Friday, May 04, 2012

iPads for students - a "ridiculous idea" says Dad

Now sometimes I get irate and rant about the stupid things that people say before they really think things through. In yesterday's Irish Independent, Linda McGrory writes about iPads for pupils hit parents but they won’t need books. At the end of the article, a "father" states that he feels that he "will now have little option but to look for another Credit Union loan to finance this ridiculous idea". The school in question is Carndonagh Community School in Co Donegal, who are considering using iPads in the classroom and are consulting with parents. Well done to this school for thinking progressively. (Declaration - I have an iPad).


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iPads start at €479 (this IS a lot of money) for WiFi only - on top of this it is easy to get up to a 10% educational discount from Apple, and I'm sure they are open to even more discounts when bulk buying. The article above quotes a price of €750 per iPad - now this is "ridiculous".

Meanwhile, in New York - according to the Obama Pacman website, iPads are "a hit with educators and students" and that many "universities, high schools, even kindergartners are ordering hundreds or thousands of iPad to go paperless". New York City public schools have ordered more than 2,000 iPads for $1.3 million. This IS a lot of money, but despite the upfront cost that may seem too extravagant to those who don’t understand cost of ownership, iPads (or similar devices) would save schools and students money over time. This is primarily done by reducing printing and textbook costs.

Apple are making a big push into the education market - and the iPad is leading this push. Clearly Apple is serious about education (and making money) - but for me they have hit on a winner here. Even if it is only used to replace textbooks, I think it is more than worth it. Check out the following video from Apple if you still need convincing:


iPad in the classroom a "ridiculous idea" says Dad - a "brilliant idea" says Eugene!


7 comments:

  1. Paperless!!! Really...is that the same paperless world PC's promised? I don't think so. What is not discussed is the effect on children's concentration levels, their focus, their eyesight, the affordability factor! Parents without the seat in their pants at the moment are being asked to find the money to fund this? No hard data which proves that this is beneficial to education. Literacy levels are already poor worldwide...including in the Island of Saints and Scholars...and it must be concluded that access to pcs, social media etc., is not helping with basic literacy. Hard data...proof of higher educational standards both in terms of literacy, numeracy and overall knowledge must be provided before we can take on this socially divisive experiment which will spilt the advantaged from the disadvantaged even more.

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    1. I agree - the world will never be paperless.

      "access to pcs, social media etc., is not helping with basic literacy" - I'd like to see some evidence for this, it seems to me that young people are reading and writing more than ever (certainly more than I ever did).

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  2. I think this is a great idea, I also feel we should be teaching our children Chinese instead of French\German and in primary school not waiting until they get to secondary.

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    1. Hi Nev,

      I think that an even more important language to teach in school is a programming language like Java?

      E.

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  3. In the school room the iPad won't be used on a casual basis but day in, day out for 6 hours or more a day (and for homework as well) - the idea is that they're supposed to replace books. However the iPad is known for screen glare, also its hardly ergonomic at all - those kids in that sales video have to type awkwardly (the virtual keyboad is covering half the screen).

    The point is that the iPad is a decent machine but is not suited as a textbook replacement just yet, sure use it in addition to textbooks (I noticed that towards the end of the video that pens, notepads and textbooks were being used by the students as well as iPads - doesn't bode well for 100% replacement of textbooks).

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    1. I agree with your comment about the glare - I prefer the Kindle (which is also much cheaper) myself. However, Apple have spotted a huge opportunity here and I expect that very soon they will have found a way to overcome the glare for eBooks.

      Thank you for reading my blog post!

      E.

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