Handhelds

If I were given a budget of $10,000 to purchase handheld computers for the elementary school library where I work, I would devote the funds to purchasing twenty Apple iPads.  Although these devices are more expensive than most ebook readers and MP3 players, at about $500 each, they offer many more technological capabilities for much less than the tablet PC price estimate offered in Library 2.0 and Beyond (Courtney 52).

With iPads available in the library, many new possibilities would open up.  Students could use the devices as readers to enjoy books purchased from Apple's iBook store, where there are thousands of ebooks to choose from.  Students could also read ebooks from Amazon or Barnes & Noble that could be played using downloadable apps.  The machines could also be used to play audiobooks or podcasts through iTunes.  Many audiobooks available in the iTunes store are even read by the author, which means students could hear the story the way the writer imagined it.  By using headphone splitters, two students could sit together and share one iPad to read a book together.  Students could also use the devices to listen to music in order to study for choir, band, foreign language or social studies.

The mobility and Internet browsing capabilities of the iPads also facilitate the research process.  With the advancement from the card catalog to the online library catalog, one problem remained the same: once a patron has looked up an item in the catalog, he or she must still go and find it in the library.  I frequently see students oscillating nervously between the bay of student computers and the library shelves, double and triple checking a book's title, cover art, and call number.  By using the iPad, a student could skip copying down the call number of the item for which he is searching.  Instead, the patrons would be able to carry the catalog with them to the shelves.  For many students, I believe this would make locating needed materials much simpler. 

In addition to helping locate physical items, students could use the iPads to conduct research, specifically by accessing district-purchased databases.  The mobility of this device adds an element of flexibility to the research process that is not present with desktop computers.  Students could carry an iPad to a study table or meeting area  in order to analyze the information found through it along side other resources such as traditional books.

Finally, there are many and varied tools that can be added to the iPad to make it have more capabilities.  This genre of tools is infinitely growing.  Whatever a patron is trying to explore, as Apple's ads point out, "there's an app for that."  Students could use the world clock to investigate time zones or enhance a life science lesson by navigating a bird watching tool.  Skillbuilding activities like matching games and flashcards would take on a fresh and fun persona when practiced via the iPad in lieu of tabletop components. The possibilities for extended learning are completely limitless.