I think they discover Dropbox via the iPad rather than via the PC. I don't tell them about it because it can be a bit confusing explaining how it works. But there is no confusion if they find out (for themselves) that it syncs their iPad to their PC and vice versa. Solves a very immediate problem in a hassle-free way.
I'm sure there are plenty of problems waiting to be solved in eduation. For example, multiple logins - to Moodle, Google Docs/Gmail, various other websites. Would love to see an app which sits in the tray and aggregates all these logins so a student can click to say "log me into everything" without ever typing a password except to get into Windows in the first place. (There's not much of a security issue with keeping all these logins in a central database since it's not that sort of login; just a way to play educational games or whatever.) Other things would include ways to get iPads out of the classroom. For example, some of our staff use them to film/photograph students playing sports so they can check their posture. For cricket, for example, it can be very difficult to prove to someone that their arm is bent at the point of delivery (which is a "no ball"). The iPad removes all and any doubt by showing the bowler a movie of his "action". Also, field science, etc - counting how many bugs are in a square meter of grassy ground, using image recognition to look up insects in a DB and say "That's a wood wasp" with a link to Wikipedia, etc.
You did ask ;) I'm sure you could find hundreds of things to do if you're looking for a project.
The iPad I completely understand the appeal. It does not look like a computer. It looks like an Etch-a-Sketch. It's basically a handheld game.
I would love to read more about what your users want. It is interesting and educational.