Educators Weigh Ipad's Dominance of Tablet Market

¶ … Educators Weigh iPad's Dominance of Tablet Market" primarily explores the nearly ubiquitous popularity of iPads within the realm of education. Specifically, this article examines the prevalent usage of iPads for primary and secondary school students from kindergarten to the 12th grade. The author (Michele Molnar) begins by alluding to the fact that this particular tablet device is so pervasive in some areas that people cannot disassociate its use from its educational purpose.

She substantiates her claims that iPads are the most popular tablet device by citing the fact that a San-Mateo-based research company has concluded that the device cornered over 90% of the tablet market. The rest of the article functions as a series of case studies in different schools around the country in which representatives state their opinion about the positives and negatives of this phenomenon. The positives include the fact that iPad was one of the first tablet providers and has content and curriculum that is intuitively conducive for pedagogy.

The principle negative point about this device is its costly price -- especially as compared to other tablets. Whereas some students in Los Angeles are paying approximately "$770 per device" (Molnar, 2013), a Google Chromebook can be purchased for more than a third of that price. Other negatives include the fact that budgetary concerns compel many school districts to use Windows, a fact which is exacerbated by iPad use. The article also explores alternatives to using iPads, which include laptops and other tablets, which is essential to keeping up with changing technology.

The strength of this article is that it was well researched and well sourced. The Author interviewed a lot of different members of disparate school districts, so that the reader is able to get a fairly comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon of iPad usage in primary and secondary schools. It is also worth noting that many of the schools were in diverse parts of the country, which reinforces the notion that iPads are extremely ubiquitous.

Additionally, some of the points that the author uncovered were fairly thought-provoking -- some in ways that seemed a little disturbing. For instance, if one of the benefits of iPads is that they have "preloaded Pearson curriculum" (Molnar, 2013), then are teachers -- and perhaps by extension schools -- even needed with this advance of technology. Preconfigured curriculum appears dangerous for much of the same reason that standardized tests may also be noxious to certain students. There is the propensity for cultural bias with both of these applications.

The author alludes to the fact that the iPad is merely a tool which is supposed to foster learning, but similar to other forms of media, the media inherently shapes the message. The prudent reader, then,.