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Summary this article in 140 words
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Around 500 schools across Britain have now provided pupils with iPads.
Worldwide, over 10 million devices have been purchased by educational
institutions―an astonishing fact given that the first iPad was only launched in
April 2010. Printed textbooks are rapidly being replaced by ebooks, which harness
the interactive capabilities of handheld devices and take pupils beyond the static
page with a simple swipe and tap of the finger. More than 25,000 such electronic
texts, covering a wealth of subjects, are now available. "The rush to adopt this new
technology has led to confused launches in some schools," says Simon Armitage, a
senior teacher at the Stephen Perse Foundation School in Cambridge, where iPads
were introduced to all pupils two years ago. "Teachers need time to feel confident
in the basic technology and its purpose in the learning process. They need to realize
that an iPad offers much more than simply a connection to the Internet and a word
processor."
A Trial Run with iPads in School
That is why my colleagues and I were all given an iPad and trained to use it one
year
before we issued them to pupils. We have had to reexamine the style, content
and outcomes of our lessons, too. The school where I teach-Caterham School, in
Surrey will be issuing iPads to pupils from the start of next term. I have been struck
by the positive response within the staff room to the training we have received
over the past year. "I'm a bit nervous about using iPads in class for the first time,"
says a colleague from the math department. "But the interactive technology should
make learning more memorable and engaging." One teacher of modern languages
enthused: "My pupils will be able to use audio and video recorders very easily, and
this will enhance the way they learn. I am sure that it will make their homework tasks
more valuable and fun." "The iPads should encourage collaborative learning, which
has to be good," says a teacher of politics. "The ease of communication means that
classes can share ideas and resources easily. They will even be able to participate in
live edebates for homework."
The Downside of Tablet Devices in School
However, there are reservations, too. Pupils will forget to bring their devices
to school. They will lose them. They will break them. They will try to share
inappropriate material. They will pick the wrong one up at the end of a class.
Batteries will run out in the middle of lessons. "Educational" apps will be exposed as
mere gimmicks. The technology will be another potential source of distraction. And
however many filters, passwords and restrictions are imposed centrally, just how
secure will the system be?
A central concern is that the gadgets have the potential to diminish the role of
the teacher in the classroom setting. In Thailand, the government has issued every
schoolchild with an iPad with the stated aim of reducing the number of teachers.
UNIT 1 Trends in Society
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CD 1
TR 6
i.e: grit
Reading
Read the passage carefully. Then complete the exercises that follow.
5
Tablet Computers in School:
Educational or Recreational?
by Matthew Godfrey, Telegraph
As parents of three young children and regular users of the M25¹, my wife and I
know how effective tablet devices are at preventing family meltdowns in traffic jams.
A spell on the iPad is normally enough to stave off sibling scrapes in the car, as well
as cries of "Are we there yet?" We are always grateful for a little "iPeace” when we
face another delay around junctions nine and ten. But as we hand the gadget over,
we have mixed feelings. There is mild guilt: shouldn't we be engaging our children in
stimulating conversation or playing an inventive game to stretch their imagination?
And there is apprehension, too: at some stage, the contraption will need to be
wrenched back from them. The addictiveness of some games and software is such
10 that this can be like stealing a banana from a starving monkey.
The Upside of the Digital Age
I have had an iPad for a year and confess that in-car entertainment for the kids
has been its principal function so far. This purpose could hardly be further removed
from the one advocated by more and more schools around the country: namely, that
rather than being a tool for simply pacifying children, iPads and other handheld
devices can-and should-be used in classrooms to unlock pupils' potential, release
creativity, sustain interest and provide intellectual challenge. One of the UK's
principal champions of digital learning has been Sir Anthony Seldon, Master of
Wellington College in Berkshire. In 2012, he replaced the school's traditional library
with one that combines "ultramodern facilities with an old-fashioned reverence for
learning;" interactive screens and iPads are used more than printed material for
reading, research and learning. "Digitalization allows learning to be personalized and
far more vivid, active and challenging for young people," says Seldon. "Shakespeare2
would certainly have used a screen if he'd had the chance. In the hands of talented
teachers, technology can be profoundly transformative."
The M25 is a road that encircles London.
( 1110) lived in England. He wrote poetry and plays, and is generally regarded as the greatest writer
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