So easy, a child can use it

A video showing a two and a half years old girl’s first encounter with the iPad. Although we can’t prove it was really her first encounter, it is indeed shocking to see the ease with which she figures out some of the interface elements on her own, notably maximizing and the swipe across the home screen.

Much has been said about the iPad’s potential as an educational tool, and clearly this is something Apple is banking on in promoting heavily academically-minded apps such as Elements. It will also be interesting to see what effects a more elemental, basic interface (touch VS keyboard and mouse) has on other aspects of computing and learning.

If computers keep increasing in simplicity, will we still need ‘Computer Classes’? What other apps will be able to bridge the gap and between complex notions (science, maths, spelling) and kids with increasingly short attention-span.