Tablet computers are making their mark in the classroom. The federal government, book publishers and the technology industry are considering a large-scale effort to push tablets into public schools, raising questions about whether there are hidden costs to implement such a program.
The Federal Communications Commission is estimating that tablets could save schools about $3 billion. While questions have been raised over whether schools have the infrastructure to handle the new technology, many districts are betting that tablets will help improve learning.
Teachers have been facing an uphill battle getting students to pay attention ever since mobile devices came into the classroom. Smart phones, iPads, eBooks and other handheld electronics can be distracting, noisy and disruptive. Meanwhile, publishing textbooks and magazines has gotten more expensive. In many cases, schools cannot afford to pay for textbooks, magazines, fees for publishers -- and many publishing companies are going out of business.
Students can't even pay for the textbooks anymore since the prices have gotten to be so astronomical. Today's modern students are not conditioned to reading text books anymore anyway in the age of downloading books to e-readers.
A Minneapolis company is taking advantage of this new trend of e-books. Cole Mathisen, e-learning coordinator at Providence E-Learning, explains how they are making the most of these trends.
Watch the video for more information.
