Socioeconomic+Disparities

Using the iPad2 to Bridge the Digital Divide
====One challenge facing many students today is their Socioeconomic Status (SES). Students in homes with lower SES scores are less likely to have access to information technology and the internet. Providing students with technologies like the iPad2, has proven to be a cost effective method to bridge this digital divide. ====

Benefits for iPad/tablet:
 * ====Light weight and small size compared to textbooks or laptops. ====
 * ====Longer battery life then laptops. ====
 * ====All in one device... textbooks, word processor, calendar, email and assignments. ====
 * ====Lays flat as to not block view of the classroom or teacher. ====
 * ====Touchscreen allows for multiple languages without having to replace the keyboard. ====



====Many schools districts have started to replaced textbooks with iPads under cost saving measures. Earlier this year The New York Times ran a story about the Roslyn Heights school district and how “administrators also said their adoption of the iPad … was advancing its effort to go paperless and cut spending”. ====

====Critics site that there are other cheaper options that can achieve the same or similar results. The most extreme example is from India, where the government is rolling out 110 million tablet devices to school children at an astonishing cost of $35 apiece, far cheaper then the $750 iPad. ====

Screenshot of Home Ubislate7 [] Edited by Kesavan Muthuvel [k7.india] The copyright holder of this file allows anyone to use it **for any purpose, provided that** the copyright holder is properly attributed. Redistribution, derivative work, commercial use, and all other use is permitted. 
 * ~ Description || UbiSlate7.jpg **English:** Screenshot of Home of UbiSlate7 edited by Kesavan Muthuvel [Wiki id: k7.india] for use in relevant pages such as Aakash Tablet. ||
 * ~ Date || 6 October 2011 ( 2011-10-06 ) ||
 * ~ Source || [] ||
 * ~ Author || Edited by Kesavan Muthuvel [k7.india] ||