How iPads are Better for Children than TV

A most intriguing post by Mike Elgan over at CultofMac is here, where he asserts that every child in the US needs an iPad. His arguments revolve around the benefits of an interactive device in the hands of a child as opposed to the one way mind feeding that a television set offers. Some quotes:

Everybody’s asking: Are iPads healthy for children?

I’m here to tell you: That’s the wrong question.

The right question is this: Is the iPad a healthy *replacement* for TV? And I believe the answer is a resounding yes.

The iPad is scary because it’s new. But most parents have already accepted a gigantic role for something truly in the lives of their children: television. The content kids see on their TV sets is mostly mind-numbing, soul-deadening, formulaic consumerist crap, punctuated by sophisticated ad campaigns designed to transform children into mindless consumers.

…

Kids spend more time watching TV than they do in class (1,500 hours on TV per year vs. 900 hours in school).

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I could go on for pages. The bottom line is that TV is a massive, negative, toxic, unhealthy influence in the lives of American children. I think parents already know this.

The solution, Elgan states, is to offer children an interactive device with far less commercial content and mind numbing one way interaction to children.

That’s why fearing the iPad is such a colossal error. The iPad isn’t a new problem. The iPad is a new solution to an old problem.

By *replacing* TV time with iPad use, parents can dramatically improve the lives of their children.

From a parent’s perspective, the iPad is superior to a TV in every significant way:

* The iPad has far fewer, far less harmful ads than TV. It can even be rendered “commercial-free.” Imagine that.

* The iPad is interactive, for the most part, rather than passive. Instead of just staring motionless at TV, kids could be solving puzzles, actively playing games, typing, drawing and other activities.

Yes, even the simplest games on an iPad are far more interactive than any TV show. It’s a good article, and Elgan concludes by encouraging parents to buy iPads for their children as soon as possible. His points merit consideration, and the digerati are taking him seriously. Hopefully others will, too.

Combining Video Games with Children’s Lit

Hot new iPad apps combine the best of interactive gaming technology with kids’ books. Jeffrey Trachtenberg writes of major publishing houses releasing several new games/books through Apple’s iStore. Credit goes to the iPad’s increased capabilities over previous e-readers:

Is Apple’s New Tablet a Game Changer?

Lately Apple has dominated any market outside of PCs the company has chosen to enter. It wasn’t always so; I still remember the Newton and the shellacking it took in public opinion. (Even the political cartoon strip “Doonesbury” made fun of it.) But those days are all behind the company, and the iPod and iPhone dominate their segments. The markets for Apple software have become just as important, with 99 cent songs and varied-priced apps.

Next up is the Tablet, a new computer that has Apple fans salivating. Plenty of programmers have been willing to devote time to developing games for the iPhone, so it’s probable that games will continue to roll out for the Tablet, especially considering Apple’s lucrative revenue sharing system.

Apple will be interested in exploiting the educational market, for the respect dominance there lends as much as the lucre. One of my favorite reporters, Yukari Iwatani Kane, co-wrote an article this week in The Wall Street Journal about the Apple Tablet, which touched on the academic aspects of the product:

In the academic arena, Apple could face hurdles wooing universities if the tablet doesn’t meet their needs or isn’t compatible with other computing devices that students are using.

Amazon had been hoping to target the market with its 9.7-inch screen Kindle DX e-book reader, for example, but schools said the device wasn’t sufficiently interactive and lacked basics such as page numbers and color graphics.

Another hurdle facing any new technology at the university level is the need for accessibility features to be built into the product. After pressure from the Dept. of Justice, several universities agreed to stop promoting the use of the Kindle DX for students, or any other e-book reader, until features making it more accessible for the visually impaired have been implemented.

As always, it would be very nice to see good educational programs and games come out for the Apple Tablet, and not merely repackaging of classic texts or some such. Stay tuned.

References:
Gonsalves, A. (2010, January 14). Universities agree not to promote Kindle DX. InformationWeek. [Online.] Available: http://www.informationweek.com/news/security/government/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=222300989

Kane, Y.I., & Smith, E. (2010, January 23). Apple sees new money in old media. The Wall Street Journal, B1.