The future is now when it comes to changing technology in thousands of classrooms around the world.
It was just one year ago when the New York Times wrote a story about iPads in the classroom. In that story the writer talked about iPads being used in class and at home during the school year "to replace textbooks, allowing students to correspond with teachers and turn in papers and homework assignments, and preserve a record of student work in digital portfolios."
The New York City public schools have ordered more than 2,000 iPads, more than 200 Chicago public schools applied for 23 district-financed iPad grants, the Virginia Department of Education is overseeing a $150,000 iPad initiative, and six middle schools in California cities are teaching the first iPad-only algebra course.
Even kindergartners are getting their hands on iPads. Pinnacle Peak School in Scottsdale, Ariz., converted an empty classroom into a lab with 36 iPads — named the iMaginarium — that has become the centerpiece of the school.
My own six year old is so iPad capable it's amazing! His kindergarten teacher uses an iPad to control the classroom screen and each child has interactive buttons to choose the right answer.
But here is one of the most creative uses I've seen. YouTube's very FIRST Digital Orchestra of 24 iPads, all performing original music, entirely composed on the iPad.
