No Strings

Last Tuesday, I attended the middle school concert, which included my younger daughter who is a clarinet player in the band. The band section of the program was second on the schedule and I was hoping that the first part of the program would be brief. But once the players started playing, what came second in the program was no longer the major focus of my attention. It turned out that the first part of the program was the middle school IPad band and they were great. Their selection was Sunshine of My Love by Cream and it was as well performed as I had ever heard it. Ten middle schoolers with IPads and a mixing board had redefined what constitutes a band performance.

For both my daughter in middle school and my daughter in high school, being assigned IPads. The instant access to up-to-date information and the books available in the palm of your hand, are both tremendous steps forward. A calculator, dictionary, thesaurus, and so many other helpful learning tools are always right there whenever you need them. I would have loved this convenience when I was going to school. In my time in school, just getting a hand held calculator was in my opinion a major step forward.

What I haven’t liked is that the IPad allows for the playing of endless different games and also allows free access to social media and therefore too much time spent on social media. The same criticism can be leveled against the smart phones that so many kids in middle school and high school are totally reliant on. In a meeting earlier this week, the presenter noted that 25% of the high school students looking for information on colleges and universities access that information solely on hand held devices (smart phones). I think we all realize the days of glossy brochures are ending but for many of our potential college students, the days of using a computer to access information are also ending. The desired level of portability just isn’t there even in a laptop and our students, our potential students, and our children want the capability to always be at their instant beck and call.

Even with the sense that IPads are a mixed blessing, I am pleased that my kids are working with them in school. On a continuing basis there are more and more school related applications and assignments that make use of the IPads. IPads provide adaptive technology when needed, including large type, the ability to dictate and the ability to print. More textbooks are available on the IPad, and the access to information has in my opinion also led to an increase in our students’ knowledge base. Personalized assignments are next. These assignments reflect the strengths and weaknesses of the student and provide ongoing information to the teacher and ongoing feedback to the student.

There is a downside to being among the first to implement a new learning tool. The implementation isn’t instantaneous and there are issues yet to be resolved. On balance, I’m glad that they are working with IPads. All of education will be utilizing tablets as we move forward and my kids will greatly benefit from having experience incorporating this technology into their learning.

EBooks

I’m watching our students, especially our 1st year students, walk around campus from class to class- with backpacks filled with books. And I know from looking at course outlines that textbooks in paper format continue to dominate higher education classes as they did when I went to college. There is even a feeling, still prevalent, that regardless of all the technological advances, textbooks, as we have always known them, will continue their dominance for at least another decade. I don’t think that will happen.

Up to a few years ago, as part of preparing for any vacation, I would identify the books I wanted to read (usually escapist fiction), purchase them (in paperback if at all possible) and place them in my carry on. My Kindle serves that purpose now and I have no regrets having made the change. Any office paperwork I now bring along on vacation is via Dropbox and the convenience without the weight is a real plus.

My kids who are entering middle school and high school are not being issued textbooks. Instead they will be issued educational materials loaded on iPads, and the costs are comparable to using standard paper textbooks (even factoring the cost of the iPad). Over time, education on the middle school through high school levels will become more and reliant on iPads and eBooks. Textbooks will be relegated to an occasional use basis for specialized circumstances.

We already see the transformation of libraries that has and still is taking place. Where 15 years ago, we had a main library building as well as a large satellite library building, we now are able to build in significantly more student individual and group study space in our main library building and we no longer have a satellite building. And our reference librarians are spending less time at the reference desk and instead spending more time teaching students to be sophisticated users of information technology.

Now I know firsthand there are still some disadvantages with the iPad/eBook technology. Highlighting and making notes in the margin are still not as convenient as with a paper version textbook. I often highlighted simply because it allowed me, in reviewing the material, to focus on what was most important or to highlight material which I needed to spend more time studying. EBooks on the other hand have the benefit of including more dynamic illustrations and/or video clips that can illustrate and enhance the material being studied. The ship has sailed on the issue of iPads, tablet computers and eBooks. We need to adjust and get on board so as to maximize the benefits from this imminent change.