San Diego school district buys 26K iPads for students

Now, that's what I'm talking about.  That amount is a fairly decent number.  I know there aren't many school districts throughout the country that can afford iPads in that quantity, but it's a nice start.  Apple is the one company that has the money to grow production capability to keep up with demand.  Sweet.  We say it's a lot of iPads, but what does Wall Street say?  Probably not so much even though the potential may be there for really high sales.

And do they have funding for the ongoing IT infrastructure required? Do they have a curriculum strategy? Are they providing training for the teachers?

Sorry, but color me skeptical. Shiny toys are nice, but schools (at least in my area) are consumed with drilling students to pass the standardized tests. Actual education is secondary to assuring the kids can pass the tests.

- Jasen.

Quote:

Originally Posted by boeyc15 

A while back (i think at AllthingsD )Both Jobs and Gates were quoted as surprised that technology had not helped(or large affect with U.S) education so far.

Academic success is a function of eagerness. Wanting to do well (and cultivating the necessary discipline) has nothing to do with technology. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quadra 610 

 

Academic success is a function of eagerness. Wanting to do well (and cultivating the necessary discipline) has nothing to do with technology. 

Yes, and no tech in the world can inject eagerness where it's not ;)

Someone determined to become a somebody will do more with pen, paper and an old 386 that a spoiled, "I'm boored" kid with a retina iPad...

Quote:

Originally Posted by jasenj1 

And do they have funding for the ongoing IT infrastructure required? Do they have a curriculum strategy? Are they providing training for the teachers?

 

Sorry, but color me skeptical. Shiny toys are nice, but schools (at least in my area) are consumed with drilling students to pass the standardized tests. Actual education is secondary to assuring the kids can pass the tests.

 

- Jasen.

This is the problem here in NC. At my wife's school, they bought roughly 30 iPads per grade level (shared between the classes) for grades 2-5. They had no infrastructure, no curriculum for using them, and only some basic training (one class that lasted about 2 hours for the teachers, which was basically nothing more than "How to use an iPad" and nothing on how to integrate them into classroom).

Then they threw the iPads in the classroom and expected the teachers (including my wife) to be able to integrate them into the curriculum with no guidance whatsoever. The school/district doesn't even have a suite of apps for the grade levels to use.

It was basically a case of "Hey, we got some money... what do we do? Hmm, LET'S BUY iPADS!!!!!"

I guess if you can't figure out how to teach kids with books, it is probably necessary to use computers/tablets. That is what they will keep telling everyone until this becomes common place in all schools and the kids still don't do better academically.

What do tax dollars and my morning crap have in common? They always get flushed down the toilet.

-kpluck

Quote:

Originally Posted by jasenj1 

And do they have funding for the ongoing IT infrastructure required? Do they have a curriculum strategy? Are they providing training for the teachers?

 

Sorry, but color me skeptical. Shiny toys are nice, but schools (at least in my area) are consumed with drilling students to pass the standardized tests. Actual education is secondary to assuring the kids can pass the tests.

 

- Jasen.

You need to find a school district where they educate then -passing standardised tests is a nice side effect of that.

As for curriculum strategy and training for teachers, even if they are using the iPads (initially) for text book replacement, then it is a win/win. 
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by kcartesius 

Yes, and no tech in the world can inject eagerness where it's not ;)

 

Someone determined to become a somebody will do more with pen, paper and an old 386 that a spoiled, "I'm boored" kid with a retina iPad...

Obviously you come from the lower tier of your own school with such a clueless statement. Someone determined to become somebody will do just as well or better with an iPad. And any student would do better with a tool that provides an interactive approach to learning, and which can provide immediate feedback. It is not just about the top tier of students, but engaging students at all levels. Duh!

Quote:

Originally Posted by jasenj1 

And do they have funding for the ongoing IT infrastructure required? Do they have a curriculum strategy? Are they providing training for the teachers?

 

Sorry, but color me skeptical. Shiny toys are nice, but schools (at least in my area) are consumed with drilling students to pass the standardized tests. Actual education is secondary to assuring the kids can pass the tests.

 

- Jasen.

I'm skeptical too.  Throwing iPads at students won't help them learn any more than sticking computers in every classroom did in the 1990's. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by charlituna 


That last bit is a bit wrong itself. It's not the tech that's raising scores, but how it has been utilized. Poorly utilized tech is as useless as no tech.

Actually, in my experience (10 yrs university lecturing) poorly utilized tech (or even just too much tech) is far WORSE that no tech. In one memorable example, a colleague of mine took on a Plant Physiology (university 200-level) course which had been delivered for years via PowerPoint with presentations, notes, Q&As, answered past-exam questions etc provided on Student Share. He scrapped the PP and other cyber-shite and gave the course using clear analytical well-spoken English, a blackboard and colored chalk: the scores doubled and the pass rate went from 40% to 90% even though it was assessed with what were clearly harder exam and topic test questions than previous years. Which is not to say the iPad won't prove useful since it has a different human-intraction model to keyboard PCs. This won't be known until students have been using it for a few years. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by jragosta 


While the first part is true, the last part is wrong.
There have been studies showing the effect of technology on education. A well-executed technology plan most certainly can have a positive impact on educational results. In particular, some studies concluded that students using iPads did much better than those who did not. For example:
http://www.hmhco.com/content/student-math-scores-jump-20-percent-hmh-algebra-curriculum-apple-ipad-app-transforms-class

Which is the problem. Take away the "bright and shiny" and what's left?

It's like the old tactic of trying to "connect" with kids by incorporating concepts into a rap. Having to call on pop culture to get kids' attention because they couldn't be bothered to be interested otherwise.   ---------->  Self-starters who are eager because they recognize the benefits and later rewards vs. shiny inducements.

That being said, I AM in support of technology such as iPads in class. Wholeheartedly, at that. Whatever helps, helps. Though reliance on technology to make a subject more interesting or palatable is a bad habit, but one that begins with students, not teachers. 

This problem goes even further up the ladder to college education. 

Odd how using the words "education," "teaching," "learning," etc. leads to debates/rants about the educational system on a site that's about a corner of the technology industry....

My take on the San Diego decision is that bulky, expensive, textbooks will be replaced a sleek, easily used machine that encourages students to explore ideas rather than just plow through linear printed text. Apple's new e-book format designed with textbooks and learning in the foreground should improve learning outcomes in any given classroom. It won'd make all classes wonderful, but for any given teacher, and any given class, the outcomes should be better with the iBook than without it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by charlituna 

If you go homeschooling or private, you might find teachers that want kids to learn to think and actually engage, but current funding laws are so tight that such things aren't possible in public schools. If you want your kids to be educated you might be better off home schooling

Or ... you might not.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/25/louisiana-students-loch-ness-monster-disprove-evolution_n_1624643.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003

It comes down to the teachers, the materials being taught, and the environment in which it is being taught. You can get away with poor teachers and subpar environments to some extent with the right students, but the materials being taught is a crucial element.

I read an article a couple of weeks back outlining the cost savings one county had by supplying text books on iPads as opposed to physical books. It was a great break down, and basically was saving significant money - even allowing for support and additional teacher training. I'll post if I can find it again.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jragosta 


While the first part is true, the last part is wrong.
There have been studies showing the effect of technology on education. A well-executed technology plan most certainly can have a positive impact on educational results. In particular, some studies concluded that students using iPads did much better than those who did not. For example:
http://www.hmhco.com/content/student-math-scores-jump-20-percent-hmh-algebra-curriculum-apple-ipad-app-transforms-class

supplier of education software publishes study concluding we need more of their product, there's no risk of bias there then

it's the passionate teacher/craftsman/artist/engineer/scientist/etc. that makes the difference, not the tool, sadly there is a shortage of the former, plenty of the latter though

"The district has not indicated exactly what software students will use, though a likely candidate would be Apple`s own iBooks software"

and

"The iPad 2 units will be utilized in 5th- and 8th-grade classrooms, as well as some high school classes."

don't really go together. Since the books purchased via the iBooks store belong to the student and require an Apple ID, it is only available to students ages 13 and older. That means you are looking at ~8th grade and above.

What will probably happen is that a lot of the main publishers are coming up with their own proprietary apps to deliver books that are part of a subscription that district pays directly to the publisher. I know that both McGraw-Hill and Pearson have offerings in the store to do exactly that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by enzos 

Actually, in my experience (10 yrs university lecturing) poorly utilized tech (or even just too much tech) is far WORSE that no tech. In one memorable example, a colleague of mine took on a Plant Physiology (university 200-level) course which had been delivered for years via PowerPoint with presentations, notes, Q&As, answered past-exam questions etc provided on Student Share. He scrapped the PP and other cyber-shite and gave the course using clear analytical well-spoken English, a blackboard and colored chalk: the scores doubled and the pass rate went from 40% to 90% even though it was assessed with what were clearly harder exam and topic test questions than previous years. Which is not to say the iPad won't prove useful since it has a different human-intraction model to keyboard PCs. This won't be known until students have been using it for a few years. 

they need to stop wasting money on that techno shite. nothing beats the socratic method.

I wonder what the service life of a $370 iPad is compared to a $370 Windows laptop. And what the support costs are for each over time. And how the resale value of each compares when remaining devices are retired.

This is probably HUGE savings, above and beyond being a great educational tool.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jragosta 


That may be true, but the argument that technology is useless is just plain wrong. When appropriately implemented, it has been demonstrated that technology contributes to significantly higher results.
Then I'd suggest that you run for school board. Or complain to the school. Or find a magnet school. Or home school your kids. Or send the kids to a private school. Or provide for extracurricular educational activities.

As others have said, technology implemented poorly can be worse than useless. Maybe San Diego has their act together. I hope so.

We're going the home school route. Khan Academy has been very helpful. And we're doing Rosetta Stone for foreign language. Technology can make life better for teachers and students. It can also just be a waste of money.

My wife did a long-term sub job at a local school. The good students were essentially ignored while the teachers poured the majority of their effort into getting the poor performers to pass the tests. An iPad oriented environment could allow the good students to move along at their own pace.

Anyway, as others mentioned, this thread quickly turned into a critique of the US public education system. iPads are cool and useful; I hope San Diego can show the right way to use them.

Agree 100,000%

Agree a million times over. They started doing this in the 80's but with no measurable results other than, yeah, kids know how to use computers while their parents don't. But why do the kids still suck at basic math skills? 

Quote:

Originally Posted by nagromme 

I wonder what the service life of a $370 iPad is compared to a $370 Windows laptop. And what the support costs are for each over time. And how the resale value of each compares when remaining devices are retired.

 

This is probably HUGE savings, above and beyond being a great educational tool.

This is what I'm thinking. And it will be interesting to see the cost breakdown over a period of three years as compared to old school text books. I think this is forward looking and positive and I am amazed at how many people here are against an initiative like this. Everybody here surely are sold on the value of it in business as well as education and the home, and to view this as a waste of money seems completely short sighted for all the reasons that have been stated many times in many places. 

For your old fogeys - education is a living, moving thing which evolves. When I see schools that look like and use methods that were used when I was a kid, I get pissed off. Workplaces and business practices have changed a lot over the years and so must education. If you stand still you are moving backwards.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kkerst 
But why do the kids still suck at basic math skills? 

What kids? All kids? The argument needs refining. I suspect the reason many kids today are educationally underachieving has more to do with the political and social landscape than technology and teacher skills.