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Beijing: Students in
a Chinese school may soon carry iPads instead of books to their
classrooms as the management is planning to allow the use of the
gadget.
The Jinling High School in Nanjing city has already allowed three
students to bring iPads to their classrooms on a trial basis once
their new term begins in September.
The policy has been discussed extensively and will possibly be
extended to all students, the management said.
The iPads can set students free from the burden of carrying school
bags, said Xin Qihua, vice director of the school's international
department.
It can also improve interaction between the students and teachers
who can ask questions through the device and review all answers
from the students immediately, said Xin.
The gadget can also give students access to foreign educational
resources, which will contribute to their preparation for the SAT,
TOFEL and AP exams, Xin added.
It can also help save up to 90 percent of their expenditures on
teaching materials.
The measure was hailed by many young people. "I am so jealous. I
have an iPad too, but I am not allowed to take it to the
classroom," said a blogger on Sina Weibo.
However, some expressed doubt. They worry that the gadget may
spoil the students.
"Although it is worth trying, children who lack self-discipline
may waste time in playing games," Xinhua quoted another blogger as
saying.
"The teacher has technical control over all the iPads, and
students will be prevented from installing any games," Meng Qun, a
teacher at the school, as saying.
To lighten the load on students in primary and high schools, local
governments have been pondering the idea sometime whether to allow
students to use devices like laptops.
However, Yin Fei, professor with Nanjing Normal University, said:
"It is a fallacy to reduce students' burdens by introducing
electronic devices.
"The excessive burden on students' shoulders is not from the
weight of school bags, but the flawed educational system itself."
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