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Federal Review Blames Lack of Resources and Planning for L.A. Schools' Failed iPad Initiative
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If you are going to have a tablet, you should have an iPad .... they are more expensive, but they are best quality .... no one ever regretted buying quality.
However, people should buy their own god damned gear. Most tax-payers cannot afford an iPad of their own ... why should they buy them for the less motivated?
Totally and utterly disagree 100% with this point.
You should not used a lock down and tied down echo system, basically getting young children used to one closed wall garden within a general education system.
If you have to use ANY computers, then you should use PC's Running Perhaps either Windows (if you wish children to be ready for the real world) Of Linux if you wish a totally open environment.
Not because I think PC's are great, but because it's tantamount to brainwashing at a young age, Getting children hooked within Apples way of doing things.
Totally and utterly wrong to use Apple and iOS / iTunes / App Stores in Education.
If Apple was to become more open and not tie people in, then I would of course change my viewpoint.
Why do kids need an iPad in school? They have plenty of chances to play with electronic devices at home.
Have iPads made these kids any smart? I doubt it.
Have iPads made these kids any smart? I doubt it.
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However, people should buy their own god damned gear. Most tax-payers cannot afford an ipad of their own ... Why should they buy them for the less motivated?
Yeah... screw 'em. We've got ours, right?
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Yeah, waste and bad planning only happen in government.
Exactly. This should have first been tried with inexpensive tablets, as a way to have all children's textbooks, assignments (through blackboard), and other learning resources in one place. The OS should have been closed to recreational apps/etc. that would distract kids.
I hear that. My kids have gone through 2 Nexus 7's and 3 Nook HD+ (custom ROM'ed into full Android
) so far. This despite getting the most impact resistant/child proof case available. My toddler is on his 4th Nook HD+ (and at only $100 refurb'ed, why not?)If I had gone the iPad route, it would have been 2 busted iPads and my kids would be using this Pad right now, just like daddy had as a kid.
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Nicer way of saying "lack of brainpower" at LA Schools. But the Feds didn't need to waste time and money to figure that out. Typical tossing out good money after bad.
Because I am and always have been very interested in technology.
Does not mean I like any, and I mean ANY company that locks you down or deliberately makes things difficult to use.
I would feel the same way towards Microsoft, Sony (who have been known for it) and/or anyone else.
However, my point is Valid.
We all know, Apple makes it's money from hardware and the software ecosystem. We know it's, "locked down" and you can argue the reasons why.
We all know, when you get used to something and start investing into a closed ecosystem on any restricted platform as time goes by it gets harder and harder to leave that system, leave your apps behind and move on.
Hence why I'd say this, has no place in Education, which should be as open and un-locked down as realistically possible,
Teaching kids how to get used to iPad's is NOT a moral thing to do.
And if they were getting say locked down to say Windows RT tablets, and those tablets had no ports, and insisted you used Msoft software to sync aps and only use msoft formats etc etc.
Then I would be equally anti that for pushing onto young children with growing minds.
It looks like Apple had a golden opportunity to make this work, and once again blew it. I manage several college labs where we use Macs. And Apple has barely lifted a finger to help out when things get bolloxed up (usually because of software update issues). Their education reps seem to be in a revolving door; there's always a new contact we have to make and they're never there long enough to establish a relationship.
So I'm not surprised that the teachers were left high and dry. That seems to be the way Apple works in the business and education markets: sell them lots of stuff and then walk away. Maybe Apple's partnership with IBM could finally fix that problem. But I'm not holding my breath.
So I'm not surprised that the teachers were left high and dry. That seems to be the way Apple works in the business and education markets: sell them lots of stuff and then walk away. Maybe Apple's partnership with IBM could finally fix that problem. But I'm not holding my breath.
Yeah, it definitely is. My school got SmartBoards too and pretty much the same thing happened. A total waste of money. The time and energy it takes to use those things is no better than just using a whiteboard or overhead. Nobody was asking for those things.
The laptop program has been working for years and years now. But unlike what the public schools seem to be doing now, they don't let those leave the classroom, and they are for assignments and nothing else. Even like the first laptop programs in the late 90's early 00's at the public schools here weren't letting students access outside of the classroom and library. My brother doesn't even bother to use his school iPad for his homework, so I don't understand why he needs to have it at home.
It's not hard to enforce rules on technology use, but you HAVE to do it, otherwise it's not going to work. I personally would like to see them enforce grade rules too. You're either making a B average, or they won't allow you to have these devices. If they're not improving a student's understanding, or helping them do their assignments better, then they shouldn't have access to this stuff.
I am glad they're not just pointing the finger at the iPad though, and I hope that over the summer they figure out how to make this work for them.
Sorry, but in the "real world" you will find that every organization you work in with an even somewhat competent IT department is a "closed wall garden". I know what you're trying to get at, you're just not allowing yourself to see the reality of the situation and blowing it up into freaking brainwashing of all things. Apple's "way of doing things" is likely the way everything will be for every ecosystem by the time these kids grow up. And they're surely already learning that on their Xbox, PlayStation, and Wii at home.
Kids probably spend more time typing on touch screens than actual keyboards, so I don't think that's a big deal.
You act as if a "locked down" ecosystem has any impact at all on a kid. It absolutely doesn't. Unless you plan on giving kids "open and unlocked" access to the entire internet, that is.
These are not for "Computer Class", they're being used as digital text books. They should be locked down, seriously locked down, and closed off.
Why do you need controls on the iPad? Apple designed the iPad to be useful for all ages and types.
When the iPad is used in the classroom, kids will be using it to learn, not play games on it.
When the iPad is used in the workplace, workers will use it for reports, data input, and other business activities, not social media and games.
Do we really think our society is so bad we can't "trust" them?
How did Apple blow it? The school district signed up for devices it couldn't afford and before it had any conception of how it was going to incorporate them into the curriculum. That's Apple's fault?
And what kind of golden opportunity was it for Apple? LA schools are among the worst in the nation. Odds are we'd be hearing stories about kids hacking them to download porn in class or selling them on eBay. Yes, great PR for Apple.
This.
Let's stop for a moment and consider just how many households will already own a tablet, be it an iPad or Android device. I'm fairly sure that at least two thirds of the pupils would have access to one, because they're already affordable. Does that mean their parents will allow them to take the device to school? Of course not. But you have to weigh up the benefits of introducing tablets into classrooms, and the results are going to vary a great deal for every kind of study.
The 'answer' therefore - if indeed we were looking for one - isn't to just hand every pupil an iPad, but to assess the individual pupil's circumstances. People learn in different ways and at different speeds. Apple Apple aren't dumb; I'm sure they'd love a classroom full of children to be hooked on their eco-system. Their argument is that the iPad can benefit different styles of pedagogy within a single device, but this doesn't cloud over the fact that you're missing out on experiencing other kinds of technology. And yes, that includes the tactile nature of a real text book - weight and all.
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I'm all for electronic gadgets to complement educational lessons and important skills, but not replace them.
These kids should learn how to write first before they type on a touchscreen; they should learn to add using their fingers and their head first before punching the numbers on the calc app.
These kids should learn how to write first before they type on a touchscreen; they should learn to add using their fingers and their head first before punching the numbers on the calc app.
I would much much MUCH prefer either Apple, Microsoft or Google getting a hardware maker to manufacture a unique non branded product specifically for education than anything even hinting of a "Cool Brand Name" product for schools
Getting one of the BIG hardware makers, who they can pass the specs required to, to make a specific tablet designed just for educational needs, just to do the tasks required at the lowest price possible and make them rugged and more able to stand up to abuse than a typical home tablet.
That would be far more sensible in education.
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