The Digital Reader

From THE Journal:

Through a partnership with a large urban school district in Utah, a research project at the University of Cincinnati will experiment with the use of Apple iPads in K-8 classrooms. The initiative will test the use of 35 Apple iPads to collect educational research in a federally funded partnership to improve teacher quality in elementary math and science education.

An overarching purpose for the project, however, is to help schools to become greener and reduce the amount of paper shuttled among researchers and stored for archival purposes.

The research project originated with Carla Johnson, an associate professor of science education in the university’s College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services. Johnson also previously served as director of the Furthering Urban STEMM Innovation, Outreach and New Research (FUSION) Center in the college. (In this case, STEMM refers to science, technology, engineering, math, and medicine.)

Is there really a point to using iPads in an experiment like this? No one can afford to get enough iPads for a schools system to replicate the positive effects that might be found.