Blog 10: U.A.E. Moves Toward Paperless Classrooms - Caitlin Gault

The article that I read this week discussed an intersect between education and sustainability/green practices. The United Arab Emirates are shifting toward paperless classrooms by providing iPads for students in their universities. The U.A.E. is interested in this new technology because they are struggling in the educational system: “young men make up only 30 percent of university enrollment, and teachers often struggle to find ways to engage and motivate students who rely on the promise of public-sector jobs” (Hamdan, 2012). They hope that the iPads will be an integrative educational tool to help “raise low test scores, bridge the gap between classroom learning and practical workplace skills, and promote more diverse fields of study” (Hamdan, 2012). This idea of increasing technology in the classroom is also in the experimental phases in the United States. Several big cities, like New York, are testing iPads in the public school classrooms, from kindergarten to twelfth grade. iPads help create a paperless classroom due to the wide variety of applications that allow users to read documents, write notes during a meeting, send emails, etc. Since sustainability is a practice that is being pushed by more professors and universities, it is an important experiment.

I think that using technology in the classroom is definitely a step in the right direction for all countries. It allows for such interconnectedness, which is really valued in today’s society. This enables distance learning across the globe, as well as instantaneous communication and the use of applications that can streamline and simplify every task. I do not have an iPad, but I do have an iPhone and I really appreciate all that it can do (some of which I’m not even aware of!) I can only imagine what would happen if all students across the globe had access to this kind of learning tool. It’s especially helpful in areas where STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) subjects are popular. While my future profession is not teaching, I would love for all of the children that I will work  with to have an iPad and have the world at their fingertips.

Hamdan, Sara. "U.A.E. Moves Toward Paperless Classrooms - NYTimes.com." The New York Times. N.p., 29 Oct. 2012. Web. 2 Nov. 2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/29/world/middleeast/29iht-educlede29.html?ref=internationaleducation>