The elementary education department is getting mixed reviews for requiring students to purchase their own iPad by their sophomore year.
“We’re working really hard to try to communicate the reasoning behind why we’re using them and make sure students understand that,” Lori Mann, professor of elementary education. “I wouldn’t call that a difficulty but I think we’ve had to spend a lot of time preparing the environment and we still find glitches of things that we want to fix or make better.”
49 percent of school districts in Kansas have implemented a technology program that results in one device to one student. Because of this, the elementary education department views it as essential that their students learn to use devices as tools for teaching during their time at Emporia State.
“I would say overall students are enthusiastic and are finding ways to use the iPads to help them learn how to teach, but also to be more effective as a student,” said Beth Dobler, professor of elementary education.
In addition to using the iPads as required for class, students have reported using their iPads to take photographs of presentations in classes, to keep their calendar, and to send emails.
“For some things (my iPad) helps me. I downloaded the Canvas app and it always gives little notifications about when homework is due or what other projects you have, when they email the students, so that helps, but there’s a hindrance, too, because you get those game apps and you just play it and play it, and it kind of gets distracting,” said Joe Pomatto, sophomore elementary education major.
For other students, it’s simply having to purchase the extra device, priced on Amazon for between $250 and $500, that doesn’t seem to make sense.
“I wish I didn’t have to buy it because I have a MacBook and an iPhone, it’s easy for me to work because I know how that kind of technology works but I have other ways I can do things. Instead of typing my papers on my iPad I type them on my computer, really the only thing I use it for is apps that we have to have at class,” said Megan Dorcas, sophomore elementary education major.
The elementary education department chose to require all the same kind of technology for students because it would decrease confusion when trying to teach students and professors how to use technology if they all had exactly the same thing.
“We’re seeing a mixture of things. We have some students who say, I try to do everything on my iPad, because it’s portable, and I can get to it more quickly, and I can take it with me to my elementary school when I’m working with children, and I can have it in my classes. We have other students who are not as quick to make that transition, so they still may fall back on their PC to do their work when they’re at home but they’ll use their iPad when they’re on campus. That’s okay too. Our intent wasn’t that everyone had to give up what they already had, but that they could find ways that that iPad could benefit them,” Dobler said.
Another opinion expressed by students was that iPad shouldn’t be required for students because when they become teachers, many school districts provide devices for the teachers to use in their classrooms, instead of asking them to use their own. They think the school should own enough iPads so that the students can use them in their classes on the days that they’re needed.
“iPads are personal devices, so sometimes the school districts will let them use one but it’s connected to the school district’s Apple ID so teachers can’t put things on that iPad themselves. So they can’t really explore and use the iPad to the fullest benefit because they’re limited to what is available to the school district… We thought having their own iPad, that way they could personalize it so they could match their own learning styles which is exactly what we’re seeing them do,” Dobler said.
One other challenge of having iPads is keeping faculty up to date with the devices.
“It doesn’t do us any good to have students bring devices if the faculty isn’t confident and that’s our goal is to help faculty to support students in the use in their teaching and that’s a challenge because people are so busy, especially in the middle of the semester,” Dobler said.
Overall, the elementary education department is confident that having each student have their own iPad is going to help the students become better teachers, and leaders in technology when they get to the classroom.
“I think there’ll be some students who, they may be out in the field before they say ‘oh my goodness, I’m so glad that ESU took that initiative and got us used to using these devices,’” Mann said.
