Kids should learn using Critical Thinking, learning to think by themselves and learning to learn they way is easier per kid. Critical Thinking is defined by wikipedia as;
The key to seeing the significance of critical thinking in academics is in understanding the significance of critical thinking in learning. There are two meanings to the learning of this content. The first occurs when learners (for the first time) construct in their minds the basic ideas, principles, and theories that are inherent in content.
I have always believe when I was a kid, that the next generation will be learning using technology, I look at how my children are still learning at school and technology is far from being accomplished to be introduce to the class room, even if many different companies have tried to create very expensive systems for teachers, they had little success.
Now the iPad is coming to schools, courtesy of Apple investing in the future users as well as a great tax deduction option for the big California company. The dual purpose of Apple giving away their iPads to Schools, isn’t an action that Apple is taking lately. On the iPad version 3.2.2, they introduce the restriction tab under settings.
This settings will allow you to restrict your child of how to use the iPad, from disabling the browser, you tube, iTunes or even installing applications to set the rating of the content on their iPad.
On the Allowed Content, you’ll be able to select what applications the user can run only.
You can also restrict the explicit music that won’t play in that iPad.
This same settings are also found on the iPhone, however you can see they were designed for the iPad, there is no notion of restricting the phone and texting use, as this would be the most important thing for parents I assume.
Apple had the iPad in mind when they created the restriction setting tab.
If you look at the picture on the right, the phone and SMS (texting) is not found on the restriction settings.
If Apple ever want to implement the iPhone for kids, a good idea will be implementing a restriction of the address book, only people in they address book can call them, and they can only call people in the address book.
It’s a given, they should be restricted, at that point from editing the address book.
If you have been using an iPad for a while and you provided your children a few apps for them to explore the device, you already have seen the benefits for children. Instead of having to read hard books and carry them all the time in their backpacks, pushing those for their 20 minutes of reading a day, for 2nd grade in this case, will be great, as well as homework, to-do lists as well as reviews can be pushed from the teacher to the kids.
In Critical Thinking, kids are allow to explore the way they like to learn, the teacher can push their lessons in audio visual or written to allow the student to learn their way. Homework using the iPad can be sent after completion, avoiding the “dog eating my homework” problem. As well, students process can be reviewed by parents.
Critical Thinking believes with one laptop per student, I don’t think the iPad should replace that, as students need still as the grade increase to be provided of a keyboard.
Then again, Apple provides a keyboard to the iPad that makes that device more useful to the Critical Thinking Learning.
I believe that having Apple pushing those devices to schools will help students learn and get familiar with technologies.
I think in the future will see more devices at schools, we just need know developers to create applications for schools to organize all this tasks per grades.
In my modest opinion, I believe all this is coming out nicely.