Hasta La Gadget!

I wrote a piece on Gearlog last week titled “Will Apple’s iPad Invade Kindergarten?” In it, I highlighted the ways in which the iPad is ideal for teaching young children and cited some examples of real life kindergartens that were implementing Apple’s tablet. But what about older children? Is the device an effective tool for teaching in elementary school, junior high, and beyond?

When the iPad first launched, Apple was pushing an app called Elements. The company pre-loaded it on our test model, and I got to play around with it a bit. It’s clear, of course, why Apple chose the app as one of the best indicators for the potential of the device.

Apple, after all, has long understood the importance of positioning its products in the educational system–there are few better ways to secure a long term user base than by using your products as a training tool early in life. Elements is a great example of the educational benefits that comes with the iPad. It’s an information-packed app that takes full advantage of multimedia features to teach kids the periodic table.

The California school system is currently exploring the potential of the device in eight grade classes–perhaps marking the beginning of the end for the traditional textbook in schools. California Secretary of Education Bonnie Reiss and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt are bringing iPads to four eighth grade classrooms, in a pilot program of sorts, designed to explore the benefits of digital education.

“This is a seminal moment,” Houghton Mifflin Harcourt VP John Sipe told The Hill.”It marks the fundamental shift from print delivery of curriculum to digital.”

The four schools are located in the Fresno, Long Beach, Riverside, and San Francisco school districts. The iPads come loaded with more than 400 videos featuring teaching walking students through algebraic concepts, animated instructions on assignments, and a “homework coach.”

The projects will take place over the full school year.