From the Boston Daily:
Tomorrow night Wellesley schools will host a parent forum to discuss a proposal requiring every fifth grader to bring his or her own iPad to school for use in the classroom. Aside from the obvious question of affordability (the school says it will find a way to get an iPad into the hands of students who can’t afford to buy one), the real concern should be what the iPads will add to the educational experience in the first place. While tech-happy schools around the country take to so-called 1:1 technology programs, where every kid has his or her own iPad or laptop, school districts should be asking if the technology truly adds anything to the learning experience — or even, if it’s taking something away… In the same vein, Mimi Ito, a cultural anthropologist of technology use at the University of California at Irvine and Chair of the Connected Learning Research Network says, “It is not the device that will determine the educational effectiveness of the innovation, but the ways in which it is used. IPads can be used simply to replicate existing textbook-centered learning, or to deliver more progressive, interactive, or customized forms of education.”

For the full story, please visit http://blogs.bostonmagazine.com/boston_daily/2013/01/09/wellesley-school....