Is the iPad for Education?

Posted by Kenneth Ronkowitz on

Last week Apple announced their tablet/slate/giant iPhone thing called the iPad. Even Steve Jobs described it as something between a smart phone and a laptop. Some people have said it will change the future of computing. Some people say it a solution without a problem. It uses the same operating system as the iPhone and is made to use the same applications (though they will need some tweaks to look right on the iPad).

So, here's my brief, obligatory iPad post through an educator lens. For the education world, there has been a lot of talk about this device being the place for textbooks.

It's pricier than a tablet or netbook and many laptops. ($499 for a 16GB model - 16GB with 3G is $629 and the 64GB version is $699 or $829 with 3G) No camera (so, no video conferencing either), no multi-tasking, no Flash and only a virtual keyboard.

There will be a special stylus to take handwritten notes on the digital pad, but tablets had that years ago and I never saw students opting for it. (Actually, it seems to me that notetaking is falling away in any medium including notebooks.)

So, will iBooks - the eReader/Bookstore for the iPad - be a killer app? Apple has partnered with publishers to create content for the iPad.

The iPad is not ready-for-primetime anyway (it's due in 2 months). So far, I don't see any big advantages yet over other eReaders other than color, but add links, glossaries and more interactivity and maybe...



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