Ipad As An Ideal Tool For Education

By Author: Anna Harris
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The iPad may be just three years old for us, but it has already started to changing many things in our lives, including the way of education. In the education sector, iPads are selling like crazy. In a way, Apple didn't enter the device in the education market. Instead, it just followed its customers there. Many people have already seen the potential the gadget has to change the way of education. A growing number of students have made the device an important part of their backpacks. In fact, many school in the US are launching programs to use the iPad in the classrooms. So let us find out some of the reasons, how an iPad can prove to be a great classroom tool.

Price:
At just $329 for the iPad Mini, $499 for the iPad 3 or $399 for the iPad 2, the device is cheaper than many conventional laptop or desktop computers. The company also offers an educational discount for schools when the tabs are bought in packs of 10. This discount can save around $200 per pack. While there are cheaper options available as well like Chromebooks, netbooks, or cheap laptops, but it is better to have a top of the line tab instead of a bottom ...
... shelf desktop, laptop or Chromebook.

Battery Life:
The 10 to 12 hour battery life of the iPad make them quite portable and versatile as classroom tools. So, the device easily lasts all day long even if the screen is never turned off. This allows the students to interact with their ebooks at their desks and even outside without any tension about running out of power. On the other hand with laptops or desktops, a short battery life keeps them chained to the wall or locked away in a computer lab.

Portability and storage:
A teacher can easily carry a stack of iPad from one classroom to another. The light weight of an iPad and the fact that the charger doesn’t needs to be constantly connected around makes it even more portable. Moreover, the cheapest 16GB variant of the device offer plenty of storage for the students to store numerous eBooks, useful Apps, Videos and other student work.

Wide range of software:
Numerous high quality educational software can be stored in the device without spending a single penny. A wide range of effective and fun educational apps are available for free at the Apple app store. Even the apps developed by professional software companies hardly cost more than one or two dollars. Also, the company offers a special volume purchasing program which includes special discounts to schools on many apps that are charged.

Easy Screen Sharing:
With the help of a cable or Apple TV, the display of an iPad can be easily shared over a projector or on a TV screen. Teachers can display photos, eBooks or apps with ease to aid in classroom learning. Also, the students can easily share their projects, drawings, or their written notes with the classmates.

Ease of Use:
The device is very easy to use and control. Opening a program is as simple as just find the picture of the app and touch it. There are no complex file and folders, no complicated menus and no discs to insert. Even very young kids quickly understand the concept of the touch screen computer when they are given a chance to play with it. The teachers having a limited knowledge of technology also learn to use the gadget very easily. In this way, they can implement technology into their classroom teaching sessions.

Adaptable in the classrooms:
iPads are far more useful in daily student life in comparison to the laptops. The ability to have the them available directly at the desks of the students makes it easy to work on them into many classroom sessions throughout the day. Laptops, though also portable, typically stay limited to a computer lab due to their bigger size and short battery life.

Good for environment:
Yes, the use of this device is good for the environment as well. Confused? These devices can take the place of hundreds of textbooks and notebooks used in the studies. This is good for the environment as use of paper will get minimal. So more trees won't be cut for the books of the students.

Versatility:
It is not just a computer, but much more. It is also a portable camera, a book that is easy to hold and move with, a drawing board, a blackboard, a handwriting surface. Students can take the gadget on nature walks to take pictures of trees, leaves or animals that they learnt about in science labs. They can use it as video cameras to record plays written in class. All of these uses are not possible with a typical laptop or desktop computer. All of these exciting possibilities just aren’t possible on a traditional laptop or desktop. Numerous other uses are also there, like turning the tab into a gaming zone or an MP3 player, when feeling bored.

Fun to learn:
And most importantly, with the tabs students find it fun to learn. They like to view various videos associated with their studies. These videos can be played again and again in order to help them understand the lessons. Plus it’s a lot lighter than a number of textbooks and notebooks. There are many maths and science game apps which make it even more interesting to learn.

Eventually, both students and teachers are optimistic about the potential use of iPads in their classrooms. Many studies have been conducted about the use of these devices as a tool in education and most of them have shown positive results. After seeing these success stories many of the educational institutes are looking forward to give this amazing tool a chance to enter the classrooms. This is just a beginning, we will see many more achievements and success stories about the gadget being used a prominent tool in the future education system.

Article Source: http://www.hiddenbrains.com/articles/ipad-as-an-ideal-tool-for-education.html