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All 870 students at Hillview Middle School in Menlo Park, Calif. will soon have school-issued iPads that they can use both at school and at home. The school has slowly rolled out the program over the past three years, trying to work out the kinks before issuing the expensive devices to every student. Before students can take the devices home, they'll have to take a course to get their "digital driver license," which includes digital citizenship and learning their way around the device.

"(student) engagement always goes up when technology is used... to say that iPads result in increased engagement is to say nothing". Are iPads just a craze? Is there a danger that we are using new technology to implement old pedagogy? 

Three school districts in Illinois, Iowa and South Carolina will distribute approximately 27,000 Google Chromebook laptops to students as part of new technology initiatives, the company announced Thursday. While some have criticized the browser-based devices for slow performance, others say quick startup times and long battery life make them a good fit for schools and students

"School is just about to start, or has already started, and you have been armed with iPads for this year. Whether your students will be 1:1 or you have access to a handful of shared devices, the expectation now exists that these tools will be put to good use. So now what? How do you get started? What can you do in the first five days of school to get going on the right foot?"

Educational institutions have rapidly progressed from computer labs for teaching and learning to the use of laptops and now to a wider use of tablet devices. The iPad is gaining popularity as a learning tool at all levels. However, there is limited empirical research available about the nature of students' interaction with the device or the potential of these devices to support student learning. iPads in the Primary School: Emerging Findings from Research, by Garry Falloon, a paper presented at the 2014 Australian Council for Computers in Education conference articulates 'key findings from the first two phases of a 3-year study exploring primary school students' use of iPads and apps in general class settings.

This paper presents a case study of the iPad's adoption in a primary school, one of the first in the world to adopt it. From interviews with teachers and IT staff, we conclude that the iPad's main strengths are the way in which it provides quick and easy access to information for students and the support it provides for collaboration. However, staff need to carefully manage both the teaching and the administrative environment in which the iPad is used, and we provide some lessons learned that can help other schools considering adopting the iPad in the classroom.

5 studies on use of iPad in schools. Study in Australia reports greater success in primary/special schools rather than secondary.

"A new survey from the Learning First Alliance and Grunwald Associates suggests that parents of young children, girls, and students who are required to use portable or mobile devices in school are more likely to see the educational potential of such devices."

Educators say students who use iPads are able to look up unfamiliar words as they are reading on the tablets, receive instant feedback from teachers and have access to an unprecedented amount of information without leaving the classroom. While it's still relatively rare, a growing number of public schools are purchasing enough iPads so that every student can have one. "It's transforming instruction," said Marianne Currie-Hall, principal of Roy B. Kelly Elementary School in Lockport, N.Y. "I've got kindergarteners who email me their work.

Interesting scope and budget allocation for roll out.

iPads are designed to be customized for personal use and can be difficult to share between users

Researchers studying the use of iPads in classrooms in California's Encinitas Union School District say the devices generally are favored by students and parents. In the district, where every student in grades 3 to 6 has an iPad, 90% of students said the technology has helped them learn -- especially when used in math lessons. However, some parents say they want to ensure the technology does not replace hands-on learning, and teachers say the iPads can be distracting for students if not managed properly.

Cannot agree more on the way this Swiss school use ipad for content creation!

"This update highlights what distinguishes Tablets from other technologies that have previously been introduced in schools, such as computers, laptops and netbooks. It describes the factors in particular that make tablets unique; their mobility, increased affordability and functionality."

Saeed

The Technology Enhanced Learning Research group, led by Kevin Burden (Principal Investigator) based in the Faculty of Education, has completed the first national evaluation to investigate the use and impact of tablet technologies (in this case the iPad), across schools and homes in Scotland.

Like the focus on creation apps and not subject-specific apps. Look for four general apps: an annotation app, a screencasting app, an audio creation app, and a video creation app.

"National social media and technology reporter PETRA STARKE lists the top 50 learning apps for children and teens."

"A study is being conducted at three Queensland kindergartens to examine the educational benefits of iPad use for pre-school children."