Chinese students have a tough life. There’s pressure on them from everywhere to work extremely hard, they have to pass grueling exams to move up to the next level of schooling, and they have to carry around a ton of textbooks. In Nanjing, though, a small weight has been lifted this semester for lucky students at 21 area schools that are trying out replacing all textbooks with an iPad. Previously overloaded backpacks now carry just the lightweight device, a writing pad, and some paper.
Although expensive, the iPad offers numerous advantages beyond just being lightweight. Chief among them; its ability to access the internet gives students an easy way to check overseas schools’ websites or read English newspapers (for example). This could also serve as a huge distraction, of course, but the iPads have been customized to prevent students from using distracting web services like QQ or Renren.
Families of students need not worry — no one is being forced to buy an iPad. For now, the iPads are being bought using public funds. And the test schools are also working with and considering other alternatives, including netbooks and other tablets.
If it were to be implemented on a larger scale, it’s not clear how exactly schools would be able to pay for such a program, and whether or not parents would be required to chip in. But reportedly the students have taken well to the new classroom additions and are already used to using the devices in a classroom setting.
[Modern Bulletin via TechWeb, image source]
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