The iPad is one of the greatest pieces of technology that the world has ever seen. One that students of Manitou Springs High School, Middle School and Elementary School have came to know and use on a daily basis. Though there have been some technology glitches through the years, the iPads have always been “beneficial”, or so the district’s administration has says. These advancements in technology could possibly create future problems for the students that are now using them.

One of these potential problems is an overwhelming reliability on technology, that has started because of the iPads. In my opinion this is a huge problem. See, our district has given these pieces of technology to a younger generation. They go as low as first grade. This, in my opinion, is too young to give a kid something like this. I am well aware of parents doing this though, besides the iPads. Nowadays there are kindergarteners who have the latest iPhone or any type of smartphone. I believe that should be the parents’ decision.

The problem I see is giving that whole grade level of students an iPad, with no choice from the parents. Maybe the parent enjoys this distraction that occupies their child while they’re trying to cook dinner at home, but this can’t be a good thing. Say one of these kids is now a high school senior, they have had an iPad for as long as they can remember. In school, an iPad has always been an arms length away and the answer to a question is just a tap and Google search. Now imagine this, that same student then goes to college, no iPad, no laptop, simply just a pen and a notebook. A lot of results can come from this. Maybe the student feels lost, distraught and confused, not knowing what to do without their beloved iPad. This could potentially be a big problem in years to come.

Another problem with the iPads is the distraction that is brought with them. Many of the students here have games downloaded onto them, many of which get played regularly. If you walk in to any classroom in the building (except maybe the gym) you will find at least one student who is more focused on the game, or social media app, than the teacher trying to give a lecture. As long as iPads are around, there will never not be that distraction to check your news feed or see who posted the most recent story.

The iPads, because of how old and used they are, have become almost unusable. This could be the last semester that they will work. The slow speed and inability to tap things reliably is a major problem. I don’t believe that the iPads van make it through another school year or even more after that. Technology gets outdated and old. This causes problems especially at our school where you cant graduate if you don’t have an iPad.

The poor system that came with iPads will leave a mark on all the student who had to fight through it. Only time will tell if the system of iPads was a success or an utter failure.