Here in New Zealand some of the public schools now require an iPad, so it's not something new or exclusive like there. From an education point of view I think it's just a fad though and a step in the wrong direction. iPads and tablets are designed for ease of use, so it does not challenge or teach the students anything about IT like a PClaptop would. Tablets are excellent for web related stuff like browsing and email, but not very good at doing work lie word processing etc due to it's relatively primitive on-screen keyboard sand lack of processign power.

Report this

Good . We pay for our education as we get no education for our taxation. We get the best because we pay. If other can't pay heardlines. Also our teachers do not go on strike. The poor will allways be with us.

Report this

ONE THING...we bought an ipad recently..and 100% agree that it is an awesome educational tool..however one issue...kids break things..ours was dropped kid height flat on a wooden floor and now screen dead..these things are expensive to start with and expensive to repair

Report this

If you take a low cost tablet for R2000 or less, then the savings on not buying textbooks, not printing, not maintaining photocopy machines, and the associated corruption and non-delivery is eliminated. Technology is a means to think different and bridge the gap between haves and have nots. The only way for poor schools to improve is to take a quantum leap and be very different to 30 years ago. With technology they can now access the best materials and the best teachers.

Report this

As someone who had handrwiting problems, I understand Goldstuck's sentiments, but really, the iPad, and other touch screens are very slow for typing.

Report this

Well, if we look at the following ... each child in South Africa could have an ipad! According to East Coast Radio news today, Vavi says that South Africa looses an average of R30 billion rand per year because of corruption. This money should have gone to education and medical services. R30 Billion x 20 years = R600 Billion rand since the ANC regime was entrusted with the tax payers money. With a population of 50 million people, according to my calculation, each person could have been given one million rand to start their own business, or pay for their education, or what ever, in other words the whole country could have been uplifted overnight, plus there would have been R550 Billion rands left over to improve the infrastructure of South Africa...had they placed this money into investment as they went along, year by year, interest calculated at 5% per year in an acrual system over 20 years on R30 Billion per year...hmmm...heck, we could have turned the prisons into hotels!!!

Report this

@ Ken- brilliantly said and so true.Wheter you in a private school or good goverment school, at university all are equal. So it does not matter in the end, the only difference is that parents who send their kids to private schools has a much bigger hole in their pockets in the end of the day:)

Report this

Technology isn't a teacher. It's a tool. Misapply it and it can hurt. In the UK, reading skills have declined with increase in web surfing and playing computer games. Maybe this will narrow the gap a bit for lower-income kids.

Report this

Why don't the top corporations, who will need the skils now being 'educated', take one of the 3600 under its wing and provide for its welfare?

Report this

" IT expert Arthur Goldstuck said an advantage of the technology was that children with handwriting problems were able to keep up with the class through typing. " If a child cannot write, that is an indication of poorly developed motor skills. Typing is not going to address the problem at root. Technology is great, but it will have no appreciable effect when applied in the context of a primitive curriculum which leaves students lacking in critical thinking and reasoning. Is the iPad2 going to help a child who is being crippled by Math Literacy ? I think not. Tablets in class will merely result in a generation who spend their time tweeting, facebooking, and availing themselves to child molesters.

Report this

@EbbyA - the reason to use the iPad is yes, there's tons of educational stuff on there already, PLUS apple just released a *free* app to make textbooks with. (electronic textbooks).

Report this

@ Educator, private schools are businesses, run to maximise profits. It is a very effective model and many private schools do exceptionally well. 'Giving away ipads' is not what they do, unless it is sponsored by a donor. iPads are also relatively simple in operation and thus are restrictive in many uses, so I'd be very interested to see how they are used. If its just for an email exchange and websurfing with a bit of Skype, then its a nice toy to have. It is the future of communicating (not just iPads but tablets in general) and expanding networks, so from that perspective its a great idea and will give those children an advantage over those who don't have it.

Report this

Yeah so the kids from private schools get to go to private universities, is there such a thing? Don't think so, they end up going to universitiescolleges with kids from government schools. So much for standards in education. Cos if a kid from a government school gets acceptance into university, then he's obviously done something right with his so called 'poor education'...at probably 4 times lower school fees. But back to the topic of Ipads in schools, way to go, kids need the technology.

Report this

These schools forget that some of these parents are sacrificing a lot just to send their kids to 'good schools'. Given the astronomical feels that are charged, why doesn't the school provide the kids with ipads?

Report this

@Anonymous, wrote 12:11pm You an idiot if you believe that... superior education will be all the difference! Keep telling yourself that, if it helps you sleep better at night..

Report this

I saw a Youtube video not so long ago of a child who had clearly been using an iPad too much. She was trying to swipe her finger across a real magazine to turn the page. Everyone thought it was funny and cute but its just so sad. That child doesn't know the difference between what is real and what is not. There needs to be special boundaries and limits with this type of technology!

Report this

Not that you learn anything valuable at school these days. The standards are so low its almost pointless to attend schools. You can learn most skills at home on your computer and you WILL find better explanations and techniques on the web. IPad's are a step in the right direction.

Report this

Wake up call to SA parents....in rural villages of india, all villages schools has computers using solar system power. These children are up to date with the latest computer skills and when they go to the cities, they not shy to use the internet cafe. This is a wake up call to the education department and the officials of the goverment has been to india to evaluate the schools there. The gov is far behind the world of technology

Report this

I don't have a problem with kids using tablets in school. But is there any particular reason that kids have to have an IPad? Why not one of the hundred other pads available? Are there apps written specifically for the school that will only work on iPads?

Report this

My 16 year old already spends all afternoon listening to her IPOD while watching MTV and chatting to her friends with her blackberry. Do I really need to give her another resource to be able to use facebook during the day even while she is at school..?

Report this