Kids trying to play video games on school laptops • Hacker News Board

Re: Kids trying to play video games on school laptops

#111

Post by seszett » Fri, Apr 28, 2023, 7:39 AM UTC

bearmode wrote: post #107

perryizgr8 wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> devices that our school board issues to my children Why is the school issuing anything to students? It should be your prerogative to outfit your child with whatever they need. School can ask for minimums (a pen, a notebook, certain textbooks, etc.) but they should not be issuing anything themselves.

Because a lot of parents are really not well off. Buying laptops, ipads, whatever is an expense they just can't afford. Pens, notebooks etc are cheap.

Aren't the devices ultimately paid by the parents anyway, though? I guess it depends on how the school is funded but around here it's only private schools that provide devices, so the funds come from the parents.

Re: Kids trying to play video games on school laptops

#112

Post by kugelblitz » Fri, Apr 28, 2023, 7:49 AM UTC

gnicholas wrote: post #103

switch007 wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are plenty of better ways. You make the student auth in some manner then grant an exception from your own computer. Entering the password on the student’s BYOD is pretty stupid

> Entering the password on the student’s BYOD is pretty stupid I wouldn't say it was stupid of the teacher to enter the password, given the amount of technical expertise that elementary school teachers can be expected to possess. The blame should probably go to the person who set up the exception-granting system, who should have used a system that doesn't involve authenticating on a non-trusted device.

I didn't read it as "it was stupid of the teacher to enter the password" but rather "the system making teachers enter the password on that computer is stupid".

Re: Kids trying to play video games on school laptops

#113

Post by kleiba » Fri, Apr 28, 2023, 7:50 AM UTC

There's a big political agenda where I live to push laptops, tablets and other IT into schools, but so far no-one has been able to explain to me why this is thought to be necessary or even a good idea.

The common answer that kids need to be able to us information technology as a way to prepare them for challenges of their later life is laughable: most kids are already way more tech-savvy when they enter grade 4 or so than most teachers.

All I see is teachers unfit to use the medium effectively, and technical problems that prevent efficient use (wifi to restricted or too open, projector connection not working, incompatibilities between devices, etc.).

To me, this seems to be fad-like activism on the side of some politicians trying to make their mark without any real plan. Oh, well, I guess that way it's like the rest of the educational system...

Re: Kids trying to play video games on school laptops

#114

Post by indemnity » Fri, Apr 28, 2023, 7:54 AM UTC

giantg2 wrote: post #27

wildzzz wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Easy, no devices in their hands after bedtime. Your child isn't some busy tech professional that needs to be on call for work emails. They can live without having their iPad and iphone in their room. When I got caught as a kid playing my Gameboy when I should have been asleep, I lost my free access to it and could only use it when homework and chores were completed. Once play time was over, they took it back because…

Same gameboy experience here

Parents got rid of my Gameboy when I was caught playing it under the covers with a torch at 3am (original one with no backlight). Eyes bloodshot as hell. Deserved it I guess but was devastated because I hadn’t finished Mario yet.q

Re: Kids trying to play video games on school laptops

#115

Post by ehnto » Fri, Apr 28, 2023, 7:54 AM UTC

hanselot wrote: post #78

abrookewood wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

C'mon ... the reality is that teachers need the kids to concentrate and given a choice between doing work and playing games, the games are likely to win. Teachers are being put in an impossible situation.

I have quite a number of fond memories of how we hid pokemon blue and gameboy emulators on every machine in our school's computer lab (from around 1999-2003). We were also the kids who were the most into computers at the time, and eventually the teacher realised that if they were on our side, they could use us to help teach the other kids basic computer skills (office, etc), by using games as the incentive. If you ca…

Same era and outcome from our computer shenanigans. We ended up being enlisted to set up new computer labs etc. We even got some of the old network hardware "gifted" to us, which eventually let us run lan parties.

In a little Aussie country town, getting computers linked together was a huge boon to our gaming horizons.

Re: Kids trying to play video games on school laptops

#116

Post by Kiro » Fri, Apr 28, 2023, 7:55 AM UTC

kleiba wrote: post #113

There's a big political agenda where I live to push laptops, tablets and other IT into schools, but so far no-one has been able to explain to me why this is thought to be necessary or even a good idea. The common answer that kids need to be able to us information technology as a way to prepare them for challenges of their later life is laughable: most kids are already way more tech-savvy when they enter grade 4 or so…

They might be tech-savvy but that's entirely touch-based for the majority of kids. If we think keyboards and non-touch computers will still be the medium of work in the future it's crucial that kids learn how to use them.

Re: Kids trying to play video games on school laptops

#117

Post by bombolo » Fri, Apr 28, 2023, 7:56 AM UTC

tigeroil wrote: post #97

switch007 wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are plenty of better ways. You make the student auth in some manner then grant an exception from your own computer. Entering the password on the student’s BYOD is pretty stupid

Wholeheartedly agreed. Even if the student has the absolute best of intentions, you have no way of knowing that the laptop doesn't have say, malware on it.

So then what? The student just can't go ahead with the assigned task? This probably happens like 20 times a day for them.

Re: Kids trying to play video games on school laptops

#118

Post by mcv » Fri, Apr 28, 2023, 7:59 AM UTC

kleiba wrote: post #113

There's a big political agenda where I live to push laptops, tablets and other IT into schools, but so far no-one has been able to explain to me why this is thought to be necessary or even a good idea. The common answer that kids need to be able to us information technology as a way to prepare them for challenges of their later life is laughable: most kids are already way more tech-savvy when they enter grade 4 or so…

At my kids school, blackboards have long ago been replaced by digiboards, which enables the teacher to show much more than a blackboard allows. There's also a bunch of chromebooks that are required for certain exercises. It certainly helped me when I wanted to give programming lessons there, but they're also used for language and math. One big advantage is that it can provide kids with a much more personal approach than a sheet of paper or classical lessons can, and with 20+ kids per classroom, the teacher can't give personal lessons to everybody.

Not everything is on the chromebook, though; lots is still from books and paper. I think a mix is a good approach. Of course the school does first need to ensure that the tech works seamlessly. That doesn't seem to be the case in your school.

Re: Kids trying to play video games on school laptops

#119

Post by switch007 » Fri, Apr 28, 2023, 8:13 AM UTC

kugelblitz wrote: post #112

gnicholas wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Entering the password on the student’s BYOD is pretty stupid I wouldn't say it was stupid of the teacher to enter the password, given the amount of technical expertise that elementary school teachers can be expected to possess. The blame should probably go to the person who set up the exception-granting system, who should have used a system that doesn't involve authenticating on a non-trusted device.

I didn't read it as "it was stupid of the teacher to enter the password" but rather "the system making teachers enter the password on that computer is stupid".

Yes that’s what I meant. I totally understand the stress teachers are under, school funding challenges etc

Re: Kids trying to play video games on school laptops

#120

Post by ajsnigrutin » Fri, Apr 28, 2023, 8:14 AM UTC

kleiba wrote: post #113

There's a big political agenda where I live to push laptops, tablets and other IT into schools, but so far no-one has been able to explain to me why this is thought to be necessary or even a good idea. The common answer that kids need to be able to us information technology as a way to prepare them for challenges of their later life is laughable: most kids are already way more tech-savvy when they enter grade 4 or so…

Nah, tech-savy means that they can use a few selected apps which mostly look all the same. Most kids are at the same level of "incompetence" when it comes to connecting printers, projectors, editing settings, presenter views, streaming, etc., as are their teachers. Even the basic settings (eg. on their phones) are usually an untouched feature of their devices.

There are some exceptions of course, as they always were, but what the tv was for older generations, computers and phones are for the new generations... just enough technical knowledge needed to see the content and not a bit more.