i is for apple

I am in favor of technology making life easier. I love my coffee maker which has a delay timer so that I can wake up to piping hot fresh coffee. I love my universal remote control which covers pretty much every aspect of my home entertainment. What I don't love is 3D! Movies, TV video games, it all just gives me a headache.

A 3D logo for a 2D website

Enough of my personal opinions, this isn't a product review post, it is an objective report on the increasing use of technology in schools. There is an increase in the number of Apple i-Pads being used in schools for a variety of reasons.

Considering that the average high school student has to drag around a backpack full of textbooks weighing in excess of 32 pounds, converting those textbooks to e-books and loading them onto an i-Pad would dramatically lighten the load, and allow them to focus on their social lives.

The new unisex apple backpack

Assignments and homework can be sent via email with no chance of "the dog eating it", and the wireless functionality means that all students can be connected to the internet while at school. However, one possible drawback could be kids texting while in class, so the school may need to add jamming software to disable certain functions during school hours.

Opponents to the scheme say that lugging around an impossibly heavy schoolbag is character building, and prepares kids for adult life. Others wonder who will be funding the purchase of all the iPads. At a base price of around $400 each, the bill to equip a single high school could run into millions.

The biggest hurdle encountered so far is who takes responsibility for the unit should it get damaged, lost or sold to buy recreational drugs? One suggestion is that parents put down a deposit which will be refunded when the i-Pad is returned at the end of each school year.

What more proof is needed to show that technology is turning our lives upside down now that teachers will be giving Apples to their students?

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