This article is cross-posted from edtechtimes.com, where I currently serve as editor-in-chief.

An article from Quartz back in May came with a title that boldly declared, “These two charts make the case for iPads in every classroom.”  I asked myself whether two simple charts could justify the iPad proliferation in schools today. After looking at the charts, and reading the arguments put forth by the author, Sidharth Kakkar, I definitely had to know more about the person behind the article.

Sidharth Kakkar is the founder and CEO of FrontRow Classroom, an iPad app that provides adaptive instruction to reach students at different levels.  The product has currently been field tested in some California schools, providing Kakkar with these illustrative graphs that highlight the need for iPads AND adaptive tools to tailor instruction to individual students in classrooms.

Sidharth Kakkar, founder and CEO, FrontRow Classroom

Take a look at these two charts for yourself.  The first shows a “typical” 4th grade classroom, with a bulk of the students performing at grade level.  Even in this typical classroom, there are a number of students below and above grade level, so a teacher’s lesson would only reach the middle performers in this class.

A typical 4th grade classroom. Photo courtesy of FrontRow Classroom.

In this second chart, a 5th grade classroom, many of the students are performing far below grade level, with one student peforming on grade level.  A teacher teaching to this class would have the option of 1) not teaching at grade-level standards and not meeting the needs of the student at grade level, or 2) teaching at grade-level standards, and recognizing that the material would be beyond the level of a majority of the class.

A 5th grade classroom. Photo courtesy of FrontRow Classroom.

I spoke to Kakkar via Skype, to ask more the article on Quartz, the nature of the FrontRow product, and how his product plus the tablet paradigm addresses this difficult instruction gap problem.

Check out our EdTechKnowFiles video, with clips of FrontRow in use in the classroom:

Thanks to Sidharth for his illustrative article, and for speaking with EdTech Times!

For more on FrontRow Classroom, click on the logo below to visit their website: