Call it an iFad if you want, I love my shiny new iPad.  First off, I have to say, the screen is amazing - really high quality, and the on-screen typing is surprisingly good, and relatively easy to deal with.  There are enough technical reviews out there on the device though, so I won't go into the hardware.  Instead I took a quick look at what was possible educationally with the device.

The first problem I have struggled with is how does a K-12 school manage the software (apps) that are on the iPad if everything is reliant on an iTunes account?  So I called Apple and asked.  The response I got, from a very nice Apple expert, was that there isn't anything in place.  The device has to be tied to an iTunes account, which initially has to be tied to a credit card.  Districts can't make large volume purchases with a software package pre-installed.  "It's all about individual customization."  Which I guess makes sense.  Just not for 5th graders.

So assuming they eventually figure this out, what can an iPad do in a K-12 environment?  Being an open-source advocate (cheap-sake), I hate paying for software - even if it is only a .99 app.  So, I took a look at what you can get on an iPad for free.

Safari works great for the most part - no flash support, which is a nightmare for content providers.  However, flash is supported if installed as part of an app.  So, content providers will have to develop an app for their resources (see above paragraph for the catch 22).

Google has a great simple app for Google Apps for Education.  Mail, Calendaring and Spreadsheets work great.  Docs do not, you can't edit them.

The eBook reader is very nice experience.  The screen is large enough, and the device light enough to read a long article without a problem. It is somewhat bright - but didn't bother me all that much.  There is a very good app gets you access to over 24,000 public domain classic books.

Educators can also download a variety of media apps - NPR, CNN, NY Times and a variety of news outlets have apps.  Youtube, Vimeo have apps for video and Wikipedia / Worldbook for research. Sesame street has a great app for young ones.

There are also a basic educational tools that could have interesting uses, calculators, including an impressive graphing calculator, musical keyboards, drawing mind-mapping tools.

Finally, there are a ton of games out there - especially for early childhood and young readers.  Flashcards, math games early writing tools, early reading tools.  And some nice apps for ELL students.

To summarize, I love this device, and will use it - a lot.  I don't think it has a role in K-12 yet - they have to solve the application / iTunes issue.  My fear is that Apple is leading the market, and wants to claim the biggest share while they don't have any competition...so it could be a while before they focus on K-12.  The good news is Google and Microsoft are coming - and we will see more hardware options shortly.

Evan O'Donnell is the Director of Technology for Teaching Matters