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My partner worked at a school that handed out iPads to the middle school students for use in class. Hearing what they use them for just makes me think that App

by jbob2000 10y ago

My partner worked at a school that handed out iPads to the middle school students for use in class. Hearing what they use them for just makes me think that Apple needed someone to dump last year's leftover iPads on. It's really dumb stuff. They don't get access to the internet. They get a handful of stupid "learning" apps to use and a social network type thing that can be summed up as "instagram where mommy and teacher watch and control everything". The devices are so locked up that inquisitive kids ignore them, dumb kids never figure them out, and everyone in between just kinda lugs them around because they have to. I am beginning to think that tech capitalists have milked the general market and are now turning to the next juicy targets of education and healthcare.

GordonS 10y ago
Totally agree here. I'm in the UK and my daughter's primary school has bought dozens of iPads (which are not exactly the most economical tablet), and they are used for things that could otherwise be done (and likely with better results too) in the real world, such as moving objects around for basic maths. Crazy waste of funds.
- jbob2000 10y ago
  Yes! Thank you! Kids are sensory learners! They need to be able to hold, touch, taste, smell, and feel things to learn! But instead, we get a fucking screen that you poke at? Come the fuck on.
- monk_e_boy 10y ago
  I disagree. A school without basic technology like computers and tablets? Blimey, you want us to go back to slates and chalk? Most schools have 3D printers, VR headsets, iPads. We need to teach kids about technology they will be using in 10 - 15 years time when they hit the job market. We can't send kids out into a career without having used an iPad. Some kids don't have access to tech or the internet at home, now you want to take it away at school? Shame on you.
  - PaulHoule 10y ago
    I visited a local trade school last week and was shocked to see Pentium // motherboards, discrete sound cards, etc. in the technology classroom.
  - GordonS 10y ago
    > We can't send kids out into a career without having used an iPad Other than 'app developer', what actual careers involve using specifically an iPad, let alone a generic tablet? > Most schools have 3D printers, VR headsets, iPads Tablets sure, not necessarily iPads. 3D printers and VR headsets?! I'm talking about primary school, kids aged 5-11 - it would be rare for even secondary schools in the UK to have 3D printers or VR headsets. You used the word 'blimey', so I assume you are either English or taking the piss?! Most kids get enough of tablets at home nowadays. Christ, all too many parents plonk their kid in front of a tablet and leave them to it for hours at a time. I'm not saying tech doesn't have a place, it absolutely does, but sometimes the real, tactile world is the best place to learn - like for 5 year-olds learning basic maths, reading and writing.
    - j2bax 10y ago
      I've seen many non-technical professionals using iPad's. In many cases they are replacing laptops in meetings. They are used in manufacturing environments. They are used in hospitals, airports etc etc. That said, my 80 year old grandmother learned to be pretty proficient on an iPad in a matter of a few hours, so I'm not really that concerned about people being able to pick up general tablet usage outside of school.
      - robertlagrant 10y ago
        This is exactly the point - no one needs to be taught how to use an iPad. It's some MBA trying to push "educational strategy". No one who invented any part of an iPad grew up with one. The further into my tech career I go, the more I like a bog standard whiteboard and a notebook and pen. They let me focus on thinking about hard stuff, instead of thinking about how to use some oversold software.
  - 10y ago
monk_e_boy 10y ago
We have iPads in school and they can be really useful. You just need to use them -- which comes down to teacher training. Tell your partner to look up QR codes, we put different ones up around the room. QR code takes them to a web page with info on it. We use different codes (or URLs) for differentiation - smart kids get wikipedia or something hard, stupid kids get a simpler page or a video. Does she use kahoot quizzes on them? Or socrative? Both work well.
Balgair 10y ago
I'll echo as well. My wife's classrooms use chromebooks. Due to 'security issues', the computers can only run a hand-full of java applications for the few labs where they do in fact need the computers. These are, if I'm generous, a decade out of date and 'clunky'. Additionally, they are required to login to the central district server before they can use the chromebook (student ID #, etc). Trouble is, there are 35+ students in the classroom, and the wireless routers only can support ~15 chromebooks. The kids end up in a cycle of booting each other off the wireless routers. That is only for one classroom, typically there are ~7 classrooms in the range of that single router which kids can try to log into with their cellphone, further increasing the issues. Also, for the entire school, there is only a single 4GB line out to the central district server for ~2000 kids and associated staff, and that central server has been under DDoS attack from the IoT take-overs from October. State mandated testing of only the freshmen (~700 students), via these chromebooks, is scheduled to take 6 weeks due to these issues and they are not expecting the student to be able to submit these computerized tests even still. Effectively, their school is still in ~1992 with some dilapidated chomebooks and 'smart-boards' stuck in closets like neo-Luddites. Oh, and the voters decided to cut a further 30% from the budget, so now its looking like ~52 kids per classroom next year. We are, obviously, changing districts.
germinalphrase 10y ago
I've been in classrooms that use iPad effectively, much in the same way they would use a Chromebook. Many attached third-party keyboards to assist in typing. I would still strongly prefer a proper laptop, but it wasn't as much of a hinderance as I initially expected.

GordonS 10y ago

Totally agree here. I'm in the UK and my daughter's primary school has bought dozens of iPads (which are not exactly the most economical tablet), and they are used for things that could otherwise be done (and likely with better results too) in the real world, such as moving objects around for basic maths. Crazy waste of funds.

jbob2000 10y ago
Yes! Thank you! Kids are sensory learners! They need to be able to hold, touch, taste, smell, and feel things to learn! But instead, we get a fucking screen that you poke at? Come the fuck on.
monk_e_boy 10y ago
I disagree. A school without basic technology like computers and tablets? Blimey, you want us to go back to slates and chalk? Most schools have 3D printers, VR headsets, iPads. We need to teach kids about technology they will be using in 10 - 15 years time when they hit the job market. We can't send kids out into a career without having used an iPad. Some kids don't have access to tech or the internet at home, now you want to take it away at school? Shame on you.
- PaulHoule 10y ago
  I visited a local trade school last week and was shocked to see Pentium // motherboards, discrete sound cards, etc. in the technology classroom.
- GordonS 10y ago
  > We can't send kids out into a career without having used an iPad Other than 'app developer', what actual careers involve using specifically an iPad, let alone a generic tablet? > Most schools have 3D printers, VR headsets, iPads Tablets sure, not necessarily iPads. 3D printers and VR headsets?! I'm talking about primary school, kids aged 5-11 - it would be rare for even secondary schools in the UK to have 3D printers or VR headsets. You used the word 'blimey', so I assume you are either English or taking the piss?! Most kids get enough of tablets at home nowadays. Christ, all too many parents plonk their kid in front of a tablet and leave them to it for hours at a time. I'm not saying tech doesn't have a place, it absolutely does, but sometimes the real, tactile world is the best place to learn - like for 5 year-olds learning basic maths, reading and writing.
  - j2bax 10y ago
    I've seen many non-technical professionals using iPad's. In many cases they are replacing laptops in meetings. They are used in manufacturing environments. They are used in hospitals, airports etc etc. That said, my 80 year old grandmother learned to be pretty proficient on an iPad in a matter of a few hours, so I'm not really that concerned about people being able to pick up general tablet usage outside of school.
    - robertlagrant 10y ago
      This is exactly the point - no one needs to be taught how to use an iPad. It's some MBA trying to push "educational strategy". No one who invented any part of an iPad grew up with one. The further into my tech career I go, the more I like a bog standard whiteboard and a notebook and pen. They let me focus on thinking about hard stuff, instead of thinking about how to use some oversold software.
- 10y ago

monk_e_boy 10y ago

We have iPads in school and they can be really useful. You just need to use them -- which comes down to teacher training. Tell your partner to look up QR codes, we put different ones up around the room. QR code takes them to a web page with info on it. We use different codes (or URLs) for differentiation - smart kids get wikipedia or something hard, stupid kids get a simpler page or a video. Does she use kahoot quizzes on them? Or socrative? Both work well.

Balgair 10y ago

I'll echo as well. My wife's classrooms use chromebooks. Due to 'security issues', the computers can only run a hand-full of java applications for the few labs where they do in fact need the computers. These are, if I'm generous, a decade out of date and 'clunky'. Additionally, they are required to login to the central district server before they can use the chromebook (student ID #, etc). Trouble is, there are 35+ students in the classroom, and the wireless routers only can support ~15 chromebooks. The kids end up in a cycle of booting each other off the wireless routers. That is only for one classroom, typically there are ~7 classrooms in the range of that single router which kids can try to log into with their cellphone, further increasing the issues. Also, for the entire school, there is only a single 4GB line out to the central district server for ~2000 kids and associated staff, and that central server has been under DDoS attack from the IoT take-overs from October. State mandated testing of only the freshmen (~700 students), via these chromebooks, is scheduled to take 6 weeks due to these issues and they are not expecting the student to be able to submit these computerized tests even still. Effectively, their school is still in ~1992 with some dilapidated chomebooks and 'smart-boards' stuck in closets like neo-Luddites. Oh, and the voters decided to cut a further 30% from the budget, so now its looking like ~52 kids per classroom next year. We are, obviously, changing districts.

germinalphrase 10y ago

I've been in classrooms that use iPad effectively, much in the same way they would use a Chromebook. Many attached third-party keyboards to assist in typing. I would still strongly prefer a proper laptop, but it wasn't as much of a hinderance as I initially expected.