Why I Want My Students to Read Books on an iPad.

I’m as close to a bibliophile as you can get.  I love books. I love the new, the old, and all in between. I have a nice collection of some rare older books, and I would actually consider a few hours perusing around Barnes and Nobles as a vacation.  I love ‘em! Knowing all of this, please understand that my next statement is not easy for me to make and has been formed with much consideration; I want my students to read books on the iPad.

As I outline my reasons for wanting my students to read on the iPad please keep in mind that I am a seventh grade English teacher.

1. Portability: Students can carry thousands of books with them everywhere they travel.  Books to read, books to listen to, PDFs, and books created by their teachers in Pages and exported to iBooks. iPads hold an incredible amount of content. The battery life is an easy ten hours. The device is incredibly thin, light, and durable. If you don’t think portability is important to students you better take another gander at all of the books and supplies they haul around to each class! The Library holds a lot of books and they can be found easily. A great looking, easy to use interface.
2. Reading Assistance Functions: The iPad has built-in functions that assist readers. My students are allowed to write in the iPad iBooks using the Notes function, or emphasize text with Highlight they can look up a word using the built-in dictionary, Copy and paste text from a book to some other application or email, and perform a search in the book for a key word or phrase. The Search function can even extend onto Google or Wikipedia. Your highlighted text and bookmarks are all organized in the Contents section for future reference. Awesome features. It even remembers where they left off reading, and even from device to device! (The feature I most want iBooks to acquire is pronunciation at a touch.)
3. Free Books and Samples: I primarily use iBooks, but you also have access to other great reading apps like: Kindle, Nook, Google Books and more. Magazines can be included with apps like Zinio, and you can even grab pages off the Net for later reading using Instapaper. (And that is just scratching the surface of the great reading apps out there.) I want my students to read and the best way to do that is get them in front of lots of great books. The free samples in all of these apps and especially iBooks does this and more as you can download free samples and begin reading. Don’t forget the 33,000 free books on Project Gutenberg for eReading devices. Nice. Teachers and students can have that new book now, and without shipping charges. (Not knowing the legality, I believe one book syncs with five iOS devices too.)
4. Don’t Underestimate ‘The Cool Factor’: If a good looking cover can sell books think of what the iPad can do. It’s the coolest cover a book has ever had. Students will be drawn to the books on the fact that they are reading it on the iPad alone. What about distractions on the iPad? Are you kidding me? Ever seen a student with a mechanical pencil? The iPad will draw them to the activity. Students can be distracted from or to anything depending entirely on what is placed in front of them and the guidance they are given. You will be surprised.
5. It Contains Everything Else I Want My Students to Do: Unlike the Kindle, Nook, and other eReaders, the iPad does everything else I want my students to do with a mobile learning device. Everything. They can word process, research on the internet, work on a presentation, use the thousands of educational apps, and yet so much more.
6. It’s Better Than a Text Book: The information in the iPad will be up to date and less expensive. Using built in search functions, hyperlinks, animation, movies, and more, it will be easier for our students to use and more effective. Students will be able to interact with information in ways never before with any other text.

So what is holding us back from having every student read on an iPad? Good question.  First, educational publishers need to get on board. We need more textbooks available now. There is money to be made here, and the first publishers to get it right with entry price, updates, etc. is going to lead for a long time. If I were the publisher I’d even try to supply the iPads. Second, administrators need to get on board.  Teachers and students want this.  Will the iPad completely replace all computers in schools? No, but they will indeed come close. More powerful computers will be needed for big projects but the class to class necessities are more than met with the iPad. Wired Educator has been highlighting schools brave enough to take this leadership position.

Where do we start as teachers? Keep voicing you interest and needs in these devices and try to get your hands on just one iPad and start showing everyone what you are capable of doing with it.

Let me know what I forgot in the comments below.