EDINBURGH City Council has given every pupil at four schools iPads in a bid to see if they help learning.
And if the pilot proves successful all 44,000 of the city’s primary and secondary students could be gifted one of the gadgets.
Pupils will use the tablets to take notes, plan essays, create films for presentations and as an ebook reader or research tool.
Results of the study will not be published until June but council bosses said feedback so far was “positive”.
The £37,000 study is being carried out by Hull University, funded by the council and participating schools.
Pupils were given iPads at Broomhouse and Sciennes Primary Schools and Gracemount and Forrester High Schools.
Initial results show children who have struggled with coursework are more keen to learn with a tablet in their hands.
Melanie Main, education spokeswoman for the Green Party and whose daughter uses a tablet in the Sciennes Primary tests, said: “My daughter has been involved and it has opened my eyes.
“She makes videos, solves maths puzzles, plays music – it is an incredible educational tool that can enhance learning.
“It would be an advantage to every child.”
Mark Cunningham, head of computing at Forrester High, also thought it would be “beneficial” to extend the access of iPads.
He said: “This is fast becoming the way of the world and there are tools out there that we have a duty to explore.
“Our findings so far have been really positive. We’re just using them in one year at the moment but it would be beneficial to bring it in to other year groups.”
“Looking good”
An Edinburgh City Council spokeswoman added: “We have not yet confirmed plans to give iPads out to all pupils – we are waiting for the report.
“If the research goes against [giving iPads to all school pupils] then it will be dropped.
“But we don’t think that will happen as results are looking good.”
Councillor Paul Godzik, Edinburgh’s education convenor, said he was “keen” to extend the use of iPads in schools.
He said: “We will have to put the cost together and see how deliverable it is as no one doubts the potential – it’s something we would be keen to take forward.
“Preliminary reports from Hull University indicate there has been a really positive response from pupils, teachers and parents across all schools although we need to wait until the full report is published.”
