To Be or Not to Be: Using Tablet PCs in K-12 Education

The purpose of this study is to explore the acceptance of Tablet PCs in K-12 education among parents and communities. Because of the obstacles and controversies existed in world-wide "One Tablet PC per Child" projects, the authors used the Technology Acceptance Model to identify the potential factors that may influence the acceptance of Tablet PCs from the perspectives of parents and communities, taking Los Angeles iPad project and China\´ e-schoolbag pilot project as examples. The results indicated that the acceptance of Tablet PCs among parents and communities was mainly challenged by the perceived usefulness of Tablet PCs in four aspects. Finally the authors provided some suggestions for implementing Tablet PCs projects.