Get rid of paper 1-12. Use pads

Maybe I'm alone, but to be honest I find your posts vague and confusing. Maybe try reading them after you write them and pretend you don't know what it trying to be said, and using complete sentences would be nice.

 

Hi Mitchell,

I'm assuming you're saying has anybody tried to go all digital? I've been trying to do this myself. I pretty much buy books only if they have a kindle version. At work, I take notes electronically.

I've found it liberating. My wife still enjoys the feel you get from a physical book, so she'll still buy physical media.

I would say the hardest thing about going all digital is receipts/contracts/etc...you can't really go all paperless until the rest of the world does.

You can get pretty darn close though...

 

Makes sense. We are all lucky God has time for any of us, but this isn't P&R.

I think the challenge with grade schools going to ipads is cost. If the students buy them, a lot won't be able to. If the school buys them, then i don't see them being well cared for. I'm sure is coming, but the tech isn't there yet.

Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk

 

I am only using an iPad as my notepad. Have done so for the last four years.

Kai

 

The Woods Private School - Technology iPad Laboratory

"We are excited to announce iPads at The Woods Private School for all kindergarten, pre-first, first, and second grade students.

The Woods School will use the iPads to differentiate instruction according to individual needs. Multimedia applications and collaborative tools will encourage critical thinking skills. Applications such as White Board will allow teachers to use projected iPads to enhance instruction in the classroom.

The Woods first and second-grade students will use the iPads for in-class research on new and exciting topics as they conduct interviews and produce their own presentations. Second-grade students can research gardens and nature while taking pictuers of plants and insects. They can then organize them on the tablet, record observations, and incorporate those images into their presentations. Students can then utilize iBooks to publish their work as books for all students to enjoy.

Technology-driven math lessons will teach children to value math and become confident in their ability to do math and solve problems."

 

My kids private school uses iPads beginning at grade 5(or 6?). We have to buy them, of course... But its pretty neat. They take notes, do homework on them. However, they still have textbooks, but I imagine those will go away eventually.

My daughter started high school (public school, in Irvine, CA) this year, and each student gets a laptop. Again, all assignments, etc are done on the laptop. She also has a few textbooks, but not many.

 

This is more a cost-shifting scheme than offering better learning, IMO. School systems spend huge amounts on books & supplies. What better than have the parents fork out several hundred for iPads, and the school system saves.

This might work for a private school. In practicality it would never work in a public school where there is a disparity in economic means between students. Some families simply wouldn't be able to afford a tablet for each child. If the school system were to loan or purchase one for them, they couldn't afford to replace it. And if it is the only method of teaching, the school system may be required by law to provide one. Not sure.

This also brings up another practical problem, the teachers become the defacto IT department. Many are not prepared to perform this function. The only other option would be the school would have to spend to have more IT staff on call for classrooms at all times.

 

The cost of textbooks is the content, not the medium, and so long as we're going to play "Digital Rights Management" and other DMCA-era licensing games I'd rather stick with the printed version instead. But the real solution is to get off this merry-go-round of paying for the same basic information over and over. The mission of public education is education, not to serve as a recurring profit center for publishers and/or Apple Computer.

In California, for example, we have a huge world-class public university system staffed with well-compensated, tenured professors. Some number of these folks should be tasked with writing quality textbooks with copyright assigned to the university with permission to reproduce them in any medium free of charge. Anyone could download the PDF on the device of their choosing, or print it out on their color laser printer. We've already paid for it.

Many subjects are not undergoing change are in no need constant revision. A well-written Calculus or undergraduate Physics text would be useful for centuries.

 

Teachers then have to be trained, assuming they can be trained. Ever try to show simple Excel skills to a 55-year-old who has used a little red grade book for 30 years? Good luck. This also is an additional responsibility which they didn't have before. Teacher unions will demand more pay because of it.

You didn't address the issue with theft or destroying the tablets. Saying the student is responsible simply would not be possible if they cannot pay. A textbook is a fraction of what an iPad cost to replace. If you drop a book it isn't ruined.

There will also inevitably be additional testing to determine the effectiveness, so the test group won't have the same time available per year for actual learning.

A lot more things to think through than a simple back of the napkin plan. Figuring it out as you go will lead to the perception it is a failure.

 

Some TX districts have been like this for few years, I think my nephew went all digital 3 years ago in the 6th grade.

 

Like I said earlier, we had to pay for the tablets at the private school, but at the high school, the laptops are given to each student for free (paid for by tax dollars, i assume).

In our schools, the student (err, parent) is ultimately responsible for the tablet/laptop. If it gets destroyed or broken, it comes out of my pocket. But, you can buy insurance, which would offset the cost. Honestly, I don't know what would happen (at the public school at least) if you can't afford a laptop or the insurance. Irvine is a fairly wealthy city, so I don't know how many underprivileged kids are at the school.

 

I assume your detractor title is directed at me.

Understand that there is a big difference between a person attempting to shoot down an idea for no good reason and a person pointing out things that you obviously haven't thought of that will ultimately make the plan untenable unless you address them.

I didn't say internet dumb or imply Kentucky was the problem. Classroom teachers are not IT professionals, IT amatuers, or even understand what IT stands for. Implementing this across the board once the pilot program suceeds (with hand-picked personnel that can do these IT functions no doibt), you simply can't apply it to all of them. In my observation many are amazingly illiterate when it comes to computers. There is nothing in their standard curriculum for their education degrees that ensures they possess these skills. Saying that they just have to learn also will not work, they have tenure and if you want a giant s***storm coming on the district, just try messing with the teacher union. This is just life.

Look, please know that I work around "big idea" people all the time, frankly that is usually the easiest part of any project. All too often they are so in love with their idea they don't want to hear any cons that might exist. Part of my job is to think through every phase of a project and anticipate problems, ideally preventing or addressing them before they get out of hand. Remember you must consider all scenarios including ones counter to how you envision it working. The ones you do not plan for is what bites you.

Buying the 50 iPads is the easy part.

 

I can imagine it now- the digital version of the missing homework excuse: "My dog ate my iPad."

 

I understand your motivation... but don't think its a good idea based on what I have seen.

My son is at a private school and is provided with an iMac air of some variety (not sure exactly - but small and light and to its credit has been essentially fault free for the last 2.5 years). One of the objections I have to it is that his handwriting skills are virtually non-existent... he types everything (great for presentation) until he gets into an exam... then it all turns to custard and his results are poor.

The bigger issue though is that because the computer is essentially a library in his bag he goes to it to answer any question - I worry that although there is a massive capability there it is too much traveling to fast for real comprehension and long term retention.

My daughter (three years younger), on the other hand, has access to computers in her class room but they are a tool not the end game. While she is younger and a different person to my son I see great benefit in the system used at her school over and above that at my son's. Interestingly the headmaster at my daughters school was previously the deputy head at my son's... so she has seen both from the teaching side.

 

The public middle school that my children go to provide IPads to the students and there is an insurance policy you can buy for $25. The issue that we are having is the teachers are disconnected from the students. They have them watch YouTube videos and follow some links then they spend the rest of the period on their own iPad or phone themselves. The kids who have discipline will stay on task but the others just don't. I feel like more kids will fail because there are too many distractions just a few clicks away. The private HS that my son goes to provides Chromebooks and his teachers are much more engaged.

 

Please don't screw up kids' futures with your half-baked, superficial ideas. Replacing books with iPads does NOT solve the problem.