First Seven iPad-Only 'Steve Jobs Schools' Open in the Netherlands

[charlituna]

Thousands of kids who have no idea how to use MS office. This bodes well for their employment prospects

Not every job requires you to know it.

And if they don't know enough to figure out a computer program including how to find more information about it, then that's the fault of their teachers, not whether they use whatever in the class room.

The most important thing a kid can be taught is how to learn and how to educate him/herself. That will be way more useful in life and work than knowing a bunch of brute facts to score well on a test. Unfortunately the latter is how many schools are working these days

 

[jaymzuk]

You really think anybody's gonna give a crap about using MS Office in 10 years?

I think Apple tried to take that attitude with the whole 1984-style advert, and yet MS is still king of office productivity suites.

Yes. MS Office will still be here. The workforce is already trained in using it, children (Barring those in these ridiculous iPad only schools) are taught it across the world, and to change that status quo will be horrifically expensive and cumbersome to manage.

Or we can just believe that because cool trendy Apple have a few schools on board, Office will be dead in a decade.

 

[Trius]

"Steve Jobs schools"... As much as I like the man, that's a bit cringe worthy.

iSchool

 

[donutbagel]

Total BS. There are dozens of available textbooks at all levels and topics, most of which are well under 1 GB. Plenty of room for most students.

I wasn't implying that there isn't enough capacity. The schools just aren't giving enough of the content on the iPad, so the students still mostly use books instead of replacing them all with an iPad. Have you noticed that there are probably thousands of Algebra books out there, and the schools don't all agree to use one?

----------

Thousands of kids who have no idea how to use MS office. This bodes well for their employment prospects

"If it crashes twice in one day, reboot the computer. Remember to make the images you drag in floating instead of in with the text." And there you have it, all you need to know.

 

[rdlink]

Sad news, I live there not that that's important but paper textbooks are way better for your eyes in my opinion, altough using iPads for some tasks isn't really bad but meh, we'll see.

Don't agree. First of all, you can't zoom in on a paper textbook. Second, I can read my iPad all day long. A book hurts my eyes in about 2 minutes.

 

[phandam]

Okay not all Dutch but after ten years.......
Why not:
1. The false pretend of the school using Steve Jobs name to attract interest.
2. Not use you kid as a guinea-pig just to find out after 10 years that this system did not work after all.
3. Ruining your kids eyes by making them look at a computer screen all day long.
4. The fact that kids do not work without proper supervision by a teacher.
5. There are already many applications of ICT in school for may years, the basis of their system is no different they are just exaggerating it.
6. You restrict you kids access to just that what this school is programming into the system.
You kid will be unable to handle a pen.
7. The school cannot point out a single reason why this would be better than conventional schools beside it is supposed to be easier for you as a parent.
8. An iPad cannot replace normal teaching material, just compliment it.
9. Lack of proper social interaction with others besides email and other ICT tricks.

Just a few as an example why I would never go along with something like this.
PS My youngest kid is dyslectic and uses Kurzweil 3000 to help him, but I would never allow it to replace normal eduction.

----------



LOL: Funny dude

I will give you my opinion on each of your points, like a Dutch man should

1. Completely agree, the name is an obvious attempt to attract global attention.
2. It won't take 10 years or even 2 to understand there is a problem. You have the ability to track in real time your kids progress, the teachers have more tools to track them, and the Dutch government will be keeping a close eye on the progress.
3. I have been staring at screens (for work) for over 16 years straight and do not need glasses (yet).
4. The kids do work with teachers and have plenty of supervision at the schools. This program also seems to allow the parents to have a much better overview as well. Again this is not a home school program, there are classrooms with kids working in groups, with teachers, and also individually.
5. So you are saying computers didn't help students when they were introduced or even now?
6. I don't really understand this point. Kids have many paths that will be determined based on their interests (math, science, music, art, etc.) I barely every use a pen anymore with a goal to be paperless. Almost all my work is done on laptops, tablets, and phone.....most companies I interact with are pushing employees to be paperless as well.
7. The one point I hear them making is to better prepare students for the 21st century. If that will be the case, I can't say, but it seems like they are going in the right direction.
8. I think it can, and can improve on them. And if there is something that does not translate well, they can always use the traditional tools.
9. Again this is not a home school program. There are class rooms, play areas, art supplies, etc. There are requirements for the students to be in the school, we were told they needed to be there at 10:30 at the latest.

My son has been a creche since he was 8 months, so I understand the importance of social interaction. The introduction meeting at the school looked like a typical school with kids playing and sitting in classes, all the normal things you would expect. We actually didn't even know it was a "Steve Jobs" school until the first press release.

I think their goal was to generate a lot of press and gain global attention (evident by the multi language website), which I agree is not very professional.

 

[wo2jeeper]

Lots of third party stylus' are available. Apple's stance is definitely "you shouldn't need a stylus with a proper touch screen" but there are definitely options out there.

So sorry to see and read opions while you are not able to judge what is happening there in person. I would say that media is only thinking to bring excitement in their information to make the topic grow.

Actualy our child is going to one of the "Steve Jobs" school in the Netherlands. So we can tell what actualy is going on there. And I can tell that the way the education is given there is only choosen to support standard education with Ipad apps special developed for basic school skills. Apps al Tablet users are able to know because they already use or play with them on their own devices. So there is nothing new to that. What new is that there is a lot of progress in using applications to educate and support personal developement of your child. Can't see anything wrong to that

 

[killzemessenger]

I like the idea of preparing the kids for 2030 and not yesterday's world.

I hope you don't mind if I brief you about 2030.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOMWzjrRiBg
http://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2008/02/the-right-to-35.html
http://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2009/06/embodied-energy-of-digital-technology.html
http://physics.ucsd.edu/do-the-math/2011/10/why-not-space/

Also, Olduvai Theory may be slightly too much pessimistic, but it actually says "2030", so it's worth mentioning

 

[Xiroteus]

Lots of third party stylus' are available. Apple's stance is definitely "you shouldn't need a stylus with a proper touch screen" but there are definitely options out there.

They do not come close to wacom with pressure sensitivity. Another matter is not about needing a digitizer, it is just there if you do. That whole option thing that many people love.

 

[AppleMark]

Just cut this crap and give a proper school, with proper teaching, and maintain a degree of discipline. A lot of children abuse their privileges, and blame the school for that. iPads can work well for textbooks and interactive programs, but should never take the job of the teachers.

Indeed.

iPads make great support aids, as do (did) laptops, they should not replace teachers and teaching staff.

 

[AppleMark]

First of all, you can't zoom in on a paper textbook. Second, I can read my iPad all day long. A book hurts my eyes in about 2 minutes.

LOL!

If you need pinch and zoom on a text book, you probably simply need a good pair of glasses.

This will save you money on iPads..

 

[adildacoolset]

Indeed.

iPads make great support aids, as do (did) laptops, they should not replace teachers and teaching staff.

I actually want iPads to replace textbooks. We currently have more computing power in our pockets than the fastest supercomputers 13 years ago, but yet most schools still require students to lug around bags that have kilograms of textbooks. Not to mention that their quality degrades over time, pages can get torn, etc.

I actually am looking forward to when students no longer have to lug heavy bags around, and get textbooks which get ruined after use.

 

[AppleMark]

I actually want iPads to replace textbooks. We currently have more computing power in our pockets than the fastest supercomputers 13 years ago, but yet most schools still require students to lug around bags that have kilograms of textbooks. Not to mention that their quality degrades over time, pages can get torn, etc.

I actually am looking forward to when students no longer have to lug heavy bags around, and get textbooks which get ruined after use.

iPads and iThings get ruined also you know, often by children who also happen to be students.

So you would trust children with expensive and relatively fragile tech over a relatively hardwearing and cheap text book?

I would not, if I was in charge of an educational budget.

 

[killzemessenger]

We currently have more computing power in our pockets than the fastest supercomputers 13 years ago

More or less false.
Also, this argument defeats itself easily.
Say it's 1999.
You are getting your BA in Wymen Studies.
Now, do you need the fastest supercomputer in the world?
No; you don't need computing power to read books.
Case closed.

But now you say - hey, but we do have all this technology basically for free, right, and we will always have - let's take full advantage of it, right?
Yeah, sure.

They're not free.
They're just made with scarce resources that the Earth cooked up over billions of years and, more importantly, they are made somewhere else.
You have to mine the ores, print PCBs, make chips, make glass, glue everything together (oh, right, you need to make glue too and extract the oil for that), box it and ship it.
All done somewhere else (read: China), so that it appears to you that they magically appear on the store shelves.

Check out the links in my previous post to get the idea.

Oh, and this is not moralism. To hell with moralism. I hate moralism, I'm a dedicated follower of Freddy Nietzsche.

Computers are awesome, iPads are even more awesome, everybody knows that (except Android users, but they don't count).

I just wish they were free and unlimited in supply - man, I'm a techie -, but they are not.

Let's just use them for what they are - powerful, precious and near-magical machines that our grandfathers didn't have and our great-grandchildren may not have either.

Let's not use them in place of toilet paper, it's a needless waste.

but yet most schools still require students to lug around bags that have kilograms of textbooks. Not to mention that their quality degrades over time, pages can get torn, etc.

I don't know, my college books are all fine.
If you used yours as napkins back then it's your problem.



And, this will be my last contribution to this thread.

EDIT: I lied, but AppleMark posted while I was typing.

 

[killzemessenger]

iPads and iThings get ruined also you know, often by children who also happen to be students.

So you would trust children with expensive and relatively fragile tech over a relatively hardwearing and cheap text book?

I would not, if I was in charge of an educational budget.

Because you are a sane person and not a religious fanatic.
Where "religion" can also mean "worship of electronic gadgetry in itself", complete with an eschatology - an imaginary "future" where you don't need to wipe your ass because machines do it for you (or: "there's an app for that").

You need something done (teaching algebra and history) and you use the cheapest and most effective and durable tool for that.
Yes, remarkably sane.

 

[rdlink]

LOL!

If you need pinch and zoom on a text book, you probably simply need a good pair of glasses.

This will save you money on iPads..

I think you missed my point. I have reading glasses. Sometimes, depending on light conditions, how tired eyes are, size of typeface, etc., it's hard to see text. On paper, it's static, and can never be changed. With an iPad (or virtually any backlit screen) you can manipulate the text to make it more legible. Also, it's legible no matter how dark the room.

Of course there are other advantages of a tablet over a paper textbook. For instance, you don't have to worry about buying a new textbook in order to keep it up to date. You just download the latest rev.

----------

More or less false.
Also, this argument defeats itself easily.
Say it's 1999.
You are getting your BA in Wymen Studies.
Now, do you need the fastest supercomputer in the world?
No; you don't need computing power to read books.
Case closed.

But now you say - hey, but we do have all this technology basically for free, right, and we will always have - let's take full advantage of it, right?
Yeah, sure.

They're not free.
They're just made with scarce resources that the Earth cooked up over billions of years and, more importantly, they are made somewhere else.
You have to mine the ores, print PCBs, make chips, make glass, glue everything together (oh, right, you need to make glue too and extract the oil for that), box it and ship it.
All done somewhere else (read: China), so that it appears to you that they magically appear on the store shelves.

Check out the links in my previous post to get the idea.

Oh, and this is not moralism. To hell with moralism. I hate moralism, I'm a dedicated follower of Freddy Nietzsche.

Computers are awesome, iPads are even more awesome, everybody knows that (except Android users, but they don't count).

I just wish they were free and unlimited in supply - man, I'm a techie -, but they are not.

Let's just use them for what they are - powerful, precious and near-magical machines that our grandfathers didn't have and our great-grandchildren may not have either.

Let's not use them in place of toilet paper, it's a needless waste.




I don't know, my college books are all fine.
If you used yours as napkins back then it's your problem.



And, this will be my last contribution to this thread.

EDIT: I lied, but AppleMark posted while I was typing.

No, your college books are not fine. They're out of date. They were the day they came off the press.

 

[shartypants]

Sounds like a great idea, would love to see how it works out.

 

[macs4nw]

Just cut this crap and give a proper school, with proper teaching, and maintain a degree of discipline. A lot of children abuse their privileges, and blame the school for that. iPads can work well for textbooks and interactive programs, but should never take the job of the teachers.

I don't know about your educational system in Zambia, but that seems to work really well here in the US.

 

[Technarchy]

This is so sad and pathetic. The value of a book cannot be replaced with an iPad full stop. And by the way, to me it seems that they re trying to make money from Job's brand name.

I wish I could have carried an iPad when I was a kid. Lugging around 25lbs on my back daily didn't do wonders for the learning experience.

Though it was a good prep for when I joined the Army...

 

[Bubba Satori]

Is this the future in education ?

No.

 

[TheGenerous]

There's a kindergarden in town called, My Little Einstein World, and I wonder if they are relatively learning at luminous speeds than the rest of us look slow to them.

 

[Neodym]

I also don't doubt that a kid would see far more benefits from having 10-1 student teacher ratios rather than 35-1 and iPads.

Out of curiosity: Where do you get 10-1 student teacher ratios today? From my experience unfortunately 35-1 is not far off reality in today's (kid) education.

----------

Of course there are other advantages of a tablet over a paper textbook. For instance, you don't have to worry about buying a new textbook in order to keep it up to date. You just download the latest rev.

...and this is available for free?

 

[JGRE]

I will give you my opinion on each of your points, like a Dutch man should

1. Completely agree, the name is an obvious attempt to attract global attention.
2. It won't take 10 years or even 2 to understand there is a problem. You have the ability to track in real time your kids progress, the teachers have more tools to track them, and the Dutch government will be keeping a close eye on the progress.
3. I have been staring at screens (for work) for over 16 years straight and do not need glasses (yet).
4. The kids do work with teachers and have plenty of supervision at the schools. This program also seems to allow the parents to have a much better overview as well. Again this is not a home school program, there are classrooms with kids working in groups, with teachers, and also individually.
5. So you are saying computers didn't help students when they were introduced or even now?
6. I don't really understand this point. Kids have many paths that will be determined based on their interests (math, science, music, art, etc.) I barely every use a pen anymore with a goal to be paperless. Almost all my work is done on laptops, tablets, and phone.....most companies I interact with are pushing employees to be paperless as well.
7. The one point I hear them making is to better prepare students for the 21st century. If that will be the case, I can't say, but it seems like they are going in the right direction.
8. I think it can, and can improve on them. And if there is something that does not translate well, they can always use the traditional tools.
9. Again this is not a home school program. There are class rooms, play areas, art supplies, etc. There are requirements for the students to be in the school, we were told they needed to be there at 10:30 at the latest.

My son has been a creche since he was 8 months, so I understand the importance of social interaction. The introduction meeting at the school looked like a typical school with kids playing and sitting in classes, all the normal things you would expect. We actually didn't even know it was a "Steve Jobs" school until the first press release.

I think their goal was to generate a lot of press and gain global attention (evident by the multi language website), which I agree is not very professional.

Hope it works out for you and you kid, good luck.

 

[Davejprince]

Don't agree. First of all, you can't zoom in on a paper textbook. Second, I can read my iPad all day long. A book hurts my eyes in about 2 minutes.

Weird eyes you must've got.

 

[phandam]

Hope it works out for you and you kid, good luck.

Thank you, have not made a decision yet, but at the moment it is the only school we can get into. The local school and most others around us are filled and we were not lucky with the lotteries.