Electronics during the school hours has come a long way since this idea was first introduced. One main electronic that has kids begging for their parents to buy for them is the tablet. Made by apple, microsoft, even amazon have began noticing the profit in electronics and made their own unique tablet. Some schools have already taken a leap and allowed students to use tablets in school, but so far it has been a leap of faith. The faith falls in the students hands.
Some students use their tablets for games and texting, but what if we were to use them for something greater than just that, one thing comes to mind…learning. We could use tablets to provide an interactive, enjoyable, learning experience. Besides that, we could also help refrain from kids using these devices for the wrong reasons and inappropriately. This idea can also help kids by not having to carry so many books and other materials.
With a thinner binder that stores a lot more than just paper, we can help kids have an easier school day with less to worry about. This can also help students get to class faster with less problems. Exploring the tablet as a tool for students, we have a much lighter device than a laptop.(1)Besides making hallway maneuvering easier it can also help during class. Many of the newer devices have discussed classroom use. For example the Samsung Galaxy note can be used with a stylus(pen with no ink compatible to device)and has a screen large enough to allow for plenty of note taking.
Another reason that tablets are a great improvement for school is that teachers can now make sure that students are doing the appropriate thing with their tablet. Using the more recently released tablets teachers will not have to worry about this. For example, the Amplify tablet gives teachers the ability to both monitor and control what students do with the device. Teaches can run whole class or just small group lessons with the touch of a button. Disciplining the class has never been easier as teachers can now send messages like “Raise your hand”, or “Eyes on teacher” to ensure things don’t get out of hand.
This should not be an issue because with all the lesson plan possibilities students will always be engaged in the activity. Common free apps that you can find in the app store will turn a tablet into a fully functional piano in no time to teach kids music. Students can actually learn foreign languages easier than the past by taking advantage of the visual nature of the device and the new fact that they can speak in over 20 different languages. This however is only scratching the surface with tablets in classrooms it opens many new doors leading to new and useful learning strategies.
