Ubiquity of iPads

Whenever I travel, I watch what kind of technologies the natives are using. 

Harada (Japan) airport, March 2012 (taken with permission)

Lately, it seems, iPads and iPhones have taken over the world. Whether it is the Schipol airport lounge or the Bangkok SkyTrain, smart phones and tablets seem to be everywhere - the majority of them i-somethings. (The iPhone 4s is being heavily advertised on billboards here in Bangkok.)

It's not just the schools in rich nations that need figure out how to use these personal devices to help educate children. 

 The photo below was taken in Jerash, Jordan in 2008. The young man was showing me U.S. movies he'd download on his ratty-looking cell phone. He'd didn't look like he had a lot of discretionary income.

 So what is keeping you from finding ways to incorporate student-owned technology in your school that probably has a family-income average greater than 99% of the rest of the world?

I'll bet it's not money.

Comments

[Kenn Gorman]

I guess my biggest question is why there is such a backlash of administrators NOT wanting to use personal devices? I really can't believe it's the cost, and don't believe it's the lack of apps or support.

Could it simply be the shift of control from the "sage on the stage" to the student? Or do teachers and administrators believe that the whole cheating issue will become a plague of doom and destruction?

I actually had a conversation with my classes and asked them to show me how they would cheat if they could use any device they wanted to during a typical class. They couldn't ...

They could text each other, watch videos or other distractions, but actually plagiarizing or facilitating academic dishonestly or any other "code word" for cheating is kind of difficult.

It looks like I will be purchasing my own iPad with my own money and then hoping that the school reimburses me later - I am at a point where I realized the last car of the train is about to leave the station, and I need to grab hold of it even if it feel like it's tearing my arm off.

[Lisa Hunt]

This brief post is profound. In recent years I have railed against the Gatekeepers that keep technology out of school, but now I see the difficulties institutions have embracing these devices. Yet, I wonder just what ware we afraid of happening? I think the pros far outweigh the cons. This year I have begun "teaching students to Google" instead of just using the "safe", supplied websites. The ironic part to me is that I have lessons, and students have needs, BUT there is no computer lab time or really any time available to get the students sitting down with me for these lessons. Our students spend too much time with drill and kill software. Bring on the rich soup of personal devices!! The idea that almost any American school teaches students from families with more disposable income than 90 or 95% of the world makes me laugh at the lunacy of our education planning.

[Cathy Jo Nelson]

We are awaiting approval to use personally owned smart phones with QR codes and a library poetry scavenge hunt for National Poetry Month activities planned for April, and I'm optimistic. It was presented (in writing--they just have to have paper) with ties to standards and what students will walk away with experience-wise from our planned activities. I know this is small potatoes for some, but hey, we have to start somewhere. And I really want my admin's blessing, though I have to confess, I could have just ran with it--did it anyway--and then feigned innocence with an "oops, I didn't know I couldn't." (But oh, gee I like my job and want to keep it, so I'm doing it the right way. I'll save my "ignorance is bliss" card for something at home.)

To quip an answer to the original question, I have to wonder if it's because many are unwilling to ASK or are just apathetic where digital device policies are concerned. Not all, no, but some...

[Doug Johnson]

HI Lisa,

Thanks for your thoughtful comment. You sound a little frustrated - as many of us are. The pace of change is slow and too often we seem to take one step forward and one back.

Administrators and teachers will come around. I wonder how many already see their smartphones as external brains and will begin to realize this holds true for kids as well.

Thanks for commenting,

Doug

Hi Cathy Jo,

I think your approach - having a legitimate educational purpose for the use of student devices - will eventually win the day in most schools. That and sharing exciting activities OTHER schools are doing. I don't think anyone wants to feel they are behind the curve.

Appreciate the comment,

Doug