Ran across an interesting study recently concerning the classroom use of the iPad by Oklahoma State University during the Fall 2010 semester (see the link below). It raises some very good questions but left me questioning the savings implied by the study. While the iPad and electronic books may have been less expensive than the paper bound version, I don't see where they included the resale of those paper books back to the bookstore at semester's end which is a ritual most undergraduates eagerly anticipate. That may have swung the debate away from the new technology from a purely cost perspective.
This study is particularly fascinating to me since I did get the opportunity to play with an iPad just last week. I was not impressed, but then, I'm old school and am rather resistant to change. I'll happily pound a keyboard like I mean it rather than sashaying my fingers and flicking my wrist over an electronic marvel working faster than my mind can follow. I really did grow up with electron tubes and manual typewriters and still feel one of the 20th century's great inventions was the IBM Selectric. Typewriters, even electric ones, are now as rare as punch cards and mylar tape although still very useful. Alas, the world doesn't care about my preferences, which is probably a good thing.
http://news.okstate.edu/press-releases/929-ipad-study-released-by-oklahoma-state-university
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