Scottish city providing 52,000 iPads to students and teachers

Our school did exactly this, replacing a few hundred netbooks with iPads. But unfortunately all we had was complaints about usability; kids couldn't write essays with the iPad keyboard, maths work was tedious and without a system to submit and mark work there is no way other than email to get coursework to the teachers - obviously that's not an Apple problem, it's a governmental lets spend $370 million and think about the practicalities later problem. Eventually our iPads got ditched for cheap laptops. Also, I'm not sure Scotland should be spending this kind of money considering their financial deficit.

elijahg said:

Our school did exactly this, replacing a few hundred netbooks with iPads. But unfortunately all we had was complaints about usability; kids couldn't write essays with the iPad keyboard, maths work was tedious and without a system to submit and mark work there is no way other than email to get coursework to the teachers - obviously that's not an Apple problem, it's a governmental lets spend $370 million and think about the practicalities later problem. Eventually our iPads got ditched for cheap laptops. Also, I'm not sure Scotland should be spending this kind of money considering their financial deficit.

That new generation who exchange dozens of messages every day from their on-screen keyboards can not use iPad’s? Obviously this is a complaint of an adult from last century. I understand that texting and writing an essay are not the same thing, but computer keyboards won’t help either unless the kids are trained to manipulate long blocks of text and are given some basic notions about structuring and formatting. Math work is always tedious regardless of the device. What those last century adults expect from kids, learning and writing in MathML? Regarding coursework this the courseware as a whole which is crap, not only homework part.

elijahg said:

Our school did exactly this, replacing a few hundred netbooks with iPads. But unfortunately all we had was complaints about usability; kids couldn't write essays with the iPad keyboard, maths work was tedious and without a system to submit and mark work there is no way other than email to get coursework to the teachers - obviously that's not an Apple problem, it's a governmental lets spend $370 million and think about the practicalities later problem. Eventually our iPads got ditched for cheap laptops. Also, I'm not sure Scotland should be spending this kind of money considering their financial deficit.

macplusplus said:

elijahg said:

Our school did exactly this, replacing a few hundred netbooks with iPads. But unfortunately all we had was complaints about usability; kids couldn't write essays with the iPad keyboard, maths work was tedious and without a system to submit and mark work there is no way other than email to get coursework to the teachers - obviously that's not an Apple problem, it's a governmental lets spend $370 million and think about the practicalities later problem. Eventually our iPads got ditched for cheap laptops. Also, I'm not sure Scotland should be spending this kind of money considering their financial deficit.

That new generation who exchange dozens of messages every day from their on-screen keyboards can not use iPad’s? Obviously this is a complaint of an adult from last century. I understand that texting and writing an essay are not the same thing, but computer keyboards won’t help either unless the kids are trained to manipulate long blocks of text and are given some basic notions about structuring and formatting. Math work is always tedious regardless of the device. What those last century adults expect from kids, learning and writing in MathML? Regarding coursework this the courseware as a whole which is crap, not only homework part.

I have been an educator for 21 years.  I tend to be someone who embraces technology in my personal and professional life.  At school, I am often known as one of people to come to for help with various tech at the user level.   I use two laptops, an iPad, a Smart Board, my phone and what is now legacy tech (CD, DVD, etc) for instruction.  Technology has made my teaching more efficient.  I have an extensive website that is used for flipped (home) and blended (home/school) instruction.   Our older elementary students all have school-provided iPads and have access to netbooks.  From my observation, it does allow them to complete certain tasks and interactive lessons more easily  

If you're waiting for the "however," look no further:  There is no evidence of which I'm aware that shows improved student learning because of the mass deployment of iPads.  In fact, my personal observations are that students aren't using the technology at all to develop useful skills.   I have seen zero increase or even a reduction in their executive functioning and organization abilities.  My students refuse to even use the Calendar and Reminders apps to develop homework/practice schedules.  This is after I take them through a mini lesson on exactly those apps and their uses.  Sure, they can record themselves, submit projects through Learning Management System apps, etc.  The teacher can push things to their iPads and they can be used for collaborative activities.  But real skills in research, analysis, prediction, problem-solving, resiliency, etc?  Not from my experience.  If anything, these skills are atrophying at an alarming rate in the general population.  

Of course, there is also the concern about the effect of "screen time" on our children's brains.  Recent brain research shows that children and adolescents are having their brains rewired.  90% of the adult population (whose brains are less susceptible) cannot perform 2 or more tasks simultaneously without a huge reduction in efficiency.  Children are far more prone to the negative effects of attempting to multitask.  Sleep issues, anxiety, lack of focus, and depression are all major concerns.   Anecdotally, we often hear from parents that they believe their children are getting too much screen time.  As it stands, children are spending most of their school day looking at some version of a glowing rectangle.  

The bottom line is I am not at all convinced that the mass deployment of devices for school children is a good thing.  Technology has the ability to make our lives easier, work more efficient, and even more interesting.  Right now, it seems that we are giving out massive quantities of a sort of digital drug (the iPad), figuring out what it does later, and hoping for the best.  We've gone from using tech from increased efficiency, novelty and organization to getting on the iPad Train because of the 21st century, maaaannnnn.  

Hopefully, the people behind this have done their homework properly and avoid an LA School District debacle in Glasgow.  I wish them success.  The quote from the City Councillor Chris Cunningham gets a side eye though.  I wonder what mental gymnastics were used to conjure up the 90% statistic?  I also wonder why people rely on obvious BS to bolster their claims.  What they're trying to accomplish with the kids stands on it's own merits without embellishment.

CloudTalkin said:

Hopefully, the people behind this have done their homework properly and avoid an LA School District debacle in Glasgow.  I wish them success.  The quote from the City Councillor Chris Cunningham gets a side eye though.  I wonder what mental gymnastics were used to conjure up the 90% statistic?  I also wonder why people rely on obvious BS to bolster their claims.  What they're trying to accomplish with the kids stands on it's own merits without embellishment.

Anybody who's been to Scotland ought to get a laugh from that statistic. Farming, retail, and alcohol production/distribution/sale probably cover 90% Seriously though, I love Scotland but that claim is nonsense.