As for helping kids learn, I just cannot see how a tablet will help in the classroom.
I take this one step further and say tablets are probably handicapping your kids in the home.
Having no tablets or smartphones available during the PC revolution forced most of us here to default to exactly the correct set of tools for maximum learning and efficiency: a keyboard, a mouse, a full-size monitor, sitting at a desk, with a full computer with some kind of (more-or-less) exposed desktop operating system.
This isn't a choice any of us made, it was just the climate and the time. That lucky coincidence has given most of us a lifetime of experience using these tools, extending back all the way into our childhood.
Over the last 10 years though, a lot of people/families have started replacing their desktops/laptops in favor of tablets/smartphones.
I can't even imagine how I would've become a programmer if I had grown up in a house that just used tablets and smartphones for everything.
They say that one of Bill Gates' greatest advantages in life was early access to the PDP-10.
I think this trend toward "convenience computing" is especially bad for lower-income families (which are more likely to rely entirely on smartphones/tablets), and could even be a significant contributor to income inequality.
Computer use in schools is not only about learning to use the computer. One of the great features of the iPad is that once you start an app, it becomes a single-purpose device that just works.
I totally agree with your last point.
When I find myself being creative on a tablet, it's because it's what I have available. I'd never sit at a desk with a computer and ignore it to use the tablet, but when I'm on an airplane, the subway, laying in bed, eating at a restaurant, etc - these are all situations where even if I have my laptop I can't readily whip it out and being hacking away - but a tablet is right there and can be used.
I do get quite a bit done on my tablet, but it's kind of 'reclaimed' productivity, not the premium way to spend creative time.
I think learning with computers should include a lot more interaction, experimentation and exploration. Touch-based apps are supporting that due to the direct manipulation of objects they enable.
Their immersive nature also helps concentrate on the task at hand.