Technology in Schools

[1000HappyWishes]

I am currently a sophomore in high school and we received our iPads this year. They were provided for us. To answer your questions, the iPads have drastically worsened the way we learn. The teachers are not happy with it, and nor are many of the students.

-Our WiFi goes out at least once a day due to so many students trying to access and use the server. When this happens, we are unable to do most of our work, if any at all. Therefore half of the class has to log onto the school's public server in order for our WiFi to even work at half-connection

-Nobody does anymore work. It's incredibly easy to goof around on our iPads, and we do. I am in numerous advanced classes and even those students who one would not expect to goof around and not do their work do. Rarely, if ever, we use the iPads for their intended purpose. It's just so easy to get distracted when using them. We all do it. We recieve a message, and we hop off our work to go answer it, or we take a few minutes to play our favorite game while a teacher is giving an important lecture. I do not exaggerate when I say EVERY student does this.

-It wastes class time. Now, with the iPads, faculty members come in every other week to do random checks. They have to in order to make sure that we don't have anything bad on our iPads. It takes away from our learning time, as the check can easily take at leas twenty minutes to only do a handful of students. That is twenty minutes we can be using to learn. Also, our school had an iPad "boot camp." We were supposed to make presentations about various apps on our iPads, and they were supposed to take up to 45 minutes each. An entire day of that. Well, in reality, those classes who ended up doing the presentations (many didn't) ended up with hours of free time, as the presentations only took up to five minutes at the most. That was an entire day wasted.

-It's used as a bullying tool. I've seen it happened. Someone threatens a student with something, and if the student doesn't comply, at some point their iPad is taken, destroyed, locked or password changed. It happens rarely, but it happens.

-It's another variable to already very busy high school lives. We have to come with our iPads charged every day. This requires making sure they are charged at a timely manner. This also requires us to remember to take our iPads with us in the morning, when we're already groggy. If we forget it, we cannot do our work for the day. It's very easy to forget, and trusting high schoolers with such an expensive object really isn't a good idea.

I really have seen no pros to the introduction of iPads in our school. In my choir class, it is a daily battle between many of the students and my choir teacher to bring up our music and do what we're supposed to and not Snapchat. The school will not allow him to use paper because they want to integrate the iPads entirely into our school, thus, they limit the amount of paper teachers can use. In my geometry class, we are supposed to do our homework during class, on our iPads, and take notes at home. Nobody does this. My geometry teacher has had several conferences with our principal already about the high rate of homework in-completion. It's because it is entirely on our iPads and nobody does the work. iPads were probably the worst thing that's ever happened to my learning. I will strongly advocate not to allow them in any school because in truth, they will not be used for their intended purpose. The old way is considerably better in all cases.

 

[elaine amj]

In my kids' elementary school, our principal uses the same reason: less waste of resources. I guess the iPads are cool. He is a techie guy and gets super excited about all the apps. We have been slowly buying the iPads through school and parent council fundraising - I think we are up to about 60 iPads now in a school of almost 900 kids. The kids do complain about it often being difficult to access the iPads as we have nowhere near enough.

Like you said though, if you are not paying for paper and copying, you are paying for tech support and device replacements.

The one thing I am on the fence about is "bring your own device". At our school, it is very encouraged. I am reluctant though. My son has been begging me every day to bring in his iPhone (older iPhone 3GS his grandma just bought for him used for $150) but I haven't decided how best to feel about it. While expensive, it was not frightfully pricey (no way I will let either kid bring in my iPhone 5!). And it would only be used under teacher supervision.

It seems so flashy to bring in an electronic like that though and I feel weird about it.

 

[PollyannaMom]

DS would be miserable. His school still has textbooks, but several in the last couple of years have had an on-line version as well, and he still preferred to bring the book home. He just does not like working on computers the way I do. But I doubt I'll really have to worry about any time soon, as our district is huge and couldn't afford a budget item like that.

 

[vgrandy]

My kids are in a public school with 1:1 laptops for all students grades 8-12. Each child is given a MacBook from the school that has all the software they need on them. Texbooks are online. Homework is done on the computer and emailed to teachers. It has been great for my son with learning disabilities. He is making I Movies and power point (Mac version) presentations for class projects. He and classmates can work on a project together using Google Docs. It has been really awesome.

The school is able to monitor what is happening on any computer at any given time. They are able to remotely upgrade software when needed. There are tech people located in every middle and high school (3 schools all together). I think we are also able to go down to the Apple Store after hours if we has a tech problem. We haven't had any yet. The kids turn in the computers at the end of the year for maintenance and software updates/changes and then it is returned to them in the fall. They were also given external hard drive to back up all there info that they keep year round. We love the laptop program. Parents pay $75 a year for insurance.

Victoria

 

[Cindy B]

I am currently a sophomore in high school and we received our iPads this year. They were provided for us. To answer your questions, the iPads have drastically worsened the way we learn. The teachers are not happy with it, and nor are many of the students.

-.

That is such a shame- because it could work wonderfully. I think a lot of it is the reliance on the teachers Internet for the lessons. My school has limited Internet- but we use the Ipads a lot-- how do we do that?

Non internet based apps!-- Keynotes, Pages, Doceri, Educreations

There are also problems with the PP with allowing strong access to Internet- snapchat, open apps, etc. This is major issue.

OUr school has a limited app catalog for the students use and limited sites for students (basically only specific educational sties).
The apps are educational based and a few fun games- but not much.

Ipads can work well, but it sounds like the school did not think of the implementation. Blocking sites such as snapchat or restricting specific internet sites would change the educational outlook.

We also don't let the kids download anything besides what is one their specified APP catalog. It if isn't on the kids App catalog, they cant use it.

We are a middle school- and we got these Ipads to promote use in high school. The private high school that these students go to have the same set up and restrictions and it works well and they transition easily with no learning curve.

Two teachers do Ipad checks while the students are in school. For example yesterday, the teacher had the kids do an activity and the Ipads were handed in- Ipads were checked during class time and then it was done.

I'm not saying there were hiccups- there were some bullying last year- so this year students Ipads got I message taken off. There was a debate about taking IMovie off, but right now the students still have it.

 

[zoo2tycoon]

Our school has them K-12
They are terrible
Kids rush through work in school not caring so they can 'play on them'
You tell them to do a learning app (math, spelling, etc) and they don't they find games
Parents download garbage onto them
Some teachers use them for spelling tests---seriously??
The kids don't want to write with paper and pencil and CAN'T write---don't know how to make letters, etc
Kids don't want to read or learn anything....just use their iPad
Teachers video 'lessons' and want the kids to watch at home and take notes---half the time the videos don't play or work (and we get good signal at home)
Kids don't charge the iPad and come to school unable to do work because they don't charge it
Lots of the teachers hate them but when admin says everyone getting they have no choice

 

[Cindy B]

Our school has them K-12
They are terrible
Kids rush through work in school not caring so they can 'play on them'
You tell them to do a learning app (math, spelling, etc) and they don't they find games
Parents download garbage onto them
Some teachers use them for spelling tests---seriously??
The kids don't want to write with paper and pencil and CAN'T write---don't know how to make letters, etc
Kids don't want to read or learn anything....just use their iPad
Teachers video 'lessons' and want the kids to watch at home and take notes---half the time the videos don't play or work (and we get good signal at home)
Kids don't charge the iPad and come to school unable to do work because they don't charge it
Lots of the teachers hate them but when admin says everyone getting they have no choice

Remember common core has a 21st century learning component on it- this is part of Common Core. Common Core does not specifically say - you need to use an Ipad- but how the district interprets the 21st century requirement is the issue.

Check your state= but my state will require the use of technology for the high stakes assessment testing beginning in 2014-2015. All tests for all students will be completed using technology- laptop, or Ipad

If the administration and tech department controls the use of apps/downloading capabilities most of those issues could be solved. There would be no downloading of garbage, no finding games. I teach specific content bell to bell and there is no "free time for games".

The watching of videos of home is an education concept called a flipped classroom. Teacher give the content, view/take notes and concentrate on the concepts behind it in class. This is highly rated educational concept- I have a modified flipped classroom and when implemented correctly it works wonders- no wasted class time!

I've done vocabulary tests on the Ipad- I love it! It allows me to see student scores immediately and it gives student immediate feedback as well.

You do have a valid point about learning writing skills. Even though my school is Prek-12, only the middle school (5th -8th grade) get the Ipads. That way they have a firm foundation of writing skills.

If a kid doesn't have a charge Ipad in my class, I allow them to move their desk near the outlet. Some teachers take points off because part of the classwork means a charged Ipad.

 

[zoo2tycoon]

Remember common core has a 21st century learning component on it- this is part of Common Core. Common Core does not specifically say - you need to use an Ipad- but how the district interprets the 21st century requirement is the issue.

Check your state= but my state will require the use of technology for the high stakes assessment testing beginning in 2014-2015. All tests for all students will be completed using technology- laptop, or Ipad

If the administration and tech department controls the use of apps/downloading capabilities most of those issues could be solved. There would be no downloading of garbage, no finding games. I teach specific content bell to bell and there is no "free time for games".

The watching of videos of home is an education concept called a flipped classroom. Teacher give the content, view/take notes and concentrate on the concepts behind it in class. This is highly rated educational concept- I have a modified flipped classroom and when implemented correctly it works wonders- no wasted class time!

I've done vocabulary tests on the Ipad- I love it! It allows me to see student scores immediately and it gives student immediate feedback as well.

You do have a valid point about learning writing skills. Even though my school is Prek-12, only the middle school (5th -8th grade) get the Ipads. That way they have a firm foundation of writing skills.

If a kid doesn't have a charge Ipad in my class, I allow them to move their desk near the outlet. Some teachers take points off because part of the classwork means a charged Ipad.

My last child is a junior and we have one more year so I am honestly not too worried. My child gets his work done and was in elementary when they did learn the writing, etc.

I do see the advantages of immediate test results for the teachers BUT younger kids do need to know how to write and write well. Sure they will most likely be using computers when they do their writing in high school, college and careers but you still do need to be able to pick up an pen or pencil and write correctly.

I am talking about 3rd graders not being able to write a b/d telling the difference between the two. Kids writing 4, 5,6 grade handwriting so bad you can't read it.

Kids rushing through assignments so they can spend time on iPad...and getting mad when you tell them they have to correct things. I was in a class yesterday (I sub), third grade. There is assignment worksheet, from story in a book. 15 questions on the story, Basically fill in the blank or a few word answer. Shouldn't take to long. Kids are working on another assignment and I grade these (yes a sub who grades papers!) So I keep seeing the pattern, yes about 50% did the work and miss no more than 2, the other half of the class some miss 10,11,12. WHY ...they couldn't be bothered to look up the answer in the book. OR they don't know how to read because they listen to stories on the iPAD rather than learn to read or don't know how to read letters or more likely laziness.

One question was worded exactly word for word from the book (and it was on title page so only sentence there). Realistic fictions is a ____________ story that could happen in real life (or worded something to that effect). two words were missing and clearly stated in the book so kids had to copy just the two words MADE UP (now I am going from my old memory about sentence but the answer was made up and realistic fiction was type of story). Some kids put story, some put book or other out there answers.

I see the benefit in some cases for iPads in learning. Where it does help and where it can cause issues. I see teachers who love them and those who struggle using them. I think parents need to stop, look and make sure they don't think they are their personal iPads, not charge them and send kids to school (most older classrooms don't have a ton of outlets and imagine if 25 kids came without charged iPad daily). Kids need to be taught they are for learning and not just playing on.

Think they are just too new in use to decide if good or not---a lots depends on the teachers/students using them.

 

[englishteacha]

I teach in Maine where we've have 1:1 computing for 12 years, my entire teaching career. We just moved from iBooks to iPads this year and unfortunately, we haven't had any training on them. There are lots of lessons and activities that I used to do on the laptops that I have to change and adapt now. Unfortunately, iPads don't do all the things the laptops did, and the new iPads the kids view as a toy and not a learning tool. We're having issues with games and such that we never had with laptops.

That said, I do use technology every single day with my students. Not everything is online and we're not entirely paperless, but we're moving in that direction. I dread a day when the network might go down!

Not all our kids can take their iPads home, and those who do need to purchase a protection plan for them. Because not all our students can take them home, we have to provide an alternative for those kids.

 

[joviroxx]

I am currently a sophomore in high school and we received our iPads this year. They were provided for us. To answer your questions, the iPads have drastically worsened the way we learn. The teachers are not happy with it, and nor are many of the students.

That's too bad. I can tell you when my kids high school went to a fully integrated Ipad program, it took years of research and then the school will honestly tell you, the first two years was an adjustment. The issues you are having really seem like an implementation issue.



Our high school is now into its 3rd year and students, parents and teachers are really liking it. They have made a concerted effort to continually review , adjust and learn to make it work well.

Our school has them K-12
They are terrible
Kids rush through work in school not caring so they can 'play on them'
You tell them to do a learning app (math, spelling, etc) and they don't they find games
Parents download garbage onto them
Some teachers use them for spelling tests---seriously??
The kids don't want to write with paper and pencil and CAN'T write---don't know how to make letters, etc
Kids don't want to read or learn anything....just use their iPad
Teachers video 'lessons' and want the kids to watch at home and take notes---half the time the videos don't play or work (and we get good signal at home)
Kids don't charge the iPad and come to school unable to do work because they don't charge it
Lots of the teachers hate them but when admin says everyone getting they have no choice

Im not sure I would want my kids when they were younger to be completely on Ipads but on the high school level, Im really liking it when I thought I wouldn't .

 

[mrodgers]

A problem at least for me that I see is I think it would create an "I want" problem with the children and parents at home. If my kids had school issued iPads, I would not want them using them for personal use (if they even could with things being blocked.) Thus, my kids now have this really really cool new toy and would want one of their own.

Much like if work forced me to have a company cell phone. I wouldn't want to do anything personal on anything they have control over thus I would have to carry 2 cell phones. My kids would end up with 2 iPads.

I definitely would not be appreciative being forced to spend out $1400 (or whatever it costs for 2 iPads) that I don't have if they required the students to supply the iPad. I would not be using our own personal iTunes accounts for school either and I don't know how that works with this stuff.

Lastly, though my kids do have iPods, I am against Apple products and their business model of letting the consumer have no control over the products they purchase. I would never pay what I feel is a ridiculous amount for a tablet just because it is from Apple. My kids know this and know that they may have an Android tablet or Android phone in the future but will not have Apple until they can pay for it themselves.

I like the thoughts on the expense of books vs. the expense of technology. They use the books for years. Technology is obsolete 6 months after purchase.