Are iPads and eReaders the future of education?

Touchscreen tablets and iPads may replace the tired old textbooks in the classroom, as Ariel Shearer reported in the Boston Phoenix.

Private and public schools all over the Commonwealth began embracing the education revolution in 2010 when iPads first hit the market.

Boston Public Schools purchase their first 200 iPads in 2011 with stimulus funding. Last year they received a grant from Verizon to expand the program. By summer break, more than 90 teachers had already received professional development training.

In 2011, invested in iPads for their entire student body, eliminating the need for new textbooks and pushing towards getting rid of computer labs.

Sacred Heart School in Kingston are integrating iPads into parochial education for students in grade seven to 12.

Cushing Academy in Ashburnham established an electronic library in 2009 with hundreds of eReaders and resources to replace the 20,000 books in their library. Students use iPads for group participation exercises and presentations. Teachers use giant touch screen devices instead of worn out whiteboards.

So what do you think about replacing textbooks with iPads? How do you feel about digital dissection of frogs instead of the scalpel and the smell? Use our comments section to voice your opinion.