Today I was reading the blog of Steven Anderson, District Instructional Technologist with Winston-Salem Schools in Winston-Salem NC, where he was discussing “Taking a Step Back and Thinking Critically About Technology“. Take a moment to read the article to understand my standpoint below.
So why is iPad King in Education? Apps! When you have a center store filled with over 500,000 apps, with 25 billion downloads, and countless developers always creating new things, then selecting the iPad for your classroom seems obvious. Now with the creation of the iBooks Author, Apple has just added another tid-bit to entice educators more than they already do.
I agree with Steven that there are a lot of schools and districts buying iPads just to say that they have them. (Points to myself.) While I did support the purchase of the iPads for our main curriculum tool now looking back I would go another way. I am one of those educators that believes that “I” am the curriculum in my room, everything else is just a tool that I use. So why would I go with something else rather than the just sticking with the iPad? Simple, Google. The collaboration that comes with Google Docs, Calendar, Blogger, and other various tools is ULTIMATE. In a profession where collaboration works, Google needs to be used in schools more often than it currently is. While the iPad does work with Google, it does not tap into Google’s collaborative features. This is why I personally would go with the Chromebook. I like those collaborative features and students need to learn to collaborate more than they currently are.
Just my thoughts down on "paper"