Are iPads in classrooms doing more harm than good? Rizzo’s Resolve Pro

Steven Rissotto ’20, Sports Editor

Since 2012, iPads have been a fixture in classrooms at Archbishop Riordan High School. The small, book shaped, handheld device acts as one of the school’s main studying tool for students— acting as the books themselves.

The common applications used are Schoology, iBook, Notability, PowerSchool, email, and numerous other resources to help for easier access for notes and a lighter carry in backpacks. It’s a switch that only helps students in the long run, and that’s the most important part of bringing the iPads into play.

The Crusader

The bottom line is that iPads have more to offer than any textbook. It’s simply the times we are in and there’s very little that can be done to return to our old school ways. The internet is a helpful feedback reference if used appropriately, and students could have more flexibility with saving paper, which means more stuff turned in digitally.

Recently, there has been a lot of speculation and suspicion about iPads being used for the wrong reasons, causing some teachers to take acceptable precaution. In their defense, it’s troubling that students are one, fast click away from a possible non-educational and unrelated app. There’s no denying that there’s a lingering problem, but there is a solution on how to limit these troubling habits while still using the advanced tools for school.

Surprisingly, the anger of iPad usage is caused by the large amount of phones that are being used at school. Although it’s banned, students still find the cracks to surf social media and play games during class on their personal cell phones and much of the blame is going straight to the iPads. There are more accessible possibilities on phones than iPads, as there are less apps blocked. It’s not the reason why iPads are being abused, but it’s fair to assume that we are missing the real problem.

Another option to keep iPads would be to completely lock it up. The infamous Lockdown Browser app was introduced last school year, but was never developed any further and possibly forgotten about completely. A possible way to keep things running smoothly is to lock most apps, but the process to have that happen might be rigorous.

High school students are more than able to make their own personal decisions, and if paying attention in class isn’t one of them, it’s their own loss and they should suffer the appropriate consequences of earning a bad grade.

It’s essential to have students on track for success and advanced technology is a huge reason why the school and students are so successful. It’s fair to acknowledge a focus problem with iPads, but there are plenty of ways to limit non-educational actions that take place on a Crusader’s device while still using the helpful tool during school.