So you broke a rule and are now being punished.
Makes sense.
Probably true.
I sense there is more to the story.
You could have easily shown the teacher that it was a forum and not e-mail.
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Lost computer privileges at school for year for going to macrumors...
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Makes sense.
You could have easily shown the teacher that it was a forum and not e-mail.
In the US, in light of what gets passed around in schools these days, I see their point, and when in doubt, err on the side of caution. It's in the news all the time, foolish young ladies send images of themselves around, naked. If I was a parent, I would take the computer away at home too. 
No see there are holes in your story. You wanted to view the news, Mac news, so you went to the forums ... though the news is on the main page where the word "forum" doesn't appear in the address bar. The main page also has no correlation in the overall appearance (ie: thread titles) to the forums.
You've stated in fact, that you were browsing the forums and the school/teacher found out you were on the forums. That was the extent of your original statement. Now it's e-mail. Hence the hole.
There is a policy. Schools do not enforce policy that doesn't exist, it's somewhat impossible. Clearly they have a policy, whether you know it or not is up to you to decide. If you do not know it and you're certain you were never introduced to said policy then you, as a user, has a right to appeal the decision in light of your lack of knowledge of the rules. The school can clearly see where you've been website wise so they would be able to tell you whether or not they saw you on your personal e-mail account or not. If this is in fact the only policy as you've so justly stated.
Further efforts to side step the ban by using a proxy will most likely result in a rougher punishment. I don't recommend that, but you are free to make your own decisions.
I would inquire about the policy. Usually, at least in both of my colleges and at all jobs I've had, I've had to sign the IT policy. I know full well when I am breaking policy. I'd suspect that now that high schools and below are granting wireless access to students there has to be some policy that was established and explained to you in writing. Perhaps you're suffering from Dick Cheney Memory, or perhaps your school is at fault for not informing you.
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I'm more surprised that high school students bring laptops to school with them at all. Why? It is totally unnecessary. I graduated about 4 years ago, and nobody ever brought one to school, and never found myself in a situation where a laptop would have been of any use. Have things changed that much in just a few years?
not at all. I'm a freshman(9th grade). Laptops/Cell phones/MP3 players aren't allowed in school. Well Cell phones/MP3 players are allowed, but they have to be 'turned off and out of sight'. Laptops..aren't allowed. need to use a computer? Go to the library.
That's how it was for me. We had a handful classrooms with about 5 computers in them that the students could use during group projects (it was some pilot project the district was testing out), but otherwise we had to go to the library to use a computer.
Yes. It's called taking notes. Or research, or typing papers... there are a number of reasons that computers would be useful. Why do you think Apple offers an education discount?!
What a ridiculous question!
Are kids that lazy now that they can't use a pen or pencil? I never had a computer in the classroom. If I had to do a report it was either at home or in the library. We were expected to hand write notes and research with books. We are not talking 30 years ago either. This was 10-15 years back and yes computers were around then.Yes. It's called taking notes. Or research, or typing papers... there are a number of reasons that computers would be useful. Why do you think Apple offers an education discount?!
Are you kidding me? Since when did being efficient become lazy? With a laptop I can take notes more quickly, accurately, and detailed than with paper. I also don't have to use paper (better for the environment) and my notes are all organized in a folder for each class. When I have to study for an exam my notes are organized by date and topic. Welcome to 2008.
I have a laptop. If it goes down I use pen and paper. Shockingly, I still can handwrite things. Impressive, I know.
Just because it's easier for me doesn't mean you get to call me lazy. I work my ass off for school.
But if all of your notes are on the computer what happens?
People are becoming too dependent on technology.
My entire college campus is covered by WiFi. I take my notes on Google Docs. I can access my notes from any computer and a hard drive failure would not affect me. I am not dependent on technology but I do take full advantage of it.
Very good point.
Back in the days when I was in school, I used to mark up my books and take notes (longhand). Worked well. Still have some of those books and notes many years later.
I can absolutely see this happening.
It's like that at my school too. Except students don't have access to WiFi. And we can't bring anything that uses electricity into the building except for calculators.
Seriously though, they should block this if it's against the rules. If forums are against the rules, then they should block the word forum from all domain names , such as forums.macrumors.com!
It's like that at my school too. Except students don't have access to WiFi. And we can't bring anything that uses electricity into the building except for calculators.
Seriously though, they should block this if it's against the rules. If forums are against the rules, then they should block the word forum from all domain names , such as forums.macrumors.com!
This person broke the local rules.
That being said I'm mystified about pcs being banned in some schools. The first step in fascism is banning the dissemination of all information in competition with official sources. This is especially true of schools and staff policies.
Before somebody accuses me of being a tree hugging granola eater I will say that I believe that teachers unions are one of the biggest obstacles to intellectual freedom.
That being said I'm mystified about pcs being banned in some schools. The first step in fascism is banning the dissemination of all information in competition with official sources. This is especially true of schools and staff policies.
Before somebody accuses me of being a tree hugging granola eater I will say that I believe that teachers unions are one of the biggest obstacles to intellectual freedom.
You bring a MacBook to high school? Really? They must be putting sedatives in the cafeteria food, because I'd hate to think what would have happened to a laptop back when I was in high school (and I'm still in my 20s!).
No one messes with your computer? Tries to destroy it? That's amazing!
No one messes with your computer? Tries to destroy it? That's amazing!
'I believe that teachers unions are one of'
I didn't blame it all on the union. You're right about the school boards and government mandates. The entire system is geared to obeying authority, which is especially pathetic considering that serious transgressions such as threats to personal safety occur anyway.
And god help any teacher who 'seizes' my property. The only people in my country who can legally do that are customs and revenue. Legal means court enforced, not a school board regulation.
I'll shut up now.
Lol, well i wish our school would let us use laptops in school grounds, I'd go up to my dad near christmas(because I just moved to a new city: new school, in a really rich neighborhood) and be like: "Our school says it is mandatory to get a Macbook."
Sorry my handwriting is atrocious. Some days it's so bad that I get embarrassed because people stare at me while I'm writing something because it's just that bad. If I'm stressed out and/or drank too much coffee, it's completely illegible. So when I have a choice between writing with pen and paper and not being able to read most of it, or typing on my laptop which lets me type 100+wpm and record occasional lectures, guess which one I choose.
And in my niche case of being a coder and a CS major, there is a close-to-if-not-zero chance you're gonna get me to actually write code with pen and paper beyond a couple of lines.
And in the general case, searching my notes for something is a hell of a lot easier when it's typed up and not handwritten. It's easier to collaborate with other people in the same class with laptops also taking notes. It's easier to send/give your notes to friends who were absent from classes. I can dump them on my then-iPod now-iPhone. And speaking of the iPhone..
I'm taking a Mandarin Chinese class right now, and my iPhone has been a godsend. I'm learning how to type, for one, but the biggest thing...my iPhone now has the following: a chinese-english dictionary, thousands of flashcards I made with an app that sorts by Leitner method which is awesome to me, scans and notes and recordings of everything from the textbook to the syllabus and all my notes and lab records in Evernote, the audiovisual portions of the textbook, lots and lots of audio and video I'm supplementing, lots of really cool Chinese learning apps from the appstore...
I dare you to even try to come close to that without technology. It's just not possible without lots of effort, and even then some things aren't possible. I'm doing very well in that class with minimal dedicated studying time (mostly <1hr/week doing homework and that's it) because I can get so much done with my phone at any time, and my phone is something I have with me almost all the time anyway. I can flip through flashcards at a restaurant waiting for an order, I can listen to audio and podcasts in the car stuck in traffic, I can review my notes and the text right before class, email a friend my notes instead of having her spend a good 10 minutes of class time copying them...and all this in this tiny device that fits in my pocket. Not even my classmates' flashcards alone fit in their pocket.
Am I dependent on technology? Yes, you could say that. But it makes my life easier and it helps me achieve things I would have a very hard time doing without it, and I don't consider dependence to be a bad thing. It's only bad when it's abused.
I have more than one computer, anything important is backed up. This is a Mac forum, I'd imagine you have heard of things like Time Machine
Also the night before a test, I would really **** my pants if I didn't know enough to at least pass the test in question. Late night cramming doesn't work very well, especially for big comprehensive tests. Also:
In my something like 6 years of using a laptop actively for most classes I've never run into that problem. Only once during an exam where my battery died did I ever have a problem, but I forgot to plug in so it was my mistake.
Technology isn't the only thing there is to blame. And arguably the landscape has changed, if you compare now to even a decade ago. Even now when I see my friends elementary school-aged kids, they're doing things I didn't even do in elementary school, which wasn't terribly long ago. More knowledge, more technology, more people..
Well then all the more reason for you to make handwritten notes, in order to learn how to write legibly.