iPads in the Classroom

Kids today aren’t learning the same way as previous generations. Chalkboards have been replaced with SmartBoards, and clunky desktop computers have been replaced with tablets like iPads. Released in April of 2010, iPads are extremely common in today’s classroom. But with all their popularity, are we sure they’re improving education? Many studies are saying a resounding “YES!”

A study conducted in Maine, USA “randomly assigned half of the district’s 16 Kindergarten classes to use iPads for nine weeks. In all, 129 students used an iPad, while 137 students were taught without an iPad. Each of the 266 students were tested before and after the iPads were introduced into the classroom,” reported LoopInsight.com. Ultimately, the study showed Kindergarten students that used iPads in the classroom scored higher on literacy tests than students who didn’t.

On a higher level, in 2013, UC Irvine reported that their first class to receive iPads scored an average of 23% higher on national exams than previous classes, even though their incoming GPA and MCAT scores were comparable.

Apple has even published their own studies about iPad technology in the classroom. In one classroom in Charleston, 100% of the school’s Kindergartners were reading above grade level for 4 consecutive years after iPad implementation. Before iPads were introduced into the classroom, only 35% of kindergarten students were reading above grade level. At another school in Fullerton, California, the second grade students increased their reading fluency rate by 4.6 words per minute per week from one word per minute per week.

These results are astounding. iPads and other tablets show significant promise in the classroom, and these numbers will only continue to grow. It’s only a matter of time before every single classroom has a 1:1 student to tablet ratio.

To learn more about how schools are deploying, managing and using iPad Charging Stations for their mobile devices, click here.