Occupying the special space between a smartphone and a laptop is the tablet. When Apple first launched its iPad in 2011, it created and defined an all-new genre of must-have electronic device. Device owners use tablets for everything — watching movies, playing games, reading ebooks, and ordering food. But, an increasing number of college students are taking their tablets just as seriously as their textbooks. Can tablets really make college learning a breeze? What are some of the benefits?
Tablets are more compatible with today’s student.
For young people who grew up with smartphones, email, and laptops, asking them to lug around textbooks for four years is like sending them back to the stone age. More college-aged people today are better acclimated to using some kind of electronic device to access the information they need. Textbooks are ancient and discouraging. Students are more likely to read what’s on the screen than what’s on the page.
Tablets enhance the learning experience.
The only thing you can do with a textbook is read it — and occasionally look up a web address it gives you only to find that the web page is no longer online. But with a tablet, textbook reading can be enhanced with interactive graphics, audio, video, and pop-up quizzes that test knowledge. This is great for students because not every student learns best through reading. Some need to hear, watch, or interact with the educational material. A tablet allows them to do that without disrupting the learning process of others.
Tablets empower research opportunities.
Sometimes, a textbook doesn’t tell the whole story. Sometimes, a student is instructed to dig deeper into a certain topic. The tablet which delivers the textbook doubles as a portal for the students to begin investigating on their own. Quick access to the internet — and not having to log on to a computer or go to a library — provides a seamless link between receiving pre-packaged knowledge and discovering new information on one’s own.
Tablets help students learn in light of current events.
Selecting the best tablet for college students is important because its usefulness will extend beyond the educational environment. Students can use the device to access news targets that may be of similar nature to the topics that he or she is studying. This real-life application of educational material helps the student to see that what he is learning is important and impacts how he interacts with the world outside the classroom.
Tablets encourage reading and independent learning.
Students who use tablets in the classroom are more likely to read independently of their educational environment. Because tablets are easier to carry around than textbooks, students have a more energetic disposition to learning on their own. Tablets inspire a student to continue his or her learning outside of the classroom, and that is a very good thing.
Whenever technology can aid education, it is always a win-win. While new gadgets and devices are often seen as “fun toys,” they are also productive tools that can be used to improve the educational experience.