Mandated Tablets in state schools ?

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#925642 1-Nov-2013 13:08

Isn't a Chromebook a far better idea, since they will have access to a keyboard and full mouse keyboard support for when they're playing math games (mathletics for example) etc, as well as Google Docs for writing. As long as the unit has good battery life it's a far better idea.

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TinyTim

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#925644 1-Nov-2013 13:09

KiwiNZ: My wife had a lot of dealings with the Schools Intranet/ internet set up whilst at IBM. She advises that there is no requirement of the system to be device or platform dependent. Also the schools are not required under the set to provide
support for the BYOD devices. So Android, Windows, Apple based is fine.

The decision is made by the school's Board of Trustees.

MikeB4

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#925645 1-Nov-2013 13:14

macuser: Isn't a Chromebook a far better idea, since they will have access to a keyboard and full mouse keyboard support for when they're playing math games (mathletics for example) etc, as well as Google Docs for writing. As long as the unit has good battery life it's a far better idea.

Chromebooks have limited offline capabilities.

gehenna

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#925665 1-Nov-2013 13:39

Besides the kids hate laptops. They want to use tablets.

minimoke

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#925673 1-Nov-2013 13:50

I have no idea how much I spend on my kids and their education – suffice to say without them I would be mortgage free and my credi card wouldn’t get close to maxed out at the start of the year.

I have little issue with technology in the classroom. Of course it is a must.

But if it takes capital resources to teach and learn it is the schools responsibility to provide those resources. Consumerables like pens and notebooks (the paper leaf kind) I can cop. But a device I don’t even have which is not durable and frankly bloody expensive is madness.

When my kids learn footy they don’t have to take a ball to school. When they learn math the school provides those odd wooden blocks. When the do art the school provides the paper and paints. When they do science the school coughs up for the Bunsen burners. When the do Social Studies (or whatever its called) the school provides the digital camera and the projector and screen.

Lets face it. The reality for many kids (and their parents) is that they struggle to put food in the kids tummies in the morning and shoes on their feet. Some parents do manage this but it means major sacrifice somewhere else. The prospect of coughing up another $800 for something which is highly likely to break or get stolen or lost is going to be beyond the means of many. This means the rich continue to get the education and get richer and the poor can’t afford to stay up with the pack and keep lagging further and further behind.

The simplest fix is for the school to buy whatever it needs and keep it under lock and key and handed out during lessons. And hers the rub. The decile 10 schools probably won’t be able to affords it but the decile 1’s will

Dratsab

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#925682 1-Nov-2013 14:04

gehenna: a lot of teachers have to pony up for their own device anyway so it's not like my wife is going to go out and buy an iPad, an Android tablet, and a Surface....as much as I'd like her to :)

But as a highly paid Geekzone Mod isn't it your duty to buy her the latest model of each of these every xmas so she can teach kids about them?

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#925683 1-Nov-2013 14:05

oh boy.

macuser

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#925698 1-Nov-2013 14:21

gehenna: Besides the kids hate laptops. They want to use tablets.

I'm sure they would rather play on the playground all day too...Kids like tablets because they want to fill it up with 500 'lite' versions of games they will play one, they also like them because they're 'Apple'.

How much work could a kid really do on an iPad that was related to the curriculum?

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#925700 1-Nov-2013 14:23

^You'd be highly surprised I'm sure. I know I was.

openmedia

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#925721 1-Nov-2013 14:37

KiwiNZ: My wife had a lot of dealings with the Schools Intranet/ internet set up whilst at IBM. She advises that there is no requirement of the system to be device or platform dependent. Also the schools are not required under the set to provide
support for the BYOD devices. So Android, Windows, Apple based is fine.

The school is recommending iPads and warned parents that they can't support or provide assistance for other devices, plus told parents if they don't provide the correct device their children will fall behind.

Scaremongering in the name of education isn't something I'm a fan of.

Generally known online as OpenMedia, now working for Red Hat APAC as a Technology Evangelist and Portfolio Architect. Still playing with MythTV and digital media on the side.

openmedia

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#925722 1-Nov-2013 14:38

gehenna: ^Yeah but the problem with that is if you've got 3 sets of devices in the class, the teacher hasn't got time to develop 3 sets of exercises for each platform, especially if the exercise is app related rather than website related. Not to mention a lot of teachers have to pony up for their own device anyway so it's not like my wife is going to go out and buy an iPad, an Android tablet, and a Surface....as much as I'd like her to :)

So it's either all or nothing really, you go all in with one device and you accept that there'll be people who disagree or people who would rather use something else, or you don't do it at all because it's just too hard to cater for everyone.

All delivery is browser based and isn't platform specific. So why specify iPads?

Generally known online as OpenMedia, now working for Red Hat APAC as a Technology Evangelist and Portfolio Architect. Still playing with MythTV and digital media on the side.

lxsw20

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#925750 1-Nov-2013 14:59

Maybe you don't agree with iPad. But I can certainly understand the need to standardize the equipment.

IPad 3+ You will get updates for at least another 2 years, stupid amounts of accessories available, if all iPad the school will need the 30 pin and lightening charger on hand, App selection is very good - if not using apps for a start, at least they can in the future with a standard device.

If you were going Android I reckon it would have to be something like the Nexus 7 so you are at least going to get updates for a few years in a reasonable time frame.

If they are using apps then the is a high chance they haven't been developed for Windows RT.

Not every kid is going to be all that technical, certainly not every teacher is going to be all that technical.

MikeB4

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#925752 1-Nov-2013 15:01

openmedia:
KiwiNZ: My wife had a lot of dealings with the Schools Intranet/ internet set up whilst at IBM. She advises that there is no requirement of the system to be device or platform dependent. Also the schools are not required under the set to provide
support for the BYOD devices. So Android, Windows, Apple based is fine.

The school is recommending iPads and warned parents that they can't support or provide assistance for other devices, plus told parents if they don't provide the correct device their children will fall behind.

Scaremongering in the name of education isn't something I'm a fan of.

My wife tells me that here dealings with the Ministry indicate that this should not be the case, however individual Trustee Boards have the final say for their schools.

Given that what the kids do is in the main web based I cannot see how not using an Apple product will make the child fall behind. Apple, Windows, Android will access the same.

jfanning

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#925771 1-Nov-2013 15:11

lxsw20: Maybe you don't agree with iPad. But I can certainly understand the need to standardize the equipment.

This isn't just an iPad versus other platform, it is also a why do we need to use an expensive electronic device to teach, when the previous manual methods have worked fine. Has there been any studies into using these devices performed that can show a significant benefit?

MikeB4

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#925778 1-Nov-2013 15:19

jfanning:
lxsw20: Maybe you don't agree with iPad. But I can certainly understand the need to standardize the equipment.

This isn't just an iPad versus other platform, it is also a why do we need to use an expensive electronic device to teach, when the previous manual methods have worked fine. Has there been any studies into using these devices performed that can show a significant benefit?

There is a wealth of knowledge and resources for the kids on the WWW, they should use it. Just like the Slate and quill made way for new stuff, the electronic devices will take place of the whiteboard and pen. It's a good thing.

If you total the cost over the year of the myriad of A1 E4 G7 blah books and pens pencils erasers covers etc etc etc each teacher requires it would come close to the cost of a tablet.

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