Within the next two years, all St. Paul public schools student are expected to have their own iPads on which to do their school work. Late last month, school leaders decided to abandon a partnership with Dell and become the largest district in the state to provide all students with the Apple tablets.
It remains to be seen if the technology will make a difference in student achievement. Research from other schools and districts that have turned to technology to boost learning is mixed.
While some around the country have reported improvements in various academic areas, others have found that putting tablets in the hands of students does not significantly affect grades or test scores.
Just last month, Education Week reported on research that found reading comprehension suffers with the use of digital devices. Students are inclined to skim when reading digitally, the studies indicated, and they remember fewer details.
There are other advantages, however, and on balance it makes sense to put kids on equal footing in terms of access to technology. That can be especially valuable in districts with a wide range of household incomes.
For schools, tablets can save money on textbooks and other materials, and they can make it more efficient to interact with students and families. And some studies show that the interactivity engages students in ways that other teaching tools have not.
St. Paul school officials said the iPad distribution would begin in half of the district's schools this fall and cover all students in the 2015-16 school year. The move to iPads is a change in the approach the district described in 2012, when school leaders asked for and won voter approval of a $9-million-per-year technology initiative.
The intent at that time was not to supply devices, but rather to create a Facebook-like Web page through which teachers and students could interact — with the goal of giving students the power to learn anytime, anywhere.