D3 – Game Changer ?
Is the Ipad a Game Changer in Education? Is this really a good investment?
In my case, I would probably start with who are my audience and what courses am I teaching?
I am sure it is a game changer for other educators.
As they often say, “You need an apps for that.”
Is there a mathematical formula to determine good investment?
It would nice to have one.
I am a little bit conservative when it comes to spending.
a) What does iPad offer that the other devices/computers could not?
b) How often are we going to use iPad? Would all the courses support the use of iPad? It might be like buying a luxury vehicle that is parked in the garage and only used 2 hours per week.
c) How do we physically secure it? (I guess this is more of logistics problem).
I guess, at the end of the day, the institution needs to come up with a check list to determine how valuable iPad would be for them.
smc
Posted in: Week 09: iPad Apps
Keisha Edwards-Hamilton 3:40 am on November 4, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hello,
Very good questions to determine if the iPad is worth the investment. I particularly like your first question where you ask about what the iPad has to offer over other devices/computers. For example, when you consider a laptop, it can do almost the same thing and more of what the iPad has to offer. So is it worth really worth it?
Keisha
Jay 8:18 am on November 4, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Your first question is crucial to determining whether or not investment will reap benefits. One of the “selling points” of the iPad, or other tablets, is the mobility they offer. Yes a laptop is mobile, but not nearly as portable and easy to just pull out and use. Institutions definitely need to assess their particular situation and decide if a device is actually worth the price tag before they decide to invest. What could it bring into the classroom/office/learning process that isn’t there now and could we do this in a less expensive way. The point of technology is that we become more efficient and better at what we do, including cost-effective. If the device is not going to do this than regardless of the intuitive interface, touch-screen, sleekness and mobility it’s not worth the price tag especially in already tight-budget circumstances.