MON, those concerns are legitimate. Academic content providers cross-pollinate in games, apps, and consumer packaged goods. The proliferation of iPads in schools enables them to carry out direct to consumer (DTC) marketing targeted at children while in class, a market traditionally accessible only by food and book providers. It's disturbing, because it marks a shift into a more overt consumerist mindset in education.

This line of thought is not to undermine the many benefits of improved technology in the classroom, but rather to highlight the ideology driving the change. Shall we say, this idea wasn't cooked up in education circles.

As with anything, success lies in how the trade off is balanced. I'd be impressed if policy makers were swift to enact DTC and branding embargoes on devices used in the classroom. It's just another marketing channel; such limits would be directly analogous to current DTC restrictions on TV.


What is to give light must endure burning.