iPad with Children

The dream of one day children going to paper less schools has come one step closer to reality. Several schools in the Netherlands also known as "Steve Job's schools" opened their gates to over 1000 students all aged between 4 and 12. O4NT foundation is revolutionizing the way children learn in schools by coming up with a new model of education based on iPads by bringing "Virtual Schools" to children.

There is a common sight when we see school going children with a heavy pack of books with them. But there was something missing when children of the iPad only schools went to school. The books have been replaced with iPads.

The iPads are used to study, submit homework and collaborate with the other students. The students use the "sCoolSpace" app to contact the teachers and other students. Office going parents and readers should be reminded of applications like Skype which is relatively a new phenomenon. The advantages of apps are now being seen by the children from these schools.

There are no fixed class periods in this school as most of the learning takes place in the virtual world. This brings a host of advantages, for instance parents can monitor what their children are doing with an "iDesk Learning Tracker" app. This is particularly important because of the recent news reports of children being subjected to different forms of abuse while they are in school.

The children in these schools will not be spending the entire time learning from their iPads though. They are expected to attend a few classes which are mandatory. They also spend time drawing and painting.

The iPads help the children to learn better because it would be like playing a game to them. Teachers assist the children in learning how to use the educational apps. Learning on an iPad can be lots of fun and if "all study and no play makes Jack a dull boy," the children from the iPad schools seem to be on an all play routine, even while they are learning.

More iPad only schools are expected to open up as O4NT foundation is said to be in talks with many schools to roll out this model. The international version of the model called as "O4NT International" is expected to be launched in 2014.