Controversy Surrounds Issuing iPads To Kindergartners

The AP (4/13) reports on the increasing use of iPads and other tablets in kindergartens, noting that "nearly 300 kindergartners in the central Maine city of Auburn will become the latest batch of youngsters around the country to get iPad2 touchpad tablets to learn the basics about ABCs, 1-2-3s, drawing and even music." Noting that supporters of such devices call them "a powerful education tool with hundreds of teaching applications," the AP reports that "the $200,000 that Superintendent Tom Morrill is proposing to spend on iPads - which retail for around $500 - might be better spent on some other school program, said Sue Millard of Auburn, who has children in the fourth grade and high school. She also questions whether kindergartners are old enough to appreciate the effort."