It seems that the truth behind the iPad in schools scam is coming out as parents tell what's really happening more here
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It seems that the truth behind the iPad in schools scam is coming out as parents tell what's really happening more here
This sums it up: "Basically it was a sales pitch for Apple," she said. " :(
The entire situation reeks.
It will force out the families who don't have the cash to spare, and if that is the immediate result then that is what they are aiming for. The principle should be removed, and the board of trustees fired.
or how about we tell them to shell out 15 grand each for a top of the line desktop PC to enable their "progression".
My son is 5 and he has a laptop but only because I had a couple of spare ones lying around.
No way in hell I will buy him a tablet and I sure as hell will NOT have any Apple device in this house.
so everybody except the schools themselves sees a problem with year 7's or 9's having a $800-$1000 tablet??
i can see so many dropping them
just shows how ignorant the teachers are :(
it's summed up perfectly at the end of the article( the ignorance of the teachers)Quote:
"We've had an overwhelming response from teachers the more they get to know the potential of the tablet,"
Perhaps she is in the pay of crApple.
Individually owned tablets? Necessary, desirable or some other hidden (commercial)motive????? There is no doubt that in this day an age technology is important and the skills gained by teaching children how to use that technology to enhance their learning is fundamental. However, in the present climate of economic hardship it is extremely difficult for parents coerced into making what is seemingly a compulsory purchase and one , which for the vast majority would be low in the family's list of priorities. If "tablets" or for that matter are so important as a vehicle contributing to a child's education, then why is it not a government priority to to supply these? That is a 'tongue in the cheek' question because we all know what the answer is or should be. The country is in debt so why add to that unless it is absolutely necessary (not simply desirable)! Now translate that thinking to families.......many are struggling... why would anyone in the right mind want to deliberately add to that? Often decision makers are from those in the upper quartile of income earners and as such many have little or no concern for the struggling masses. I noted the consultation process mentioned in the news article and am certainly cynical about the possible...managed outcome????
I bet the school is getting either freebies or very cheap pads for the teachers because of all the other business they are generating.
Isn't there already such a relationship in place?, pretty sure that teachers are supplied heavily discounted items.
Just another form of CORRUPTION
Forcing the parents to buy technology that will need to be upgraded every couple of years is a dumb approach (setting aside the whole "why the **** would you force people to buy an overpriced/overrated Apple product?" argument).
The supplier should be coming to the school with a lease-to-the-school option and the school (if it's so important to the education process) should then provide the equipment to the students free of charge (perhaps with a bond on the gear for it's return in good condition).
good point johcar
Like schools would actually have the funding to support such approach! 500 students at say $1000 per device is $500,000. No state school that I know of has that sort of money lying around.
Even leasing would be close to $200k per year assuming a life of three years for the device. Leasing companies are not altruistic organisations so will want a commercial return on their funds.
And then there is the practicality of iPads vs Note/Netbooks.
My wife has both a laptop and ipad. She primarily uses the iPad as a reference to look at documents and information created on her laptop.
The on-screen keyboard is really only good for short notes and emails. Utterly impractical for essays and projects.
And by the time people discover this they will be up for another $100-300 for a keyboard of some description, add shells or cases to protect the device there is another $25-200.
my 2c worth!
I agree, all we need now is the info on where schools get the dosh?Quote:
Originally Posted by GameJunkie
I agree, all we need now is the info on where schools get the dosh?Quote:
Originally Posted by GameJunkie
MOE covers pretty much all software cost so I believe. IE MS Office/Server/Windows/AV. Laptops are leased with very good deals, I think the MOE partly subsidise this.Quote:
Originally Posted by Metla
Rather than every student having them perhaps those classes that would benefit most should have a set to remain in class. Of course the students would quickly destroy them but that's another issue.
I struggle most with why they try to push an iPad when all the reviews I've read rate them as a great toy/ content reader but mediocre in terms of productivity. A cheap netbook, maybe even linux based, would seem a much more practical solution to me. I can't Imagine students doing homework on an iPad, but could easily see them doing it on a netbook.
Seems to me like teachers jumping on the flavour of the month bandwagon and being taken in by the cool factor, how many iPads are actually being used by companies for work purposes as opposed to the humble laptop?
All it does is point out the absurdity of the entire exercise, how can these fools expect the parents to outlay millions of dollars for this crap?, they couldn't and wouldn't do it off their own back because its a stupid stupid plan.
The only ones to benefit are the people selling the pads and I bet those smarmy bastards are laughing al the way to the cocktail lounge, The Principle is just caught up in the apple wank factor, to the detriment of everybody else.
Line em up and shoot em.
To me the most practical solution is to do nothing. Make do with whats available.
If they did want to implement a new level of technology, then build em into the top of the school desks, Indestructible, immovable, light cheap units all hooked into a main server where the students files are kept.
Anyhow, I'm going to go sit outside this school with a bag of lollies, I'll have some ipad auctions set up on trademe later if anyone is interested.
I'll use the profits to buy an Asus tablet.
Or maybe they (Educators, vendors and other pushers of this sort of thing) should visit Point England Primary for an example of how to implement technology into the classroom. As far as I know they are nearly at one laptop per child or will be soon.
Laptops for lease to own and are Linux based Netbooks. They did a bunch of user testing (yes they used the students to do the testing) and got vendors on board.
You have to admire the apple marketing team for this con-job on the gullible, stupid, or complicit, "educators".
Should we admire con men?Quote:
Originally Posted by nerd89
Pure sarcasm on my part. I think the whole idea of "apple ipad2" in schools to be a corrupt scam by all involved.
Buy 2 and I might buy one from you, certainly not going to buy an iPad though who knows what drool will be on it from the Principle and teachers :yuck:Quote:
Originally Posted by Metla
It just confirms my impression of the teachers I have met... well meaning but divorced from reality.
Orewa school banned fundraising by selling chocolate.Quote:
Originally Posted by Metla
They sent students out to sell wine instead. That was in the paper too.
This issue was in the papa er a while ago and then they said it didn't have to be an ipad, but they preferred them to be.,
Personally I think they shouldn't be anything that costs more than normal stationary supplies, tough luck for poor parents ay. Not to mention nastiness among the kids about who has the best device, breakage of them, theft all that.
Something such as the Transformer Tablet would be *infinitely* more useful!
1) Gorilla Glass -- Much harder to damage
2) Cheaper
3) Keyboard Dock -- Ideal for content "creation", not just "consumption"
4) USB ports, allow the use of thumbdrives etc
you are right, the ipad isn't compulsory. parents cpold buy a $100 tablet if their wanted too. Any BT keyboard will work with the ipad.Quote:
Originally Posted by Chilling_Silence
I didn't know you did impressions, what else do you do?Quote:
Originally Posted by KarameaDave
I should mention, someone complimented me on my driving today.They left a note on the windscreen, it said 'Parking Fine, so thats nice.
Put a PC on each desk and leave it there.
No problems no damage
Less teachers
(Just a security guard to take their place - should be cheaper than a whole lot of teachers and may be the kids would get stuck in to their work)
I would love to see Point England School & talk to them about how they made it work, but Auckland is a bit too far to travel just to satisfy my curiosity. The school I look after has a fairly forward thinking principal who is intrigued by the articles about schools moving to Ubuntu & Google Apps, but the school board, teachers and my boss are all dead set against the idea.
I have never really looked into using Ubuntu in a corporate environment. with the current windows setup I can redirect user folders to the server, manage browser settings, install & manage printers and allow teachers but not students to install software. That works really well for the windows PCs & Laptops, but not so good for the macbooks. Is it as easy to set that up using a Ubuntu server & Ubuntu desktops?
I wonder if Point England uses interactive whiteboards? I think the software is Windows & OSX only.
One more thing - the Point England website is UGLY! It must have been designed by a programmer.
Spending $1000 to do what?
- Go on internet
- Take tiny little notes on some app
Don't see why they need internet, they can research at home if they have a project and the whole taking notes thing is bu**S***. Book and a pen would do this far better... what the school thinks..books take up too much space. Well how do the other 99% of schools in NZ use books?
My point was that if the business case was so compelling, the school could get government funding (they won't). But I was being sarcastic, because the school has clearly not written an RFP, and put it out in the market for technology suppliers to respond to. If they had done some research, the Apple product would not be in the picture at all.Quote:
Originally Posted by HAL9000
Sure they can if they want to help increase cases of bullying and put all that extra peer pressure on their kidsQuote:
Originally Posted by plod
Lucky for me my teenagers are a bit to smart to succumb to pair pressure. Anyway with the amount of apple hating people out there I'm sure the pair pressure might work in the opposite directionQuote:
Originally Posted by gary67
A school full of look-alike computing devices? That is a worry to start with, especially if somebody accidentally picks up the wrong one, but wait till the light-fingered types wise up. Kids can't carry them around or watch them all day so it will be like a shopping mall with an endless supply of freebies, and nobody will take any notice of a kid walking out with an iPad or similar device under their arm or in their bag.
Madness....
Cheers
Billy 8-{)
I agree with the general sentiments that this is over the top - but it'll happen in all schools soon enough.
Couple of thoughts:
Apple are the most astute IT marketing company in the world. They have captured the imaginations of millions of teenagers who perceive iThings as sexy, slick, and cool.
Teachers find Apple machines easy to use and particularly capable with graphics and video. Apple in turn have done a stunning job capturing teachers as believers. You may recall 20 years ago the BBC computer also captured the teaching profession.
Teachers are under pressure to grasp technology because they are told it represents the future and parents believe their children must have it.
So...I think this school is wrong but I completely understand how they have become mislead.
The funny thing is if it was all about advertising android should be the front runner as google is an advertising company after all.Quote:
Originally Posted by Winston001
Quote:
Originally Posted by plod
Advertising is just one aspect of marketing, they aren't the same thing.
And to say Google is an advertising company is akin to saying apple is a marketing company.
Well it is happening now like it or notQuote:
Originally Posted by Winston001
Have a look at the video on this link
http://www.emergingedtech.com/2011/1...ed-in-schools/
One of the big attractions is the huge number of educational apps available for the iPad.
This endless debate will go on, due to a need to belong to the tribe or appose it.
Same with politics.
What erks me is that it seems to be tablets they want with a bias towards Ipads. Whats wrong with netbooks, laptops and even e-readers.
What exactly does the school want.
The ability to reade PDFs?
Write documents in "xxxx" format?
Send via wifi?
Or just student buying Ipads so they "get a cut" of the profits?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Winston001
+1
Apple = A Tech Cult ... and here
Imagine the kids who go to school with an Asus, Acer or a Samsung or one of the other tablets.Quote:
Originally Posted by porkster
He'll get mocked and told he has the lesser tablet.
But when he grows up, he'll know he had the best tablet in the class.
I think it's brilliant.
When we went to school and had computers, we didn't learn to spell. With ipads and tablets, this generation won't even know how to write or use a pen.
How about the ne'erdowells who know there are hundreds of kids walking to and from school with these? Muggers/bullies paradise...Quote:
Originally Posted by Billy T
If the school has a sufficient surplus of funds to "train" teachers in the use of these toys, it could appear that they have too many teachers, and too much money. Perhaps a trial reduction by 20% of the teacher numbers and 50% of the state funding should establish if the iPads can really demonstrate some efficiency gains?
And what prey would you you do with these wuffians roaming the streets?Quote:
Originally Posted by R2x1
People could prey on them.
Were I an Employer, why would I employ someone with minimal skills in the 3Rs. Cannot add without a calculater. Cannot spell. Can barely read, unless it is textspeak. Has to carry a backpack everywhere holding a calculator, an i-something or other & a laptop. Oh & a bottle of supermarket water.
Yes I realise that most kids arnen't this bad, but I despair. PJ
You mean a bottle of redbull/V/Mother whatever?? Younguns dont drink waterQuote:
Originally Posted by Poppa John
These Whuffians could be gainfully employed as feedstock for Whorm Wharms. ;) The kids could be penned up for eventual release on an off-shore island.Quote:
Originally Posted by Cicero