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| Apple iPad 2 Tablet: Newest Model 16 GB WiFi, White Click Image for Further Detail |
On the positive side, iPad, and other touch screen tech gadgets, incorporate multiple learning modalities: tactile, or kinesthetic learners have a hands on device, which taps into their active learning style, one that is very difficult to teach to in traditional classroom settings, and even more so in upper grades. Auditory and visual learners, as well, are able to use the iPad in ways that work with their preferred means of learning. If any educational device meets all of these modalities in one place, it's the iPad.
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| Apple iPad (first generation) 32 GB Black, Wifi Click Image for Further Details |
App development for touchscreen devices has multiplied monumentally, and whether your child is interested in the solar system, or in learning Spanish, the iPad has apps for these areas. Math quizzes, strategy games, graphing calculators, and more...there are a multitude of inexpensive, or free apps that meet educational needs, both generally and specifically.
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| Apple iPad 2 64 GB Wifi and 3G Click image for further details. |
iBooks provides access to ereading, and Kindle and Nook both have apps for iPhone and iPad, as well. The iPad provides access to multiple ereader formats, and though much more expensive than a Nook or Kindle for a tween, is much more versatile. If you were to purchase an iPod, a netbook, and an ereader, you would easily spend as much, or more, than you would for the most basic iPad. From that perspective, iPad can be an outstanding investment. Refurbished versions of the early generation iPads can be purchased at prices that take some of the sting out of the investment. Newer versions are great, as well, and Apple has a track record for continually improving and re-defining already successful technologies. Tween iPad use is a good means of getting some informal education into your middle school student's recreational activities.
On the down side, tweens can be somewhat irresponsible with technology items, and you really need to evaluate your tween's behavior and responsibility. An iPad in a tween backpack is scary enough (the abyss of the middle school backpack is downright frightening!)...but when a tween takes a tech item to school, trouble is bound to happen...anything from confiscation by a teacher, to theft by a classmate, to damage in mishandling. You must set groundrules with a tween iPad owner, and you must be prepared to impose consequences for infractions.
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| Otterbox iPad Defender Case in White/Blue Click image for further information. |
Protective enclosures are advisable for the tween iPad owner, and Otterbox is a very good choice, in terms of their protective covers. Double protection, with a silicone outer shell to absorb shock upon impact, combined with an inner hard case, makes Otterbox doubly protective. Tweens can be a little clumsy with belongings, and if another iPad isn't affordable, you want to go out of your way to assure the safety of the one you select.
Be sure to check out user reviews of iPad 2, with a variety of insights into the use of the popular tablet pc.
