Exploring the use of iPads and mobile devices in education. Most
of us grew up in an age where knowledge and information were
primarily conveyed in textual format. Think of the encyclopedias
we used. Photos were used but largely as an enhancement to
articles that were text-based. Worse, the high cost of full
color printing meant that the images that were used were usually
in black and white. Research has long shown however that people
memorize and learn more effectively when information is
presented visually and in color. Studies demonstrate that people
can be exposed to images for a few short seconds and still
retain 90% of the information after a few days (1). Further, we
live in a digital world today that is saturated with visual
media. Images and video are the language of the YouTube
generation. Most classrooms however are still largely the same
as they were when we were students. We still depend primarily on
aural and textual forms of information transmission in school -
either by a teacher lecturing at