Argumentative Essay On Ipads For Kids

Argument Essay: iPads for Kids

An important tool for schools to acknowledge and pursue the benefits of is the iPad. Today’s society functions in the Era of Technology. Every day advancements are made in standards of living and expansions are made to our knowledge bases thanks to this high-tech living. More and more, children are exposed to these advancements and technologies. They are being born into the Technological Generation, thus they should take advantage of the equipment they will grow up with. The iPad would provide perks across the board for both students and educators. By providing iPads for children in school, teachers and students will benefit from the educational, environmental, economical, and health advantages.

By using iPads, all students would have access to materials necessary to succeed, even if they happen to leave their hard copies in class.

iPads would allow teachers to assign and collect work online in a clean and orderly fashion, reducing fuss and stress.

The use of iPads in schools would also reduce, or even completely eradicate, the need for textbooks. By using ebooks over regular paper books, the US can save over hundreds of thousands of trees (http://epublishersweekly.blogspot.com/2009/09/ebooks-save-millions-of-trees-10-ideas.html). The use of electronic books over paper books can decrease the price as well as the environmental impact. In some cases, purchasing the class key for an online text is much more cost effective than purchasing hard copies of multiple textbooks for class sets (http://classroom.synonym.com/cost-etextbooks-vs-paper-textbooks-6474.html). Beyond text books, online novels in the form of ebooks prove to be much cheaper than their hard copy counterparts. As

billions of books are sold in hard copy forms, their ebook forms sell at lower costs, and if books published in years before had been in etext format rather hardbook, the U.S. could save millions, even billions over years (http://epublishersweekly.blogspot.com/2009/09/ebooks-save-millions-of-trees-10-ideas.html). These cuts in textbooks and school required reading texts would allow for more spending in other sectors of education, like the school’s building maintenance, after- school care, extracurricular activities, and clubs. These reductions in the purchasing of text may even result in the cutting of the community’s tax percentages. Although, not only can the use of iPads save the environment, but it can save the health of students.
When students have to use traditional textbooks, they are possibly damaging their developing bodies. Even though the numbers are declining due to greater home-to-school distances, thirty-five percent of children living within a mile distance of school walk to school (http://guide.saferoutesinfo.org/introduction/the_decline_of_walking_and_bicycling.cfm). These children may be seriously hurting their spines, as data from the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission states that tens of thousands of youths under the age of 18 have experienced back and shoulder related injuries (http://tablets-textbooks.procon.org/#background). A 2012 peer-reviewed study in Archives of Disease in Childhood found that the average student backpack weighs in at 15.4 pounds, while pediatricians and chiropractors recommend that “Students not carry more than 15% of their body weight in a backpack”, although a study by the State of California states that “The combined average weight of textbooks in just the four core subjects of History-Social Science, Mathematics, Reading/Language Arts, and Science exceeded this percentage at nearly all grade levels from 1-12” (http://tablets-textbooks.procon.org/#background). The use of textbooks is endangering the bodies of young students and is a concerning issue for the parents of students. Though the action of carrying heavy books can be counteracted with the use of iPads. As iPads would compensate for the texts in electronic formats, they would also prove to be much lighter, as the standard tablet weighs 0.75- 2.0 pounds (http://tablets-textbooks.procon.org/#background).
Those opposing the use of iPad technology in schools for children criticize the cost efficiency and the ability of students to effectively utilize the technology. iPads would not only require the payment of the tablets themselves, but the technology would require installation of Internet access in schools for full benefits of the iPads. Although this itself may not prove to be an issue as the percentage of WiFi connection in schools has increased from fifty-one percent to ninety-eight percent from 1998-2012 (http://tablets-textbooks.procon.org/#background). The costs of iPads may prove to be a debatable issue as some believe the costs will be too high for communities and schools or afford as a tablet costs upwards of 500% more than the standard traditional textbook (http://tablets-textbooks.procon.org/#background). Although others debate that the longevity of the iPad and the cost for one iPad over the purchasing of multiple books may be much more cost efficient.
In conclusion, the iPad should be utilised in schools for children as the benefits outweigh the cons. With technology already growing with newer the generations, the iPad would be the ultimate enhancement to education. Without iPads, schools are leaving larger environmental impacts on paper resources and students are leaving classes with heavier, jeopardizing loads. iPads provide benefits to all parties and would enhance the lives of students, teachers, and community members by lightening the educational burden of organization by utilizing online assignments, environmental burden through ebooks, and physical burden by light weight technology.