California Schools Replace Math Textbooks with iPads

Four school districts in California have teamed up with publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in a pilot project to test the use of iPads in math education. 400 iPads will be distributed among six schools in the program for use in algebra classes:

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt today announced a year-long pilot of the first-ever full-curriculum Algebra app for the Apple iPad. The pilot also represents the launch of HMH Fuse™, a new mode of curriculum delivery where interactive platforms and mobile devices bring learning to life for students by moving beyond the one-way experience of a print or digital textbook.
Through the revolutionary iPad environment, students can receive feedback on practice questions, write and save notes, receive guided instruction, access video lessons and more with the touch of a finger. The app’s multi-dimensional functionality combines instruction, ongoing support and intervention, allowing teachers and students to customize learning and meet individual needs.

The schools involved include Washington Middle School and Hudson K–8 in Long Beach Unified, Kings Canyon Middle School and Sequoia Middle School in Fresno Unified, Amelia Earhart Middle School in Riverside Unified, and Presidio Middle School in San Francisco Unified School District.

The iPad is a natural platform for use in education, it’s a magic sheet of paper which can display text, graphics and video, test students, provide internet access and facilitate student-teacher interaction. Many colleges and universities have already begun exploring its possibilities. I don’t doubt it will find a strong niche in grade school as well.

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[via SlashDot]

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Adam Rosen is an IT consultant specializing in Apple Macintosh systems new and old. He lives in Boston with two cats and too many possessions. In addition to membership in the Cult of Mac, Adam has written for Low End Mac and is curator of the Vintage Mac Museum. He also enjoys a good glass of Pinot Noir.

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Posted in iOS, News, Top stories | Tagged: Apple, education, iOS, iPad, News |

MacRat
Knowing the publishing industry. They plan to charge twice the price for the iPad version of the books.
porkchop1234
As much as I hate to admit it I’m with MacRat. I smell a fat money hungry cash cow lying in hiding somewhere in these events.
http://www.oakbog.com Adam Rosen
It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out. The distribution costs for an iPad app should be much lower than for printed books and companion media, but development costs would likely be higher.
Marco White
Development costs should be mitigated by rolling it out to a larger number of users..but not sure if this implementation would meet that criteria. Production costs would of course be much lower than many items of printed material shipped across the country….not to mention saving all of the trees, etc. Maybe if this test program is a success it will be rolled out to a larger number of users/students.
charli
Actually I don’t think they will. They might charge the same, but with more bells and whistles than a standard textbook. Same as with college texts. But since they want these books adopted, charging more just makes it more appealing to stick with paper. Particularly in Cali where many schools had to lay off staff over budget issues
http://www.fantastic-realities.com Kurt Griffith
This is a wonderful idea to both proivde enhanced services to students and to make education less costly. But publishers have long enjoyed a huge cash cow by charging an extraordinary premium for textbooks that students are REQUIRED to purchase. I recently saw a mention that a college student spends over $500 a year on textbooks. But if the publishers don’t play fair, this advantage could easily be wiped out with onerous pricing, making the initiative dead in the water.
One potential solution might be for Educational Institutions to make deals with the publishers to license textbooks for distribution with iPads to registered students
Cathy
As a teacher, I would LOVE to see this play out in the classroom. Putting costs aside, I am almost sure that algebra would no longer be that math class that turns kids away from math. I can just see these pilot kids walking around their schools with their I-Pads–probably the most coveted technology out there.
Curious what the training for teachers was that HMH provided. That’s the key–getting technology in the classroom is easy; it is using it to the most optimum teaching level that’s the hard part. It’s a tool, not a teacher. But together–technology and teacher, this could be a real game changer in the math classroom.
Not familiar with the FUSE but would love to see it. I ran this idea by my 7th grade son who is in pre-algebra and all he said was “Cool. When can our school get it?” Need I say more?