On the technogrouch / compukeenie scale, I’d say I rate at about eight. I’m not fully iTeacher-tronic yet, but I’m well on the way. That’s why Apple’s iPad caught my eye (save the fanboy-bashing comments until the end, please).

Despite also being the name for a kind of incontinence pad in Japan (possibly aimed at long-suffering kancho victims), I think the iPad could have some fantastic applications in the MFL classroom.

Once people start developing integrated learning applications for it, I’m sure the iPad will be a step ahead of the computers we currently use in language labs for a number of reasons.

Firstly, they’re portable. As long as the students don’t nick them, this would solve loads of problems with assigning classrooms. Rather than fighting over who gets to use the language lab, then having to shuffle our classrooms around accordingly, we can just fight over who gets to use the iPads.

Secondly, they’re locked and can only use one application at a time. Students can’t quickly flip back from Facebook to vocabulary matching when you look over their shoulders so they’re less likely to get distracted.

Thirdly, students like cool gadgets. Whether we like them or not, I don’t know many teenagers who would prefer to work on a clunky desktop than an iPad.

What about the price, though? They’re listed as retailing at $499 (about £320). Now, when you factor in an educational discount of £70 or so (depending on what kind of potential Apple sees in educational sales) it starts to look like a more attractive option when compared to even the most basic language lab computers.

Now, all of these ideas are based on having a wireless network that actually works. if you have a reasonable signal, though, the easy set up (if it’s anything like the iPod touch) of wireless from the user standpoint could help classes run more smoothly and mean fewer callouts for ‘Tony the tecchie’ or whoever else runs the IT in your school.

This entry was posted on Monday, March 1st, 2010 at 9:31 am and is filed under IT. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.