The International Data Corporation (IDC) recently released statistics that demonstrate the surge of interest in tablet technology at schools nationwide. According to a Business Wire press release, shipments of tablets to the education market rose from 19.4 percent in 2011 to 35 percent in 2012. The IDC expects that same or greater demand for tablets as schools begin ordering for the 2013 fall season.
One of the reasons for the increased demand for tablets in schools is the catering by tablet makers to the education market. Tablet companies like iPad are partnering with textbook publishers, school districts and educators to create demand-based products.
At the Amarillo Center for Advanced Learning in Texas, for example, students using tablets in conjunction with a biology class reportedly expressed greater curiosity, insight and creativity toward their assignments. Teachers stated in an article in the Amarillo Globe-News that using the new technology helped students find their own answers, thus teaching resourcefulness and inquiry skills, too.
Some teachers are initially skeptical of the new tools, but when they see student engagement in the coursework rise they change their minds. One teacher, quoted in the previously cited Globe-News article, summed up most teachers’ feelings when she remarked that learning is about putting students’ needs first. Chicago Public Schools tackled this problem directly by sharing ideas with teachers on how to use the iPads purchased by the district. By engaging teachers in the dialogue about tablet use, the district may have found the key to encouraging more enthusiastic adoption of the new technology.
The iPad and related technologies offer students an organized, efficient and creative way to engage in their coursework as more classrooms move away from traditional print textbooks and into interactive learning models. While schools are purchasing fewer personal computers, they’re embracing tablet technology at a rapid rate.
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