Online Custom «Apple Technology in the Classroom» Essay Sample

Nowadays, information is easily available from various sources. The information that is used by students during the whole school year is usually received thanks to a computer and the Internet. Technology innovations add to information democratization and give students direct access to the future knowledge through indexed, organized, and affordable resources, content, and instructions. These technologies enable students to learn not only in school but also outside it.

Needs and wants of a modern society make schools become more than information repositories leading to profound changes. Educational estalishments should be the places that provide students with the area where they can obtain the knowledge and skills that can be used to solve complex problems in the future. The changes affect the educator’s role who has to become more information aware, collaborative in learning and needs to model positive mind habits and new ways of learning as well as seek new knowledge and skills (“Apple classrooms of tomorrow-today…”, 2008).

In comparison to the previous century, modern students have a wide variety of technology to choose form. Students of the twentieth century have faced major developments in the technology that is used in the classrooms. The first computer that was used for instructions appeared in 1950 and was followed by the IBM 650. The predecessor to modern calculators was invented in 1967. 1967 was also marked by the coming of Apple II. Personal computers were incorporated into schools in 1977, and in 4 years PCs were used in 18% of public schools. Every year, more and more students received an access to personal computers in order to improve the learning process. Distance learning appeared in 1997, providing education to all willing students. Online education helped to save time and space constraints. The beginning of the new millennium was marked by much wider access to technology in education. Since 2005, almost all schools have had access to the Internet. In two years, every fifth college student was taking a course online (Arora, 2013). Thus, students of a new generation expect to study in a learning environment that adapts to learning styles of individuals, accommodates a mobile lifestyle, integrates modern digital tools, and encourages teamwork and collaboration. An increasing number of schools is choosing Apple in order to move on the way to mobile technology, because it is considered that only Apple provides a digital learning environment that is specifically designed with the aim to support mobile learning, at the same time providing access to the learning tools of the twenty first century and reducing infrastructure costs. Technology including laptops, iPod, and iPads has become a commonplace in the classrooms of public schools and is widely used to support individual needs of students, especially those with learning disabilities (“Classroom use of Apple technology aids, motivates student learning”, 2011).

During the last year, much technology was integrated into the classrooms. It has become much easier for educators to be somewhat confused due to the variety of technological approaches which presuppose using iPads, digital textbooks, apps, and others (Rocco, 2012). Speaking about the future of education, people often trigger visions of iPad in the hands of every student, monitored classrooms, teachers who provide their lecture via web cameras, and thousands of pupils for one teacher. Some of these changes are already happening. In is evident that technology, and Apple technology in particular, will become an inevitable part of the future education. The mobile education market encompasses software of learning management, e-books, tablets, etc. The market of Apple devices that are used in the classroom is expected to grow in the nearest future. The classrooms of the near future may have a teacher who would monitor the progress of students and assist them instead of lecturing at the front of a classroom (Olster, 2013). It has been believed that in five years, tablets and iPads will become a useful education tool in the hands of primary and secondary graders. Conventional blackboards will be substituted by the tables which will explain main concepts and make learning interesting and playful. They may also be very helpful for primary school children, who may be encouraged to read and express their thoughts (“Education with technology – Using tablets as the future of classrooms”, n.d.).

Thus, the process of evolution and developments covers all spheres of people’s life and cannot omit education. The integration of technology is considered to be a splendid opportunity to make education, teaching, and learning reach a new level. A variety of technologies may mislead educators and make them become lost in the new technology flurry. However, the use of technology in the classrooms, and Apple technology in particular, has shown profound positive changes in the nature of learning, teaching, assessment, and even school culture. Apple’s iPad has proven to inspire creativity as it has features that cannot be found in any other tool. App Store has such powerful apps as iBooks and iTunes that engage students with content in interactive ways, help them access an entire library, and find information in an instant.