With the 1:1 iPad rollout ending in September, many are debating whether or not the iPads will be beneficial in classrooms. The district’s intention is to ensure equity of resources through the iPads. Despite these objectives, staff and students alike are wondering if the devices will be able to meet these goals.
With the iPads now in classrooms, teachers are being assigning work that requires internet access to be completed. There is no way to ensure that all GISD students will have internet access to complete the assignments on their iPad outside of school. Some students have Wi-Fi available at home and will not need to go out of their way to be able to use it, but other students who do not have access to the internet at home will have to go to one of the many businesses that have partnered with GISD to provide free Wi-Fi or to one of the high school libraries that are open after hours throughout the week. Despite over 120 businesses in the Garland, Rowlett and Sachse areas being compatible with GISD Wi-Fi, and four high school libraries opened after school hours, students still might not always be able to transport themselves to any of these locations.

Since the iPads are strictly for educational purposes, students will not be able to download apps from the Apple App Store. Any additional applications, not currently on the iPads Self-Service App Store, will have to be requested by teachers. Applications that are initially provided include Google Docs, Google Drive, Google Classroom, Duolingo, Quizlet and a QR scanner app. Although the iPads will have these apps and dozens more, for some students this will not be all they need. Some classes have already been introduced to online textbooks. They are given different online textbooks, often difficult to access through a web browser. These sometimes have apps which are much easier to navigate through, but they are not currently available. The teachers will have to request these, and there could potentially be a long waiting process, which puts classes, and students, behind on curriculum.

The district wants to utilize the iPads for classroom purposes, as well as homework, which brings up another problem. How will students’ classes be affected when there are internet problems at school? With the iPads, teachers are encouraged to increase the use of technology. If teachers slowly become more engaged with online assignments or lessons, which is what is being asked of them, within a month they may be incorporating iPads into their daily lesson plans and assignments. This will result in teachers being dependent on technology in the classroom. The internet being down does not change the importance of the lesson, and the students will have to work on it either at home or another day in class. Lessons and assignments that are being delayed may provide additional homework for students, which could impact their grades.

Although technology could make completing assignments simple, or more interesting, it is not always the best way to have assignments submitted. Many classes have a Google Classroom account, or a website they use as a course guide, where the instructors can post assignments. This could be a problem for different reasons. Students may type an essay, or finish their homework, but when they go to submit or save the file, their device could malfunction. With technology, the student can try as hard as possible, but have the device not comply with them. Students should not be required to use technology for their daily assignments because files could be lost, and devices can be inefficient.

With the new iPads, some students may have an advantage, but others will be left behind. Teachers will be assigning more and more online homework. Some students may not be able to keep up with it for any number of reasons. Although the iPads may make assignments easier and more engaging for some students, they will only cause more problems for others. The district’s high expectations for the iPads will most likely not be met.