Thursday, April 08, 2010

Thoughts on the iPad in Education

The Apple iPad just came out which I imagine will be followed by a bevy of tablet clones all with their own bells and whistles. My educational interest in these devices pertains to what they can offer our kids differently than what we already have. We have laptops, netbooks and the iPod Touch. What does a larger device with a touch interface allow kids to do that they could not manage otherwise.

Case in point: Below is my two year old son. He's playing a memory game and having a great time doing it. Now, card memory games have been around forever, no big deal. But he would never have the manual dexterity (or patience) to play a 20 card memory game. Yet, he does have the ability, as seen with my iPod Touch (and as much a surprise to me as anyone.)