iCant (Think for a use of this)

Yvonne Rodriguez, Staff Writer

iPads have been distributed to students at Rancho for quite some time. Some students actually use them, while others just leave them in their locker. Students don’t use the iPads mostly because the teachers don’t incorporate them into the lesson on a regular basis.

This makes the students lose interest in the technology. At first, the students had access to the app store. This kept them interested in the iPads, and it created a distraction in the classroom. Because of this, students would usually get in trouble for having the iPads out. Even then, the tablets were not that helpful to students and were not being used in a proper way. The app store since then has been removed and has caused the students interest to decrease.

Since teachers don’t incorporate the technology into class lessons, most students justleave their iPads in a drawer or in their locker to gain dust throughout the school year.

Only a few select teachers actually use the technology and plan lessons on the ipads

themselves. This supports the idea that getting the iPads was not the best idea. If the students were not going to be able to use them on a regular basis in class or at home, what was the benefit of receiving them. The tablets could have followed the fate of the laptops and could have just been stored in cart till their use was requested or needed in class for research of some sort.

I personally leave my iPad in my locker or at home when it is not in use, which is 90% of the time. I hardly ever use it, and classes don’t require them or use them as much, it is at rare times that they will ever need it for an in class assignment. The district spent thousands of dollars for iPads that were not going to be of any use to students. With all of that money, the District could have given teachers a raise or funded schools and give them things that they are lacking. The funds could have also been used to pay for field trips or programs that could help students with their studies.

 

The iPads could have been used in a proper way and could have emitted a positive response in the student’s learning ability, but that is not the case when they are not used. If both teachers and students use the technology like they were meant to be used, then maybe the iPads would have not been considered a waste of funds.