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Nearly 50,000 Students in Glasgow, Scotland to Receive Free iPads to Assist With Education
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It's pretty clear from the article, that what is meant is, the students are receiving the iPads at no additional (direct) cost. The students, and their parents are not being told "here's your iPad, give us $300".
Yes, me and others like me who pay Council Taxes to Glasgow will be paying for this.
£300 million for 50,000 iPads. Sounds about right for government spending.
There needs to be infrastructure. Even if the school was handing out iPad Pro's. Which is highly doubtful. That means each iPad needs about £5,000 in IT infrastructure, software and personnel to support it.
They say it is not possible to break down the cost. How did the IT firm come up with an estimate then? How did the government conclude the bill covers everything they want? Some accountant had to itemize everything for the bid. Someone in the government also had to itemize everything too. Did they just make up a number off the top of their heads? There must be some list with costs.
The staggering cost per client just doesn't make sense. I'd be more interested in the details of where all that money is going? Do they have to run fiber optics to all the schools and throughout the schools? Is this for software, support, backups, construction, servers and educational material?
The people of Glasgow should be up in arms demanding an itemized accounting. If just to make sure this money is going where intended and that it covers everything. Perhaps it is warranted. £5,000+ in IT infrastructure per iPad sounds over the top.
It would be interesting to compare a modern education filled with IT vs a classical style education. With say 1000 students on each all the way from primary through high school. The classical education being in style but modern material. Learning about the four humors and ancient Greek would hardly be beneficial.
There needs to be infrastructure. Even if the school was handing out iPad Pro's. Which is highly doubtful. That means each iPad needs about £5,000 in IT infrastructure, software and personnel to support it.
They say it is not possible to break down the cost. How did the IT firm come up with an estimate then? How did the government conclude the bill covers everything they want? Some accountant had to itemize everything for the bid. Someone in the government also had to itemize everything too. Did they just make up a number off the top of their heads? There must be some list with costs.
The staggering cost per client just doesn't make sense. I'd be more interested in the details of where all that money is going? Do they have to run fiber optics to all the schools and throughout the schools? Is this for software, support, backups, construction, servers and educational material?
The people of Glasgow should be up in arms demanding an itemized accounting. If just to make sure this money is going where intended and that it covers everything. Perhaps it is warranted. £5,000+ in IT infrastructure per iPad sounds over the top.
See post #43 above. The evidence we have is that this kind of thing will have a modest impact. The question, though, is whether that impact justifies the money relative to other initiatives that might be undertaken, such as hiring more teachers or providing better salaries for teachers so that they are truly valued as the professionals they are.
Let me put it this way: What do iPads solve that books, good verbal teaching, and interacting directly with students does not? The University I work at is over half a millennium old, and when I hear the pro-IT guys spout off about the benefits of these machines to education I think 'My god. How did we ever survive the last 500+ years without IT?
It would be interesting to compare a modern education filled with IT vs a classical style education. With say 1000 students on each all the way from primary through high school. The classical education being in style but modern material. Learning about the four humors and ancient Greek would hardly be beneficial.
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It would be interesting to compare a modern education filled with IT vs a classical style education. With say 1000 students on each all the way from primary through high school. The classical education being in style but modern material. Learning about the four humors and ancient Greek would hardly be beneficial.
I think the iPads are just one part of a package deal, but again the issue is whether that is the best use for the money.
I grew up in the US but has spent the last 20 years in Scotland. One of the good things about the Scottish Schools is that at least to some extent the older kids look after the younger ones. It reminds me of my grandfather's experience as being the Principal/Teacher in a two-room school in Kentucky. They had older kids teaching younger kids, and it seemed to work well. Indeed I think the one thing that education has lost is the ideal of an academic community.
This is a brilliant move. The internet is an enabler and giving children access to such tools is a very effective way of ensuring their access to information and greater learning.