by Darren Allan

It seems that pupils at a school in Greenock, Scotland, are going to be swapping pen and paper for the Apple iPad when it comes to lessons.

It’s a move that’s guaranteed to produce plenty of jealous Pythonesque musing. “iPads! Never mind bloomin’ iPads, in my day we didn’t even have pens, we didn’t have quills neither, we had a bent rusty nail which we had to lacerate our skin with and then write in our own blood. And we were ruddy well grateful for it, too.”

Anyhow, the Cedars School of Excellence (sounds posh, doesn’t it?) is giving pupils an iPad each to explore the web with, watch science experiments on YouTube, read books on, and generally partake of a plethora of educational experiences.

It’s an interesting idea, although one which will be monitored closely, presumably, to make sure the kids aren’t watching the sneezing panda on YouTube or playing games on their tablet.

The older kids will be pretty chuffed, though, as according to a report in PC Pro, they get to take their iPads home, too, providing they sign a contract (with the school, not Apple).

Not only that, should there be any ‘old school’ teachers around, the tablet will make writing lines easier if they misbehave; the old cut and paste magic should come in very handy there.

Story link: Scottish school plumps for iPads over paper