Paige Sinclair prefers the feel of a book in her hands and the feel of the pages as she turns them. Other students, however, are moving to the digital world in which reading a book is now done via applications on tablets or other Smart devices.
“I don’t want books to go to screens,” Sinclair, sophomore, said.” I never want to lose the feel of books and the flipping through actual pages not just clicking a screen.”
KHS administrators, however, are currently looking at the possibility of making the switch to the use of tablets or other Smart devices for classes. These tablets will provide many uses in the classroom such as researching online, writing a paper and even reading a book.
“There are conversations and arguments that some teachers have made that are articulating an interest in looking at what tablets would mean for students,” Mike Gavin, junior principal, said. “We are at a place where we might want to try that.”
According to Gavin, if KHS were to use tablets it would probably be a gradual switch, most likely starting in one classroom or department and eventually spreading throughout the campus.
KHS had a pilot program this summer in which English teachers read different books on iPads with either a kindle or iBook app, so they could familiarize themselves with the applications and discover how they could be used by students for learning.
“I think the social studies department will be starting a pilot program in second semester where the teachers will have iPads that the students will use in some setting in the classroom,” Gavin said.
One of the main reasons why the switch would be gradual is because teachers have to become familiar with the technological capabilities in a classroom.
“It’s a tool that does take some learning, and if it is properly used it has the potential to radically change the way students learn and share,” Gavin said. “So teachers are going to need training and understanding so that they can encourage the power of this tool and see it as an ally and tool not an additional burden.”
On the other hand, Gavin believes it is only a matter of time until this kind of technology becomes a part of students’ day-to-day routines.
“We want to empower [students] to use free resources on the internet, so that they can get the most recent, most authentic, most valuable, the most applicable resources in [their] hands to learn,” Gavin said.
With new technology there are things gained and also things lost. The change itself, may or may not be productive in the development.
“If you think about it, how did the book [or] the invention of writing, change our culture? We moved from an oral culture to a written culture, and there was a change in how people learn and how information was passed on,” Gavin said. “My guess is that the technology is doing the same thing.”