With the recent proliferation of iPads and other technologies in Hawaii classrooms, it is important to understand what the iPad is and what it is not.

Some see it as a hip, sleek and immensely exciting necessity, while others see it as nothing more than a newfangled technological toy piquing people’s interest. As is in many situations, the truth lies somewhere in the middle.

In the educational realm, the iPad should not be thought of as a panacea that will cure all of our educational woes, nor should it be relegated to the status of a novel toy. The reality is that the iPad can be a powerful tool in a teacher’s cache of educational resources. And, because of the endless number of creative and fresh applications that developers continually turn out, the potential benefits of the iPad are seemingly limitless.

As increasing numbers of our schools — public, private and charter — embark on the iPad odyssey, they need to set clear and reasonable expectations for their iPad programs. These expectations should be divided into short- and long-term goals that are both attainable and measurable. For example, some schools seek to increase student participation, engagement, motivation and collaboration in the short term while hoping to improve students’ attitudes toward learning as well as their overall achievement in the long term.

Although the iPad is a fairly new tool without a robust collection of research evaluating its efficacy in the classroom, a comprehensive study done at Longfield Academy in Kent, England, recently found that iPads had a "significant and very positive impact on learning."

In fact, researchers found that among other benefits, student motivation, collaboration and quality of work all increased with iPad usage. However, they also found that effective planning and project management were crucial to the overall success of the iPad program. In other words, if teachers and administrators do not do their proverbial homework and properly prepare for the effective integration of the iPads, the program may very well fail.

Before schools expend major resources purchasing iPads (or some other form of new technology), they would be wise to have a well-defined program plan in place as well as a generous allocation of additional funding for teacher training. Too often schools are quick to invest in new technologies but slow to provide the training necessary to successfully utilize those technologies.

At a minimum, teachers need to be comfortable with the iPads and know how to effectively incorporate them into their instruction. But teachers cannot stop there. They must also be confident enough in their own practice to step aside and allow today’s technologically savvy student the freedom to creatively use the iPad to forge new and innovative paths of educational discovery. This may not always be comfortable, but fighting it is futile. Like computer technology in the 1990s, tablet technology has come ashore on the waves of inevitability and is not receding anytime soon.

What must not be forgotten in the midst of this technology revolution is that teachers, not tools, are what make the most significant long-term impact on the life of a child. Yes, the iPad is an amazingly intuitive device that excites students and allows for more independent and individualized learning, but it is a caring, competent and confident teacher who uses the iPad to inspire inquiry, encourage collaboration and ultimately improve student learning.

Human connections made between teachers and students are, and will continue to be, the most meaningful part of the educational experience. Schools must make it their mission to continue to nurture those connections while outfitting teachers with the tools they need and the training they deserve to properly prepare their students for the increasingly complex world of 21st century global learning.