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I gave my students iPads – then wished I could take them back

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Re: I gave my students iPads – then wished I could take them back

#61

Post by coldpie »

joeevans1000 wrote: post #34

Remember when that guy was offering to buy every classroom free TVs in exchange for the school's commitment to have the kids watch a certain amount of programming a day? The programming included ads. This seems the same. Having the kids load linux onto laptops, yeah... I could understand the value in that. Having them work with Raspberry Pi's, I could see the merit in that. Program robots? Definitely. But this debacl…

The thing is, these iPads aren't meant to teach about computing. They're tools for teaching other subjects, like math or geography or English or whatever. Just like a geography textbook is a bad way to learn about papermaking, so is an educational iPad a bad way to learn about computing.

I still think they're awful for other reasons, but their lack of hackability is a feature, not a bug.

Re: I gave my students iPads – then wished I could take them back

#62

Post by facepalm »

That seems a bit one-sided. It is not all or nothing.

My son (age 5) gets to use a tablet from time to time, mostly to watch "Sendung mit der Maus" which is a famous German educational show. They cover various topics in 10 minute blocks. My son has already learned a lot from that.

I recently visited an elementary school and all the kids were having lessons about squirrels (it was in autumn). I guess "under the hood" they were learning more than just squirrel stuff, like reading comprehension, writing, structuring information and so on. But other than that, I am pretty sure what takes them days to learn about squirrels in school would be easier taught by Sendung mit der Maus.

Re: I gave my students iPads – then wished I could take them back

#63

Post by tormeh »

cthalupa wrote: post #48
dangerpowpow wrote: post #26

These schools have too much money

These programs are often funded by federal aid based on the number of students on free or reduced lunch. The money, IIRC, can really only be used for library stuff or technology, and it's a sort of 'use it or lose it' deal.

Yes, but since students usually do better without computers it's better to use it on the library or simply not take the money.

Re: I gave my students iPads – then wished I could take them back

#64

Post by greggman »

greyman wrote: post #25
joshstrange wrote: post #13

Good lord.... I don't think I can roll my eyes hard enough.... > One of my saddest days in my digital classroom was when the children rushed in from the lunchroom one rainy recess and dashed for their iPads. Wait, I implored, we play with Legos on rainy days! I dumped out the huge container of Legos that were pure magic just a couple of weeks ago, that prompted so much collaboration and conversation, but the delight…

> but please tell me why playing with Legos is any more valuable than playing minecraft? She did - because it encouraged collaboration and conversation.

I had a long conversation with my friend's daughter as she showed me the entire world she build in Minecraft. The barn she built. The corrals she made and put different animals in each one and named each and every one of the animals. The picnic area she built with a cake a presents for her dad. The roller coaster she made which we took a ride on. Her underground fortress she had hidden under the barn but which you could only get to if you knew where to dig. The house she built with 7 rooms and filled out each one with furniture she built. And on and on. Her dad setup a server so they can play together side by side. She's 8yrs old

Re: I gave my students iPads – then wished I could take them back

#65

Post by edc117 »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #56
csydas wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know if you'll know this, but are they implementing any other safeguards on the Macbook Airs? (MbA) Just from doing tons of work in a Mac-centric university where the students' idea of pirating was to search "[item] download mac", the search results are crawling with predator sites that promise anything from PDFs to interactive solutions manuals, only to actually download a dmg full of malware (usually Mackee…

I think that's sort of the point of "teaching the children not just how to use their computer but how to take responsibility for keeping it running".

Show of hands: who here would want to be the admin for a network you know is going to be routinely infected with any number of malware or rootkits.

Re: I gave my students iPads – then wished I could take them back

#66

Post by limaoscarjuliet »

Computers will rot your brain. Or... not?

I'm 40. I come from an Eastern-Bloc country. Back in the day we raised ourselves, running outside all day, building and breaking friendships by playing sports and other more stupid games (e.g. throwing small rocks at cars - yes, THAT stupid).

Just like kids today have Internet, we had a drug - TV. Grandma said: it would rot your brain, it is the Satan, stay away.

Apparently the TV did not rot my brain. I do not watch it today (other than Netflix). I cannot stand it. Yes, we did not have fun exactly like Grandma had in her youth (I bet she had some fun ;-), but we had fun.

So perhaps tablets are not that bad. Perhaps Internet is not that bad. Sure, it will change us, but - just perhaps - in a good way.

Perhaps it is just us, older folks, who cannot see what is good and what is bad for our kids.

Re: I gave my students iPads – then wished I could take them back

#68

Post by greyman »

joeevans1000 wrote: post #34

Remember when that guy was offering to buy every classroom free TVs in exchange for the school's commitment to have the kids watch a certain amount of programming a day? The programming included ads. This seems the same. Having the kids load linux onto laptops, yeah... I could understand the value in that. Having them work with Raspberry Pi's, I could see the merit in that. Program robots? Definitely. But this debacl…

Linux, Raspberry Pi and robots are very specialized topics... we are talking about general education of 8 years old kids.

Re: I gave my students iPads – then wished I could take them back

#69

Post by matt-attack »

hellbanner wrote: post #58
joeevans1000 wrote: post #34

Remember when that guy was offering to buy every classroom free TVs in exchange for the school's commitment to have the kids watch a certain amount of programming a day? The programming included ads. This seems the same. Having the kids load linux onto laptops, yeah... I could understand the value in that. Having them work with Raspberry Pi's, I could see the merit in that. Program robots? Definitely. But this debacl…

Right. "Program or Be Programmed" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgicuytCkoY

Great perspective. Thanks for posting.

Re: I gave my students iPads – then wished I could take them back

#70

Post by [deleted] »

edc117 wrote: post #65
TeMPOraL wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think that's sort of the point of "teaching the children not just how to use their computer but how to take responsibility for keeping it running".

Show of hands: who here would want to be the admin for a network you know is going to be routinely infected with any number of malware or rootkits.

[deleted]
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