Would You Buy iPads for Your Kindergarten Classes?

[Sam Gliksman]

One public school district in Maine is spending $200,000 buying iPads for the exclusive use of their kindergarten classes. Advocates say it will increase learning. Detractors feel there's no evidence of that fact and that the money could be better spent elsewhere for children their age. What's your opinion?

[Alan Luckow]

Navigating a UI is a life skill. It most certainly would benefit them. Does it need to start in Kindergarden? Probably not.

Kindergarden is for children to learn how to socialize in a group, follow rules, follow a schedule, etc. I think, as adults, we force many things on children too fast, just to make ourselves feel like we are, "doing a good job".

If a school district can afford iPads, more power to them. Personally I'd rather see more emphasis in helping the kids that are having a hard time in school, or special needs programs. That kind of thing can change lives. There is plenty of time for iPads in the coming years. Learning them in Kindergarden will provide no particular advantage overall. They need to learn how to "learn" first.

[Charles Pickens]

This seems a bit premature as *most* KG children are being transitioned from daycare to KG and are learning a new structure in their daily schedule, becoming acclimated to a "learning environment" and socializing with new faces.

At the risk of second-guessing the administration in this one school, it looks like this is one of the few schools in the district with money while others are strained with meeting commitments to Early Start programs.

The need for KG children to interact with their environment would be, IMO, diminished with technology in-hand. Now, for those students with special needs, I can (and have) seen the iPad as an effective tool for communication and interaction.

1:1 deployment to KG kids? Wisely spent? Not in my opinion.

[Ricardo]

Today, much commented on dispersion, "Attention Deficit" and IPAD can be an experience in order to provide a counterpoint to this movement, in that it does not allow "multitasking"as we know it in the computer world. There is increased spending on the health of people on account of "Attention Deficit". The discussion remains open, of course.

[Steve Taffee]

The iPads are too new a device for their to be any studies on the relationship of their efficacy in increasing learning. But I suspect the question is really irrelevant to begin with.

 

What is "learning" in the the kindergarten, and what constitutes evidence? I submit that teacher observation of the engagement that young people show when using such devices is sufficient for evidentiary purposes.

 

BUT, there is a legitimate question about what sort of activities should occur with five year olds. A case can be made that students should be very active, interacting 3D shapes rather than 2D surfaces, more group activities, more time in the outside world. What's the rush to have children spend time interacting with any type of electronic device?

 

Like many things, different children may need different approaches. iPads may be a wonderful fit for some, but not for others. Why not have a few in the classroom and not 1-1, pilot a small project with care and observe what happens?

[Tami Brass]

I'm not sure 1:1 is appropriate for kindergarteners, but I've also seen my kindergartener on my iPad.  I've also seen the interaction and shared thinking that happens when two kids sit down at an iPad together (supports multitouch).  Not going to second-guess the administrators.

 

I've seen lots of kindergarten and junior kindergarten classes with Smartboards and other interactive whiteboards.  For a full install, you're looking at about $5,000.  That's around ten iPads.  Many districts are looking at SmartTables - about $7,000 each, and many classrooms using them have two.  That's enough for a class set in many kindergarten classrooms.

 

Most of my daughter's classmates were in preschools or daycares where kids were on desktop computers playing "learning games" by the time they were three years old - many earlier.  Most have had parents hand them their iPhone or iPad or Android or ??? for a long car trip.  The engagement is a given.  There are more and more valid apps each day - many designed by kindergarten teachers.

 

Although 1:1 iPads wouldn't be something I'd specifically look for in kindergarten, I can definitely justify using them with kindergarteners.  When I look at other devices being implemented, the iPad feels more child-centered and engaging than a Smartboard. 

 

[Brian Wasson]

I have no problem with kindergartners learning to use not just iPads, but other technology tools, devices, web sites. As educators, our job is to prepare them for their current world AND a yet to be determined future. It is almost a certainty that technology will play a huge role in their educational, workforce, and everyday lives. At the moment you start to teach them to write and draw with pencils and crayons, they should be educated how to use a variety of technology devices, iPads, laptops, desktops, cameras, all included.  We are supposed to be preparing them for their world, not our pasts.

With that said, I do have issues with the cost of this deployment and (what appears to be) the lack of a fully developed implementation plan. The local news articles about it are not making mention of any of the backend setups, pedagogical uses and rationale, involvement of parents, etc. I would have hoped the district had communicated that to local news media so the taxpayers would get a better sense of why they are doing this. The first report I read on this said one iPad for every kindergartner. Others, state a few for each class. Not sure which is true, but in a time of budget cuts, possible staff layoffs, and trying to live within your means, an iPad for every kindergartner is excessive in my view. There is a ton teachers can do with just a few computers and peripherals in every room and it is not clear if the district previously had a plan for even that. However, the district is quoted as saying they hope to fund this through various grants and not as much tax payer dollars. Right now, it is a tough call. Totally necessary? Not yet. Get a bunch in a pilot program for the 5-6 yr olds? Yes, absolutely.

[Mary Sykes]

I think it would be far more benefial to buy electronic notebooks for the children in kindergarten.  First, it is important that these children learn keyboard skills and it is easier to teach these on a traditional keypad that is not as sensitive as an iPad.  Second, notebooks are a lot cheaper and while they do not have a touch screen, they do have many valuable teaching programs available. 

Finally, I am all for technology and like to think I am staying abreast of new developments, but honestly, kindergarten children could be just as happy curling up with a traditional book as they are with an iPad.  Leave the iPads for later and focus on keyboarding and reading books in kindergarten. 

[Tami Brass]

I've been curious about iPads w/Kindergarteners in comparison to other tools.  Here's a survey I put out on Twitter late last week http://twtpoll.com/8ynj6m

As of 11:52 CST on April 13, 2011, the results are:

[Alicia Bankhofer]

I see this is an example of a school thinking progressively and being pro-active in exploring new ways to educate children. I agree 100% in principle and if implemented well, this will surely be a great asset.

 

But I do think the reason why many balk at the headline (not yours but the one that is making the rounds on the internet) is that you get the feeling the school will be buying personal iPads for all pre-schoolers which is certainly not the case. But for use in the classroom, supervised, why not? 

[Melissa Scott]

I agree Alecia. I have just returned from a week at Cedars School of Excellence (first 1:1 iPad school in the world). I spent a lot of time in the primary grades collecting information and resources for our 1:1 iPad program next year.

 

What I found was that kids are going to be kids. At the core of Cedars School is great teaching and differentiation. The iPad is just another device to enhance the students learning and teachers best practices. They don't use them all day long. I found students chose to play with traditional things (post office, kitchen, blocks, etc.) when they were done with an activity that involved the iPad. 

 

What I also found so amazing is that the iPad allowed for students to be able to express themselves in more creative ways than I have seen before in a K-12 school. 

 

The iPads were a school owned device and do not go home with students until the age of 7/8. If a school/district/county has the means to buy these devices then I say yes!

 

On a side note...I am so happy that I work at a school that has taken the leap of faith and will be going 1:1 iPads in grades JK-4 next year!

[Lynne Horiuchi]

We just launched a pilot with 10 iPads in a 1st grade classroom and the students love it.  When the class is split they get 1:1 and other times itʻs 1:2.  Both scenarios work well bt they are not used every day (at least not yet)   We do see many benefits and opportunities for using the device in a primary classroom.  That being said, I donʻt believe you need to have a 1:1 in Kindergarten.  For them to be exposed to the technology and the opportunity to use it, yes,  1:1 exclusive use - not necessary.

[Warren Apel]

We're been piloting iPads in lower school all year, and found them to be VERY useful educational tools.  Because the interface is easy and intuitive, very young kids can easily perform tasks that are too hard to do on laptops.  This is especially true forkids with difficulties with fine motor skills, who have a hard time with a mouse and especially a trackpad.

 

The apps for iPads are just plain better then educational games for laptops.  I think that's because the App store has created a new market for nimble, interesting small companies who weren't able to compete against Tom Snyder in the shrinkwrapped $2000 edutainment game industry.  

 

Seriously, use Motion Math HD for 20 minutes and tell me it isn't better than any math game ever made for desktop or laptop PCs.  

 

Plus, iPads enable very young kids to be creative in ways that laptops don't.  The apps for creative production like animation, movie-making, story drawing and recording are simply fantastic.  StoryKit, Toontastic, a 5-year-old can write and illustrate their own picture book then record the narration to it; basically without being taught how to do it.  When I think of the number of computer lab lessons that have been devoted to trying to get lower school students to accomplish the same thing in something like PowerPoint or Macromedia Flash I just cringe.

 

Download and read The Cat in the Hat on an iPad.  Notice how the words change color as the reader reads them.  (Notice how you can turn off his voice and read it yourself.)  But imagine how transformative that is for a literacy learner to get the illustration of a ball, the sound "ball" and the written word b-a-l-l all at the same time.  It makes it so much easier to make that connection between sound, concept and written language.

 

If money is an issue, keep track of how much time your current IT staff spend on software installations and computer hardware repairs.  Once teachers are in charge of buying and installing apps on devices that never need repair, I think the savings will pay for themselves.  Or you can transition the fix-it guys into facilitators.  Either way, teachers win.

 

Just my thoughts.  I'm posting here and there about our iPad project on my blog.

Warren