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The 1 million laptop shortage in California was reported by the Sacramento Bee after polling school districts. I worked with school boards and school districts
by formalsystems 6y ago
The 1 million laptop shortage in California was reported by the Sacramento Bee after polling school districts. I worked with school boards and school districts in California for 3 years selling education software, and I have to say that the people in administration are the most unaware of what the district's technology needs really are. For every heartwarming story of a school setting up a maker lab for its students, there is another school which was allocated funding for a hackerspace, bought all the necessary equipment, and then stuck it in a closet until the right person came along to set it up. I have seen brand new 3D printers grow obsolete sitting in a public school's storage room and shelves stocked with brand new Chromebooks as a "strategic reserve".
The other thing about public school administration in California is the attitude that parents and rich benefactors will make up for any budget/equipment shortfall that a school faces. Administrators have an incentive to underreport their school's technology assets, since their requests are filled one way or another.
- mistrial9 6y agosecond - I have seen this with my own eyes in California public schools
- specialist 6y agoThis mirrors my direct experience as well. Teaching and computers don't mix. Certainly not before eighth grade. Maybe give every student an iPad every year. Tell Apple to just gift them for the tax write-off and goodwill. Maybe have computer labs, whatever curriculum units are called. Starting with logo turtles. Along side chemistry and other science units. Then maybe grant access to desktops and printers starting in ninth grade. Never provide internet access. I'd be okay with a computer skills class starting in middle school if there's a motivated teacher to staff it. So kids can play with Scratch, other proto programming stuff, some art stuff. Whatever's cool. Treat this like music, art, woodshop, and other electives. I'm VERY on board with a school sponsored, hosted "hackers" club. Like math, debate, young entrepreneurs, cheerleading, etc. clubs.
- sokoloff 6y agoProgramming is fairly difficult (beyond some very basic exercises) without internet access at this point, even just for reference material.
- specialist 6y agoSure. Kids have more computing power and information access thru their phones than what any school district should be responsible for. No school should expend any resources whatsoever trying to monitor, filter access. They can't win. I'm on the fence about internet access thru their libraries. Public libraries placing their computers in plain view of everyone doesn't deter porn surfing and so forth. So I don't even know if it's a battle worth fighting.
- EE84M3i 6y ago>Public libraries placing their computers in plain view of everyone doesn't deter porn surfing and so forth. I think it does deter it, just not as much as we might like.
- MiroF 6y agoPorn surfing only seems like a problem if the computers are placed in plain view of everyone
- specialist 6y agoHeh. WRT schools, I only care because the controversy is a huge distraction. Well, the older kid showing porn to my younger son was also a problem. Again, not something schools should ever have to consider.
- MiroF 6y agoI meant for public libraries - not schools!
- 6y ago