Move over Notebooks; iPads are Topping School Must-Have Lists

Although the cost of an iPad2 exceeds the cost of an entire list of conventional school supplies, an elementary school in Las Vegas recently demonstrated how this tablet has become an invaluable educational tool. The Las Vegas Sun profiled a second grade class at Explore Knowledge Academy (EKA), a charter school that incorporates technology into their curriculum.

The second graders of EKA were observed using the keyboard feature of their iPads for a writing exercise in English class, and this event shed light on one of the many ways the iPad finding a home in the academic setting.

Specifically, the camera feature enables students to digitally log chemistry or math formulas. The 16 gigbytes of memory can store e-textbooks from every subject in the curriculum. The students have Wi-Fi access so they can do some quick research. Moreover, lectures, projects, tests, quizzes, videos, and graphics can be transferred and displayed within seconds from device to iPad providing these second graders an entire learning institution at their fingertips.

EKA is an iSchool, which is a project by Apple (News - Alert) to test and develop Apple products as they are used in academic facilities. Because of this, students of EKA are surrounded by AppleTV’s, Macbooks, and Apple-created software such as Keynote. However, Apple does not pay for everything.

EKA is a public school with the same standard, public school budget. But because EKA is a charter school, administrators are given more freedom in deciding what to do with the budget. In the past, the budget only allowed for one computer per two students, so perhaps the decision to bring in iPads was a decision that saves money as well.