Journal #10

Lisa, P. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-leading/digitaledition/digital-edition-march-april-2013

Summary:  In Lisa Perez's article "Re-Imagine your Library with I-Pads"  she talks about how the library's in the Chicago Public School District received a bunch of i-pads as part of a new initiative to improve school libraries.  The librarians in the district all attended classes and workshops to learn how to use and to integrate the technology into the library.  The group also went through a process of evaluating and selecting educational apps to install on the i pads.  The author also described how a program of color coating the i-pads, cleaning the screens, and controlling the inventory.  The improvement that the i pads made in the library is almost tangible.  One common praise that librarians had about the new i-pads is how much faster that the i-pads turned on, booted up, and were ready to use compared to the older laptops and PCs in the libraries.  The article then went on to state how the i-pads have been helping students who are struggling readers improve their skills.  The i-pads were also said to help the less vocal children speak up in class since the activities and projects that are done on the i-pads are inspiring the students to be excited about what they have accomplished on the i-pads.  A principle is quoted as saying that "The i-pads provide the opportunity for students to create projects that allow further dialog, whether it be with students in their classrooms, other schools, or even other countries."  In conclusion, the author sums up the article by saying that "We've found that i-pods have allowed us to put our digital resourses directly in the hands of our students in 1:1 environments to support learning, research, and recreational learning."

Question 1:  The article is very supportive of the idea of i-pads, what could be the drawbacks to i-pads?  

     Children are inherently irresponsible, forgetful, and often rough with things that are not their own.  I-pads can easily be lost, damaged, and forgotten, causing stress in parents, educators, and students.  As a student who had a textbooks stolen, but was blamed for losing it, it caused enough distress that I still remember it 20 years later.  Plus, these things are expensive and no one will want to front the bill for a lost or damaged i-pad.  Plus, all electronic devices fail at some point or another, as a parent I know how children can react when an device that provides overloads of stimulation suddenly fails.  Often it results in violent reactions and temper tantrums, just like with a teenager and a crashed x-box. 

Question 2:  What are the other advantages of the i-pads that were not mentioned in the article?

     The i-pads could be a great way for groups of children to work collaboratively on assignments and use software like face time and skype to communicate and share ideas with other schools and classes.  They could also be useful for students who can't afford home computer and it could allow them to learn the technology necessary to stay up to date with educational technology.