Tablets in education

There is a lot of chatter online after the recent launch of Apple's iPad. The views are split right in the middle and almost everyone I spoke to has their opinion about the viability of such a product in the marketplace. I am not going to talk about how much this is going to be a hit in the tech world this year, but rather, ponder about the imminent shift of content into the digital form and how it will impact our classrooms.

I was at a bookshop with my baby daughter recently, holding her in my arms while browsing through the racks. I was having fun talking to her about the idea of books (though her only concern is if she can chew them) when something hit my mind, that when she is of school going age, books as we know them for centuries will take a whole different form. As much as I will miss the ambience of bookshops, I am really excited about the kind of possibilities that can be experienced when digital print content goes mainstream.

Apple's newly announced iPad

So let's just imagine that in the not so distant future (Steve Ballmer predicted last year that the death of print media will be upon us in no more than 14 years, but I guess it could be sooner than that), all pupils will be equipped with a lightweight computing device that looks like a slate and is always able to be online. How will that implicate the scene in the classroom? Think about all the richness and diversity of content which can be deliberated anytime and almost anywhere, as long as the device still holds a charge. Think about the prospect of realtime assessment when pupils are solving problems in projects.

So how should we prepare ourselves for this imminent shift? How can teachers be contributing as mentors and facilitators when content knowledge is no longer the key? Perhaps acquainting ourselves to the workings of social media is a good step forward. Understanding Facebook, Twitter and being active in contributing towards these cultural phenomena gives us more confidence in connecting with the Internet generation.

2010 will be remembered as the year of the tablet. The devices themselves are only vessels, it is the content and more importantly the cultural inplication which will impact us on how we make ourselves relevant.