the diploma is signed. It’s all about balance."Both of these cases present believable ideas, but I think the only way we'll know how beneficial Apple's new technology really is is when it's actually tried. I have a feeling however, that it'll help some students and harm others. The students that actually want to learn and become smarter will be able to utilize the iPads technology well, while the kids that only go to school because they have to will use the iPads as just another distraction.
