iPads for Young Children in School
Occasionally, I receive letters from parents concerned about the rollout of 1:1 iPads in their elementary school, especially for five to eight year-olds. The parents who write me may have concerns about the uses of devices in schools but, in this case, the Mom and Dad are concerned about their children and how the principal and staff are putting the 1:1 program into practice.
Here is one letter I recently received and answered. I have deleted the name of the school, principal, and parents who sent me the letter.
Dear Larry Cuban,
We have been attempting to influence better practices for 1:1 teaching practices with iPads at our daughters’ elementary school [in Southern California] for 4 months now.
Towards the end of last school year, the school announced they were going to implement [a 1:1 iPad program] starting in the fall. At first we were open to the idea, but after much research of journal articles we realized that the school is following a trend rather than implementing correctly. We agree that implementing technology is inevitable and there are likely good ways to enhance learning, but are very disappointed at how our daughters’ school is implementing it. At this point, because many parents are not buying their kids iPads, the school is stuck in a worse situation…a hybrid of school shared iPads iPads for Young Children in School | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice: