- iPad is changing the classroom
The end of summer signals the beginning of school all across the United States. The beginning of school this year also signals the beginning of an important trend and affects any campus where textbooks are required. More and more students are beginning to move away from traditional paper bound textbooks and embrace technology like that found in the iPad, to replace those books.
Says, Chloe Sparr a Seton Hall student, “One of my classes I haven’t even bought a notebook. I use the notes on my iPad. It’s been nice just to scroll through pages as I hear what’s going on in class.” 1st year medical students enrolled at Stanford University were all given iPads to assist them in their studies. Malcolm DeBaun, a Stanford medical Student said, ” Well you can write on them so that’s just a clear advantage because as you go through the lectures, the anatomy classes, you’re drawing diagrams and making connections that you wouldn’t really necessarily be able to do on a laptop.”
Those that have embraced the cutting edge hardware technology are also looking into software advance to make the change even more functional. Says Matt McInnis, CEO of Inkling, “We’re really trying to rethink the very structure of the text to build something that’s more interactive and engaging. Something completely different from what you would get if you just copied a textbook onto a computer screen.”
Students adapting to this technology stand to benefit from a significant cost savings as well. Most students will spend quite a bit of money to purchase their new or used textbooks and it can cost into the thousands of dollars. Some of the equivalent textbooks for the iPad can cost as little as one half as much as their hardbound counterparts. Inkling claims that most publisher of textbooks can see the change that is coming and have embraced it. And the initial reactions from both teachers and student have given the iPad a very high endorsement. Catherine Giunta, a Seton Hall Professor says, “There’s just this additional visual and audio connectivity that I think they’re going to remember more. Time with tell but I think they will.”
Another potential savings for universities adopting the iPad into the classroom is a green one. Most experts agree that by focusing on the electronic technology and moving away from printed books will aid in a significant reduction in the overall amount of paper that has been traditionally used in classrooms across the country.
