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A Kindergartener’s Best Computer Is About to Die

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Re: A Kindergartener’s Best Computer Is About to Die

#31

Post by lostgame »

compostable wrote: post #27
briandear wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Chromebooke are more consumer than iPads. Can you run iMovie on a Chromebook? GarageBand or similar? How about all of the adobe design software for iPad? Or Concepts for drawing? How about Pages, Numbers Keynote? (Sure there are Google equivalents, but the argument is that iPad is for consumption and not creation.) It’s 2013 thinking to suggest iPads are for content consumption and it’s ridiculous to assert that a Ch…

A Chromebook has a great advantage for creation when used for things like Google Docs. Many kids become prolific writers, especially since they are teaching typing in 3rd grade. It's amazing to see your kid bang out a story for fun .

Google docs is for iOS, as well? Not sure how this is an advantage.

And so many people here seem to be forgetting that a bluetooth keyboard is inexpensive and incredibly viable.

Re: A Kindergartener’s Best Computer Is About to Die

#32

Post by briandear »

mastazi wrote: post #8

Since OP seems to be keeping an eye on this thread, I'll ask here: have you considered using other tablets (Samsung etc.)? In case you did, and it didn't work as well as the iPad: what makes the iPad the ideal device in kindergarten? Construction quality? Software/Apps?

This is Apple’s marketing so obviously it’s biased, but here: https://www.apple.com/education/products/

How good is augmented reality on generic tablets? ..just as one example.

Many people criticizing iPads haven’t used them for education recently or haven’t been trained on how to fully leverage the tech effectively. The curriculum assistance, available (quality) apps and overall device versatily are unmatched by competing devices.

For a media consumption device, iPad could be overkill, but for everything else, it’s almost perfect.

Re: A Kindergartener’s Best Computer Is About to Die

#33

Post by compostable »

bdz wrote: post #11

I bought a Xiaomi Mipad 4 recently and honestly it's incredibly good https://www.mi.com/mipad4/ Snapdragon 660, 6000mAH battery, 3GB RAM, 32GB storage. The display is so-so 1920x1200, not the best but still good. And that was $180 from Aliexpress (The iPad Mini is $399)

Android is a deal breaker though for many people. For example, I don't want to worry about whether I have Ice Cream Cookie, Yogurtland, Lolly Pop, etc. I don't want to have to run Norton Antivirus on it. In fact, I don't want to be forced to think about security at all. I want an app store with trusted apps, not hackers.

Re: A Kindergartener’s Best Computer Is About to Die

#34

Post by throwawayjava »

vortico wrote: post #17
kumarm wrote: post #10

[Chromebooks are the new fashion in elementary school. They are cheap; they are everywhere. And they are unusable by kids in kindergarten through, in some case, third grade.] iPad's are consumer devices and will not prepare our kids to be producers. I am surprised every time I see iPad's being used in schools. Chromebooks at least put kids in path of being producers rather than mere consumers of content.

I agree with the mentality that touch = consume and type = produce. The efficiency and imtimacy of user interaction of keyboards is simply unmatched with other competing input devices. Open-ness of platforms is secondary.

Conjecture: this is a tech-centric viewpoint.

I have quite a few lawyer and doctor friends who use tablets first (usually with a BT keyboard) and only break out the computer when they need it for some very particular reason.

If you don't need root on a beefy machine and/or Windows-specific software, then a modern tablet with a bluetooth keyboard gives you more than enough compute and all the applications you need to be productive. Often with a better UX.

Re: A Kindergartener’s Best Computer Is About to Die

#35

Post by compostable »

lostgame wrote: post #31
compostable wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A Chromebook has a great advantage for creation when used for things like Google Docs. Many kids become prolific writers, especially since they are teaching typing in 3rd grade. It's amazing to see your kid bang out a story for fun .

Google docs is for iOS, as well? Not sure how this is an advantage. And so many people here seem to be forgetting that a bluetooth keyboard is inexpensive and incredibly viable.

It's one more thing to lug around, keep charged, etc.

Re: A Kindergartener’s Best Computer Is About to Die

#36

Post by derefr »

Are iPads really so unique that losing them is some sort of tragedy to education?

I thought the reason Apple was getting out of the entry-level tablet market, was that it was being commoditized by dirt-cheap Android tablets that—at least for the particular things people want a tablet for—do all the same things an iPad does. (They don't have the same third-party app ecosystem, but if you're just using an iPad to consume content using the web browser/book reader/etc., there's no difference.)

In other words: presuming the educational software isn't already there either way, and still needs to be built—wouldn't Kindergarteners be served just as well by the iPad dying, the development of such software moving to Android, and the kids ending up with a stack of $50 tablets from AliExpress rather than $299 iPads? (Easier for low-income-area schools to get ahold of, too!)

Re: A Kindergartener’s Best Computer Is About to Die

#37

Post by [deleted] »

lostgame wrote: post #28
kumarm wrote: post #10

[Chromebooks are the new fashion in elementary school. They are cheap; they are everywhere. And they are unusable by kids in kindergarten through, in some case, third grade.] iPad's are consumer devices and will not prepare our kids to be producers. I am surprised every time I see iPad's being used in schools. Chromebooks at least put kids in path of being producers rather than mere consumers of content.

I am getting tired of hearing that the iPad is 'not for producers.' I was way up there with you right up until I wrote the majority of my upcoming solo hip-hop record in Garageband with Audio Units on my iPad mini, with an AKAI MDP32 as my external MIDI device and an Apogee sound card for insane-quality audio. Then, due to the amazing workflow, I was able to take those tracks into Logic Pro and refine the hell of out…

[deleted]

Re: A Kindergartener’s Best Computer Is About to Die

#39

Post by dpcan »

tylerchilds wrote: post #9

What about plugging a mouse into the Chromebooks? I distinctly remember being in kindergarten and using a mouse as my pointer input. I played Treasure Mountain! and some other educational games. Kids are pretty capable and adept at picking up new things. We should be pushing forward with tech literacy while they're still young and not afraid of breaking technology. Touch screens are great because they provided a very…

Our kids' school supply list for the last couple of years has included: USB mouse and headphones for the Chromebooks.

Yes, kids can use a mouse far before Kindergarten. I remember my kids playing PBS Kids games with a mouse when they were probably 3 or 4.

That being said, I do understand the concern if a mouse isn't available as I'm 39 and I can't use track-pads either without grinding my teeth in frustration.

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