Will the use of iPads move the students away from writing research papers, including the works cited pages and footnotes? College level teachers assume students know how to write research papers when the students enter college. Will most of the work students create using the iPads be projects instead of papers?

Teacher Responses:

• No, I feel it will be a great tool for researching to complete these types of papers. I look to do more on the form of papers in social studies.
• It definitely will not replace the research paper.  In fact, the iPad will not replace any current curriculum. It will rather enhance. This fall we did an electronic research paper which included an MLA format works cited page and in-text citation (which now replaces footnotes in most styles.)  We spent time discussing websites and how to determine the value/bias/credibility of these sites. All research notes were done using a spreadsheet, the paper was written and submitted electronically.  I used my iPad to respond and grade the work and then sent it back in electronic format to the students. All of this could be duplicated on an iPad.  
• When I teach the research paper, I plan to use PaperHelper to conduct the research. Pages will be used to write the paper itself. Students will be able to properly format their entire paper on their iPad, including the works cited. 
• Absolutely not for my class.  Research papers and writing assignments will still be an important part of biology, anatomy and global science.  Even if a student is completing a project instead of a writing assignment, work cited documents are still usually included with PowerPoints and speeches.  The iPad just makes research and typing the paper easier for some students. 
• I would hope not with our focus on 6 + 1 Traits of writing.  I think a lot of short writing exercises can be done with iPads with or without keyboards.  We will still be maintaining three labs with one expressed purpose for writing papers.