What do Students Think of Using iPads in Class? Pilot Survey Results

The article What do Students Think of using iPads in Class? Pilot Survey Results, actually gives statistics from a survey taken by students about their time using iPads in the classroom. The author, Sam Gliksman states upfront that the their schools pilot program did not a have a 1:1 ration, instead students were sharing iPads, so this affected the students opinions of the iPads, Also as some students used the iPads more extensively in their class, the results were varies as well. When the survey was taken the students had been using iPads for three to four months. Over all the results were fairly good for students liking the iPads. The biggest complaint that they got from students was that they had to share them. This caused problems as students were not able to make the iPads their own, and had to be extra cautious about making sure they were signed out of everything, and had emailed any important notes to themselves. Through the survey they found that students who had more exposure to the iPads in their classroom and used them for more intensive things, like the iPads better than other students. Part of this could be because they understood how to use them better and were more comfortable using them since they had done so much work with them.

This survey was very interesting to read. As a future educator I have heard about the benefits of having technology like the iPad in classrooms, but it was nice to see a student survey and see how well the students actually enjoyed using the iPads. It is important that the technology we introduce into classrooms actually has a purpose and is beneficial to the students and that we are not just introducing technology into the classroom to have more technology. I would be very interested to see a survey of students who used iPads in a 1:1 setting.

When reading this article I could definitely understand the students’ frustration with having to share iPads, and I could see why they may not be as open to using iPads exclusively as they have just simply not had enough exposure to them. However, this article did provide a good starting points for educators to look at and make a better informed decision as to whether bringing iPads into the classroom would be beneficial.