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With the modern age comes modern gadgetry, and we are fast learning that schools don’t need to be an exception to this rule.
E-readers are as ubiquitous as the paperback, and an Amazon Kindle or Kobo E-reader is a more likely part of a daily commute than a cumbersome hardback.
So as tablets find their way into pretty much every aspect of our lives, should we be surprised to see them in our classrooms?
While we think about that, let’s take a look at some of the top benefits of tablets in schools, and why your classroom experience could be elevated by their use.
10 Benefits of Tablets in Schools
1. Mobility
It’s not that books aren’t (or should we say weren’t?) mobile – it’s that the functions offered by a tablet far outstrip what you could expect from a book; and the ability to access those features on the go is a feature that can’t be oversold.
Whether your student is working in a room full of classmates, or if they’ve broken off to work independently, then you can be sure they’ll still have access to the pool of resources provided by the tablet’s functionality.
2. Shared learning
While social media is quickly proving to be something of a Pandora’s Box, its ability to allow users to immediately share and communicate data on a whim is something which strikes a chord with tablet users.
Your pupils will be able to communicate either with each other or with you, depending on how you set up the restrictions, and to effectively work together towards a common goal.
3. Internet access
Access to the internet is like walking into the largest library ever assembled.
The benefit of this resource on a child’s education cannot be overstated.
Of course, all the usual responsibilities must be kept in mind, and safety features employed to prevent angry parents storming the gates… but with some common sense and some diligence on your part, the ability for a child to access the internet is a real game changer.
4. Learning games
Children learn through a variety of different mediums, but there is one area of education that works for kids of all ages: learning games.
The ability to ‘gamify’ education has proven to be one of the most effective teaching tools modern teachers have at their disposal.
You can really hammer home an elusive concept or reiterate something that’s been covered in a previous lesson – the gamification of it all guarantees engagement beyond the level you might expect from reading from a textbook. This is exactly why coding websites for kids are also gaining prominence.
5. Tablets are cheaper
In recent years the United States has spent 2.64 billion USD on textbooks alone.
The statement ‘tablets work out cheaper than books in the long run’ seems a difficult one to accept, until you consider how many tablets you could buy for 2.64 billion USD…
Textbooks are often bought and then given away once the course finishes, or else hoarded for years despite never being opened again.
If a school has tablets on-site then these machines can be returned to the school at the end of the school year. You don’t need to buy new ones because they won’t have been torn or drawn on – and any damages are likely to be superficial.
It would be investing in the future, despite the initial upfront cost, and would work out cheaper for any school bold enough to take that first step.
6. Child locks
We touched on this earlier, but the capacity to access the internet brings with it certain dangers.
You can child lock a tablet in a way that you can’t with a traditional paper based medium.
Most tablets provide the ability to make use of a ‘not safe for work’ filter, or a ‘black list’.
You add the terms you want blocked and then any attempts at accessing material using those terms will be re-routed to a different page of your choosing. Of course, this can make studying biology difficult…
7. Harder to damage
Pages can be torn, spat on, chewed, scribbled on, words scratched out, bent, thrown away and otherwise defaced and destroyed.
I’ve never tried to chew a tablet, but I expect your teeth would break before the tablet did…
Tablets are much hardier than their predecessors, and can withstand much more punishment.
That’s not to say that screen protectors would be a bad investment… it’s still a school, after all. There’s always that one kid who will throw it like a frisbee, but then again: there always will be.
8. Remote learning
If you’re prepared to allow your students to take the tablets home with them, then they can work remotely as effectively as they do in the classroom.
This can be simple tasks like doing homework or revising for exams; or it could even extend to teach from home jobs, in the unlikely event that the world should be plunged into a virus-induced chaos that renders traditional schooling a memory of days gone by. Every tablet does Zoom, these days…
9. Audio and video recording
Your students would be able to make recordings of themselves doing activities, like drama plays or skits, and then you could even go so far as to integrate these into the lessons.
They also have the added function of allowing you to give instructions just once, record it for them, and let them hit play every time they need to hear it again.
It’ll save you repeating yourself ad nauseam.
10. Comfort with technology
Call me crazy, but I reckon this ‘technology’ fad is here to stay.
Children are already comfortable using tablets in their homes, in order to watch tv, play games or talk to their friends. Often all three at once.
Any pushback against including tablets in schools isn’t going to come from the children, as they are under the impression that hands evolved purely to give them something to grip the tablet with. It’s the adults who will need convincing.
But the fact that technology isn’t going anywhere (and hasn’t been for a while) shows that it needs to be incorporated into the educational world, particularly because children need to be comfortable using them. They can’t go into the workplace as a technophobe. The phrase ‘I’m not very good with computers’ just isn’t acceptable from anyone younger than your grandmother’s grandmother.
Technology has even opened up to allow teachers to start side hustles from home as online teachers from their laptop, you can check out how to apply to this opportunity below:
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