This is part of what irks me these days with Apple. They are pretty full of themselves as they think they are changing the world for the better. First off This technology they say that can enhance teaching and learning is not something the majority of people on the planet can afford. They are not really making products to help the people who need helping, they are making and selling to the wealthy or to those willing to do in debt to have an Apple product. Apple talks very self righteously but does very little that is righteous if it does not earn them serious dollars. Apple is a premium product and you need a premium bank account to afford what you get. I like their products, use a lot of them, just hate how they constantly pat themselves on the back as if they are doing something so wonderful and magical for the planet.
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Bowdoin College to Provide Every Student With a Complimentary MacBook Pro, iPad Mini, and Apple Pencil
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My alma mater started requiring every student have one if two laptops. The argument was 1) if every student had at least one of those devices, everyone was on a more equal footing and 2) by requiring the device, poorer student qualified for federal aid to purchase the laptop.
Including a laptop in the cost of tution (and then waiving tuition for half the students), is a form of ensuring equity for all.
Not to mention it helps the faculty and IT when every student is running just a few different system.
If surviving harsh cold winters or hot humid summers (if you were raised in the North and are going to the South for college) is the biggest challenge a kid has to face….I feel like you are doing pretty well.
Anyway, I was raised in the tropics. Went to the cold wintery North for college and loved it. Never saw snow before college, but by the time I graduated I was into skiing, cross countery trips through the arctic circle etc etc etc
Just because something is different that doesn’t mean it is unpleasant.
I grew up in poverty and my wife in third-world poverty so I'm familiar with challenges. That said, your kids may not be as excited for your choices as you are. Bowdoin is just way up there far away from civilization.
Anyone else think that they got a poor selection? Why MacBook Pro and iPad mini?
Surely MacBook Air and iPad Pro 11" a better balance for the dollars..?
Surely MacBook Air and iPad Pro 11" a better balance for the dollars..?
I don't know what they'd want since they're 3 years old. They'd be pretty content anywhere with snacks at this point.
But that's not what I was getting at. The point is that as a family who isn't anywhere near being "well off" and is pretty average as far as income and housing situations go, the actual out of pocket cost to the family for a kid to attend this very expensive university isn't much different than public university or college. I went to a satellite campus of the University of South Carolina that is made up mostly of commuter students who live at home while they attend school, and the current in-state tuition rate there is $10,398 per year. That tuition alone is more than a similarly financially situated family would have to pay per kid at Bowdoin, and theirs would include room, board, books and all.
I may be wrong, but if you have a Mac and an iPad Mini, what in the world would you actually use an Apple Pencil for. The mini is too small to draw on, and the computer/iPad mini makes more sense for typing any notes you need.
The Apple Pencil just seems like a wasted cost for little to no utility.
Perhaps someone could explain how this would work?
The Apple Pencil just seems like a wasted cost for little to no utility.
Perhaps someone could explain how this would work?
You can use the pencil on the mini. I have a mini but didn't buy the pencil as I'm no artist.
More proof that colleges only care about money. So many studies have scientifically proven that real books, pens and paper are superior when it comes to memory retention and test scores, yet they keep pushing digital junk on their students.
hechingerreport.org
Evidence increases for reading on paper instead of screens
Paper vs. digital reading: After totaling up the results from 33 quality studies, a researcher found that students tend to absorb more when they're reading on paper than on screens.
hechingerreport.org
More proof that colleges only care about money. So many studies have scientifically proven that real books, pens and paper are superior when it comes to memory retention and test scores, yet they keep pushing digital junk on their students.
Evidence increases for reading on paper instead of screens
Paper vs. digital reading: After totaling up the results from 33 quality studies, a researcher found that students tend to absorb more when they're reading on paper than on screens.
Did they control for distractions? One of the problem with screens is other stuff on the screen.
How about studies on back injuries in children on carrying around a heavy textbooks instead of one device that has all of your textbooks?
One reason why publishers want to go digital is the penchant for college students to buy the textbook at the bookstore, take pictures of the book, then return the book. And sometimes posting the whole book online. Digital allows methods of making copying more difficult.
In the working world, some jobs deal mainly with digital over paper.
More proof that colleges only care about money. So many studies have scientifically proven that real books, pens and paper are superior when it comes to memory retention and test scores, yet they keep pushing digital junk on their students.
Evidence increases for reading on paper instead of screens
Paper vs. digital reading: After totaling up the results from 33 quality studies, a researcher found that students tend to absorb more when they're reading on paper than on screens.
You still need a computer to write papers, compile code, analyze data, make presentations, run models, etc. In college you should be producing content, not just absorbing content.
For straight up reading, I agree, print is better.
It might be a wash for the college. Now they aren't maintaining computer labs (that's computers, networking, staffing) and the university is getting those classrooms back (that's insanely valuable if they need space). Students will likely take care of their own gear more as that'll probably be the only computer that many will have.
And if they need to, they'll pass the cost on. At my university, we already had technology fees for when we enrolled, now it's just paying for hardware in my hand instead of in a different building.
And if they need to, they'll pass the cost on. At my university, we already had technology fees for when we enrolled, now it's just paying for hardware in my hand instead of in a different building.
Definitely very cool. Great time to be a student at this educational location.
Man that’s awesome!
Lol more likely parent ridding themselves of the daily responsibility of liking after their kids, while prep school prepares them for career roles that manage or affect millions of others
This has been concluded wide-scale. Digital learning is inferior. It's not up for debate anymore. So I think it's odd that educators, which are places of "learning" and "science" would continue to push for an all-digital future. It's almost like they're getting kick backs from corporations, or selling their souls to get young people to enroll in---
Bowdoin College ... will be providing every student with a 13-inch MacBook Pro with the M1 chip, an iPad mini, and an Apple Pencil
Along with, significantly, four years of AppleCare+ coverage.