Tablets Becoming the New Laptop for Students
Spiral-bound notebooks are out, the Macbook Air is in. Scratch that, the Macbook Air is out, and the iPad 3 is in. Having trouble keeping up with what to get for your high school student who’s going back to school? Not to worry, we’ve weighed out the pros and cons for the latest trends in back-to-school tech so you don’t get a headache from all those ads and the insistent nagging of your kids — We’ll help you make the smart choice.
Tablet Pros
Availability
Last year, Apple sold more than 1 million iPad devices to high schools and colleges. Many public and privately run high schools are using tablets like the iPad to make researching and studying easier and more accessible. This is a huge move that could cause tablets to be as widely used as notebooks, pens, or rulers.
Portability
At 9.5 inches tall and weighing less than 1.5 pounds, this sleek tablet can be easily slipped into your backpack, is half the weight of an 11-inch Macbook Air and you can store all of your e-textbooks on it, so that’s a huge weight off of your shoulders. Plus, your kid won’t grow up a hunchback from a weighed-down backpack.
Battery Life
The iPad 3, in all its lightweight glory, houses a massive 11,666mAh battery that allows users to get 10 hours of use. Even at 70 percent charged, the iPad 3 will still have life in it even if your student forgets to charge it overnight. You don’t want your kid to lose valuable research he or she has been doing on college majors, which is one of the most important decisions of your life.
Focus
If your child has trouble focusing on completing tasks in a timely fashion, the iPad can be a useful tool. The amount of time it takes a user to switch apps on an iPad makes it harder to multi-task, making it great for students who need help concentrating. If you can’t switch between activities as rapidly as you would like, then it’s likely your child will have no choice but to finish that take-home exam.
Tablet Cons
Crime Target
You got the iPad for your kid because it’s lightweight and lower in cost. Unfortunately, this makes it easier to steal. Laptops are harder to take because they are not as lightweight and are harder to snatch from a child.
Teachers Adapting
Teachers are finding it difficult to adapt their lesson plans to the tools their students are using. Teachers must learn how to integrate the educational apps offered into the lessons for students who have tablets. If not all of the students are using them, it takes more adapting on the teacher’s part.
Social Exclusion
An iPad is more accessible and portable, therefore, can allow students to treat their device less like a tool for research or writing papers and more for hanging out on Facebook or playing online games. The high school years are formative for a student, and if your child is spending important development years obsessed with Facebook and not interacting with others at school, his online social life will be amazing, but his face-to-face social life will be nonexistent.
When you get down to it, there are great reasons to have both devices. Maybe it’s not quite time to toss the laptop for the new iPad, but both have their positive qualities and downfalls. Using both devices is another option for parents who have a bigger budget. However, your kid will always want the new toy on the shelf, so shop smart, and get the device that supports your child’s educational needs best and then worry about the price tag later.
