Tablets and other mobile devices are entering classrooms all across the United States at an increasingly rapid rate. iPads seem to be the fantastic little device leading this invasion. I can see why though. They can provide an incredible amount of benefits to both educators and students, and several studies have proven they certainly do enhance education. Therefore their exponentially increasing growth and support as a learning tool only makes sense.
Some are still a little shocked at how well the iPad had done in education. Apple CEO Tim Cook said on a call with investors, "Education tends to be a conservative institution, but we're not seeing that at all on the iPad. The adoption of the iPad in education is something I've never seen in any technology."
Check out these interesting survey results and figures concerning the growth of iPads in the classroom. Some of them might really surprise you.
1.) Apple says it has sold twice as many iPads as Macs to its education customers. (Macworld)
2.) 43 percent of teachers surveyed said they allow students to use tablets such as iPads in class. (Pew Internet and American Life Project)
3.) "The Big 3" publishers: McGraw-Hill (MHP), Pearson (PSO) and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, which together provide 90% of the textbooks available to schools, are all currently partnering with Apple to sell digital versions. (Pearsoned.com)
4.) The iPad currently accounts for 82% of all web traffic generated by tablet devices.(Forbes)
5.) Apple has sold over 8 million iPads direct into education institutions worldwide. (TechCrunch)
6.) Teachers are realizing that tablets are beneficial with 82% of all teachers surveyed saying that their students have an interest in using tablets. (BESA)
7.) In the U.S. over 2,300 school districts are using iPads in the classroom. (Apple)
8.) Tablet sales are set to grow from 17.6 million in 2010 to 326.3 million in 2015, and the bulk of them will continue to be Apple iPads. (Gartner)
9.) According to Apple, more than 1,200 universities and colleges, and over 1,200 K-12 schools host over 2,500 public courses on iTunes U, along with thousands more private courses available only to enrolled students. (Apple)
10.) Tablet sales into K-12 exceeded 3.5 million units in 2012, a growth of 340% on 2011. Sales are expected to double again in 2013, to reach close to 7 million. (Futuresource)
Also, here are some examples of schools and school districts that have or plan to implement a program to bring iPad technology in the classroom.
San Diego Unified School District: 26,000 iPads
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McAllen Independent School District: 25,000 iPads
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Mansfield High School: 10,600 iPads
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Knox Public Schools: 56,000 iPads by 2015 – Every student in all 87 of Knox County’s public schools will have access to an iPad.
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Regis College: 1,250 ipads
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Zeeland Public Schools – 1,800 iPads
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El Paso Public Schools: 7,200 iPads – About a third of a nearly $9.9 million grant will be used to purchase the iPads
It’s no secret, wireless technology in the classroom like the iPad is the future of education. In less than 10 years tablets like the iPad in the classroom may be the norm, not the exception.
If your school is considering implementing mobile devices like the iPad in classrooms we are here to help. We have helped 250+ schools all over the US prepare their school wireless network for programs like 1:1 and BYOD to bring put these incredible learning tools in the hands of teachers and students. You may contact us here with any questions or for a free consultation. We are always happy to help; our goal is to be a resource for you!
