The use of the iPad in education is "ever-expanding and ever-growing," both for individual students who are eligible for assistive technology for communication needs or to access curriculum, and also for classroom use, said Lynn Chiafullo, assistive technology consultant for the Pittsburgh Public Schools.This school year, the school district's 32 autism support classrooms have iPads for every student on the teachers' rosters. Across the school district, 6,000 iPads have been distributed to schools that submitted proposals for how they would be used earlier this year.
"Most schools are using iPads in some capacity, with special education being strong," said Jana Baxter, instructional media services coordinator for the Allegheny Intermediate Unit, which serves the county's 42 school districts excluding the Pittsburgh district."How schools use them varies from district to district -- some are issued to students, some are on carts in classrooms, some are in libraries, some are in media centers." The wide range of uses includes the Elizabeth Forward School District, which provides iPads for all middle and high school students, and the Duquesne School District, which serves grades K through 6 only and has a model classroom with iPads and other technology in its sole building.
Grant funding is often the pathway for many schools and districts to initiate the use of iPads.Launched in 2010 as a consumer product, the iPad was soon found to have tremendous potential for K through 12 education. In January 2012, Apple estimated the number of educational apps created for the iPad at 20,000, and the number of devices in education at 1.5 million."I'm not sure Apple knew the iPad would be so good for education," said Maggie Zimmer, director of special education and student services for the Norwin School District in Westmoreland County. "Now, everyone now knows it's a great tool."