Distraction or Education? By Daniela Zach

Schools across America, including our own, Brookfield High School, have given an iPad to every student. This new digital age has been forcing teachers’ teaching styles to evolve, but is this new evolution going to be beneficial to students and our upcoming generations? 

An iPad for every student sounds like a great idea. Some say it's convenient, current, cutting-edge and up to date. While textbook apps may be available within seconds, so are other things like games, and social networking; one big distraction right at your fingertips. So are iPads really providing students with an educational tool or another cell phone? It is not possible to entirely restrict the use of the iPads when we are providing students with this new technology, but it is the student’s decision to be using the iPad for anything but its intended purpose, other student’s use the iPads to their fullest advantage. IPads also provide students with a tool that suits to different learning types whether it's visual, auditory, or sensory. Not only they can suit to every individual student's needs, but it also allows for more in-class interaction and provides students with a computer that might not be availible in one's household. BHS science and World Launguage departments have classes that allow for well interaction using the iPads as other classes like math and literacy try to incorporate them into the learning process.

How often do you check your phone? Twice a day? Once every hour? Most likely not. According to statistics  collected by a screen lock app, the average user unlocks their phone around 110 times a day! People unlock thier phones by habit. The next time you check your phone, think about  how you could have unlocked your phone 50 times already without even realizing it. In a society where there are at least five electronic devices per American household, it is virtually impossible to not to be distracted every few minutes. Cell phones, and all electronics for that matter constantly give you reminders. An app that you may own will continue to send notifications. When these notifications are activated during class, students will constantly be obliged to check on their devices.

All in all, iPads really do evolve BHS digitally and interactively providing schools with a new, convenient way of learning. Even though iPads are all of these things,  they still have the potential to take students away from their algebra and fractions turning the iPad into one big distraction. iPads can be very educational if put in the right hands, and it just takes the user to know what's right and what's wrong.