Download ARCHIVE 2923

ComputorEdge
6/10/11
d8595bca5666c62acd2c4571b115f96d.451) by 2013.
Rene Yeo, head of the information technology department at Tampines Secondary School, in Singapore, teaches science with
his iPad. His students learn factorization by manipulating numbers on the screen and read about animal cells and the human
brain structure by clicking on the various parts.
Han, instructional technology fellow at the Macaulay Honors College, City University of New York, said he expects some Asian
countries to leapfrog the West.
"While the Internet was birthed in the US, Singapore and South Korea (for example) boast far greater broadband Internet
access penetration and infrastructure than the US," he said.
Education psychologist Qiu Lin cautioned against the blind use of technological devices, and neglecting the real goals of
education.
"The trend of integrating technology into education will definitely increase," said the assistant professor at Nanyang
Technological University, which is separate from the high school. "But after one month when the novelty of iPads wears down,
a good curriculum and teaching materials that can increase deep thinking and problem solving in students need to be in place."
While countries such as Ireland, Singapore, Japan and South Korea readily adopt the iPad to improve education, a Texas high
school has decided to spend $60 million dollars to build a football stadium (articles.nydailynews.com/2011-05-01/
news/29518481_1_football-stadium-allen-high-school-completion) instead. With priorities like these and
constant budget cuts for American schools and libraries, can anyone guess which countries will provide their citizens with the
education they need to thrive in the future?
Since you can't rely on American schools to provide much of an education nowadays, take matters into your own hands by
studying on your own. One way to learn is to watch the numerous videos provided for free at the Khan Academy (www.
khanacademy.org/). As long as you're a self-starter, you'll always do better than someone who can't do anything without
someone else constantly prodding them into action.
19 of 44