America's School Systems Are Evolving Towards Digital Education And The Future Of Education

America’s school systems are evolving towards digital instruction and the future of education rests in the 9 x 7 inch Apple iPad. Switching to iPads and netbooks from textbooks will revolutionize technology for many fields of education. Flipping electronic pages on a glossy iPad tablet is not just for the looks, but also for a more broad understanding in subjects. The cloud-based student-management programs allows teachers to work while they are at home or at their children’s basketball game. Even the nation’s domestic textbook publishing industries are shifting to a curriculum suitable for iPads and netbooks. Allowing students to use devices such as iPads instead of carrying textbooks around will help save money and create new teaching skills

“At it’s best, education technology will change the face of education by helping teachers manage the classroom and personalize instruction.” Switching to the digital curriculum benefits new teaching methods that are made available on the new tablets and netbooks. Discovery, for example, is the top digital content provider for the U.S. schools. This well known website/app helps keep students up-to-date with their materials and is widely used amongst school districts across America. The many advantages that programs like these offer are the ability to switch between languages. In a case in which a student is doing homework at home and is confused about a question, they can switch from English to the language that most meets their needs. According to Huffington Post, more than half a million students are using Discovery’s texts in 35 states on various

Superintendent Wayne Wooldrige stated that “The cost of [hard copy] textbooks is going up and [the cost of] tablets is going down.”According to huffington post, if as school would use the online version of the textbook instead of issuing 300 textbook for its freshman class, they would save up to about $4,000. The iPad usually costs a school district around $500 to $600, usually depending on the service plans and accessories that are purchased along with it. This is estimated to be the amount spent yearly on textbooks for an average school. The cost alone does not even cover the dictionaries and graphing calculators which students can download apps from the app store. Replacing a teachers smartboard and desktop computer with Apple Tvs and iPads allows students to have access to online resources from digital media to the districts network all for ⅕ of the cost. According to Apple, online textbooks are made available for 80% of the curriculum for high school. More than 2,500 schools nationwide have already gotten rid of the 60 pound, hardcover, weight on their students backs and replaced it with e-textbooks