10 Reasons To Choose The Ipad For Teaching

The focus of education must be on the active participation of students to prepare them for future challenges. There must be concerted efforts to enrich the learning experience. The emphasis must be on meaningful engagement, creation, problem-solving, communication, and collaboration. 21st-century education relies on technology in one way or the other. Access to and Connecting the world with the internet has written a separate chapter in the history of humanity. The pervasive access and digitization of processes have made outreach possible.

On the one hand, digital tools inundate the market for pedagogy. On the other hand, educators consistently face the challenges of embedding appropriate pedagogical technologies into the curriculum and instruction. To maximize learning, keep pace with 21st-century competency and skills demands, and address every individual’s learning needs. Focussing on individual competency is only possible if we take technology into perspective.

Classrooms today are evolving and including technology with the blackboard in one form or the other to ease pedagogy, learning, and managing classroom tasks. We must change the teaching approach to prepare children for the 21st century and for schools to be successful.

The 21st century is going to be dominated by mobile apps. There will be a phenomenal increase in digitized processes. The education system is also going through an overhaul. Education is already witnessing a transformation because of blended and flipped learning and the VR and AR tech support that has become an impetus to learning. A systematic approach to the processes and resources of teaching, Educational Technology has changed how we do many things — including how we learn. Digital devices like iPads can significantly enhance learning and benefit the classroom in numerous ways, making them essential to the modern teaching and learning experience. When integrated into a curriculum, these devices can achieve everything from boosting student engagement to improving digital literacy.

Technology, or EdTech, empowers classrooms to improve ‘students’ performance. Technology provides students with one-on-one individualized tutoring and practice, with the computer as a facilitator. It identifies the needs of individuals, adapts technology to classroom instruction, and tracks students’ academic progress. The reason why I favor technology in the classroom is that it makes learning and teaching data-driven.

Twenty-first-century learners are used to learning through collaborative and social means with peers and consistent use of technology (Murray & Olcese, 2011). The National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) for teachers suggest that educators must succeed in accomplishing the following: “facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity, design and develop digital age learning experiences and assessments, model digital age work and learning, promote and model digital citizenship and responsibility, and engage in professional growth and leadership.” When teachers adhere to these, students can accomplish the NETS for Students that promote creativity, innovation, communication, critical thinking, and technology systems. In addition to the ISTE Standards, the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) have published Standards for the 21st Century Learner that promote critical thinking, and creating and sharing new knowledge, while pursuing personal and aesthetic growth. The AASL Standards acknowledge the importance of technology skills in learning and future employment. Students of the new generation must be able to share and learn from each other in face-to-face and technology modes. Along with the newly embedded Common Core State Standards emphasizing digital literacy and technology pedagogy (Dalton, 2012), it is vital for educators to implement the appropriate technologies into the classroom that enhance student learning while promoting creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking.

The concept of learning is changing from a separate, fenced-off, time-constrained activity to a holistic, diverse and lifelong learning continuum.
Preparing students with 21st-century skills like critical thinking, higher-order reasoning, creativity, enhanced collaboration, and improved organizational skills requires technology and digital tools.

We are at the threshold of the Artificial Intelligence era, and it becomes imperative to incorporate technology, gadgets, and devices not just for the teaching and learning part of pedagogy but also for the ‘management’ part of teaching and education. Pulitzer Prize-winning author Thomas Friedman has dubbed this time frame the “Age of Acceleration,” reflecting the exponential growth in technology and unbridled transformation globally. We must teach children to handle volatility and complexity to survive and thrive in this age. We must teach children critical thinking and problem-solving, cognitive and physical, to interpersonal skills that will help them evolve according to the situations.

Educators continuously face challenges in incorporating pedagogical technology for optimum learning outcomes. Research confirms that Computer-Aided Instruction increases teacher productivity by three-quarters as measured by student test score gains and learning outputs. The change in productivity partly reflects teachers’ decisions about allocating class time and effort.
Classroom Management is one of the most critical components of a powerful and successful teaching and learning environment. And most of the time, Classroom Management is ignored and overlooked.
The iPad in the classroom has infused life into learning and teaching. Not only is it suitable for 1:1 tutoring, but research also suggests using the iPad has increased accessibility to learning and teaching from anywhere. The iPad is an excellent way for blended learning and they are a perfect device to engage with creative content and become an excellent channel for engaging and strengthening cognitive skills. Learning becomes an active process and concomitant with 21st-century learning demands. Teachers observe that it complements traditional education for reluctant learners.
Teachers have the power to communicate and create a controlled, creative and engaging learning environment. Teachers must choose the best ways to incorporate iPads into their lesson plans and classrooms to maximize learning outcomes.