By Trevor Williams ’13, Staff Writer

I am speaking in platitudes when I say we are in the midst of a technological revolution. The recent death of Steve Jobs only served to reinforce this widely observed phenomenon. Writers and journalists the world over lamented as society lost a “great man.” Jobs was indeed a great man in the most original sense. His profound and lasting impacts on the modern world will not soon be eclipsed. It is thanks to Steve Jobs that Newark Academy can be a truly “global” institution.

It was inevitable that Newark Academy would embrace the paradigmatic transformations brought on by technological innovation. We do not want to be left behind. Technology is the future, we say. The school’s attitude towards technology has thus far been conducive to these ends—there are Smart Boards^TM in nearly every classroom and dozens of laptop computers available for student use. Inevitably, the embrace of technology goes too far. It happened this year, when the school introduced iPads into several humanities courses. The move is well-intentioned but misguided. I cannot help but feel we will come to regret it.

It is true that Newark Academy finds itself in an increasingly paperless world. The disappearance of the NA plan book in lieu of electronic calendars was one harbinger of this trend. The limited introduction of multi-use iPads into classrooms is just another signal. From a practical standpoint, the transition to paperless learning certainly has its upsides. iPads have the potential tremendous learning tools. They are lightweight, compact, and powerful. They have most, if not all, of the features of a personal computer.

The downfall of the tablet is its versatility. iPads are effective when used correctly, but they are all too often not used correctly. The ability to play games, or browse the internet, or otherwise distract yourself is tantalizing. I am not the only adolescent who has focus issues. For whatever reason, iPads amplify inattentiveness. Perhaps it is because of the enormous touch screen. Perhaps it is because it is just too easy to lean back in your chair and tilt the screen in such a way that your teacher cannot see what you are doing. The important observation is this: I have by this point in the year seen dozens of people using their iPads dozens of times, and in a great majority of cases people have been playing games. It saddens me to report that the school has spent thousands of dollars so that its students can play golf and solitaire and Fruit Ninja.

The unfortunate truth of the matter is that technology is distracting, and I have little faith in our ability to protect our already-short attention spans. It is time for the ill-fated iPad experiment to come to an early conclusion.