Guest Editorial: iPads and Education

My name is Molly Hartjen. I am a seventh grade student at Owego Apalachin Middle School (OAMS). Our school is currently utilizing iPads for educational purposes. Does the school in your area use iPads yet? Everybody seems to be heading in this direction. 

Some may argue that school iPads cost too much money, or that they just don’t belong in a school environment. However, I beg to differ. It is my belief that educational devices, such as the iPads we use here at OAMS, are vital in teaching children many academic skills. 

According to the Apple website, there has been a 20 percentage point increase in science, an 11 percentage point increase in reading, and a 17 percentage point increase in math around the United States since the start of iPad education. Over the past few years, our school has started to provide iPads to children, grades four to eight. I hope this encourages other schools to make this change as well.

The first reason that educational devices should be a part of every child’s school environment is that it can improve learning. Most students like me agree that getting good grades on tests really improves self-esteem. Plus, it makes the people around us proud and happy as well. 

According to research done by Himelstein’s Center, it was stated, “In the classrooms we observed, the teachers who used the iPads well had better student outcomes.” This goes to show how school iPads improve learning skills.

Another reason to have iPads in school is that students become more engaged in their learning and are more interested in their studies. Kids often find it fascinating to use all the different educational apps and customize their personal home screen. A member of a school district that started using iPads stated, “My students were mesmerized, watching their hands move over the pages.” As you can see, using iPads in an educational environment introduces new, exciting, and fun learning abilities to children. 

As you may know, some people believe that iPads are something to keep at home. They may think that they cost way too much money, or that the children will become distracted with all the things they are able to do. An article found claims that some schools are rethinking tablets in the district because “some students side stepped the security system and accessed social media, online games and other content that was supposed to be blocked.” 

Although this is a problem, I believe that most kids will not abuse these privileges. Notice how the article says that only “some students” did this. Also, there are many other benefits to school iPads that overthrow these issues. Further research shows that they can be used for finding information and have easy access to important tools. The article I found states, “Kids are not only able to access material but use a number of tools to construct learning in a completely different way from that they’ve seen before.” 

All in all, iPads are an essential part of every child’s education. I believe that we need to do everything in our power to make this a worldwide movement. There are so many different ways that you can help with this issue, and I encourage you to do so.

Thank you for your time. 

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