You might have read the news that the University of Nevada, Reno, will give its incoming freshman class an iPad Air (with a keyboard and a pencil.) In itself, it isn’t much of a newsworthy of attention, but it does hark back to something I have been thinking about for a long time: a paradigm shift in how we compute, today and in the future.
Apple once was a much-beloved part of the US education system. Lately, Google’s Chromebooks have been taken over, which are cheaper, and perhaps more affordable for the cash-strapped school systems. (By the way, kudos to Sarah & Ev Williams for giving $10 million towards helping the SF school system.)
Now, suppose we can forget the politics of Google versus Apple. I don’t care either way. Chromebooks (like their Apple or Microsoft counterparts) are simply an extension of the old paradigm of computing — one that is heavily reliant on keyboard and mouse. Sure, Chromebooks live on the cloud and benefit from the cloud, but it is still pretty much the traditional way of computing. Whether it is Google Docs or Google Slides, it is not remarkably novel.
Essentially, the kids in school are getting trained on the classic model of computing — keyboards, mouse and a semi-tethered state. At home, many of the same kids are growing up with touch devices — iPads, iPhones, and Androids. They are also growing up talking to (mostly) Alexa, (maybe) Siri, or (sometimes) Google Assistant. Every time I interact with my goddaughters- both are below five years old — my jaw drops. They know FaceTime, iMessage, and other apps inside out, including stickers and other fun features. They are well versed in making a video call and having a chat.
And it is not just my goddaughters. I see kids who are handling kids-centric content on their touch devices with fantastic dexterity. The engagement with interactive apps versus static books is also higher, and so is visual learning. Swiping left or right for accessing or navigating through Information is already part of their mental model of interacting with the digital world. I remember hanging out with some kids in Ladakh, and they were entirely at ease with their Android phones, typing, swiping, and taking selfies.
The point of my soliloquy: we have a generation that is growing up with modern computing interfaces. Instead of creating new tools for education, we are still pushing the “classic” models onto them. Why? If computing has to become modern, then we have to use modern models for everything — from play to teaching to learning.
To think that we can achieve this by giving iPads or other tablets to kids is not the answer. It required a systematic overhaul in everything in the proverbial educational food chain, including starting with teachers, who need to become adept in teaching with new technology, not just the old paradigms. App developers, app store operators, and parents need to internalize the idea of moving beyond the traditional interfaces for computer-based learning to more modern methods. That is how the paradigm will change.
PS: I, for one, would love to see Apple introduce a program where whenever I buy a new iPad (or any Apple device,) I can give an iPad kit to a student. Sort of like what Toms did for footwear and Warby Parker did for eyeglasses.