LA High schools confiscate free Ipads

[gary m]

Indian givers (can I still say that?)

EPIC FAIL: Los Angeles high schools now confiscate all free iPads they gave students

Hilariously, officials at high schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District are now taking back a couple thousand iPads a week or so after giving them to students as part of a 47-school pilot program.

The mass repossession is the latest in a series of responses by school officials to the fact that hundreds of students figured out almost immediately how to hack the security settings on their iPads. Another 71 kids ostensibly lost their iPads just as immediately.

Each iPad cost the school district $700. School district officials have said that the eventual goal is to supply every kid with one of the devices as part of a technology plan that will cost $1 billion.

related story, same source

Unfortunately for administrators at LA Unified School District, Step 2 has involved at least 71 kids losing the iPads they were given by the city of Los Angeles as part of a pilot program aimed at eventually supplying all district kids with the snazzy, shiny devices.

When an iPad is lost, damaged or stolen, who pays the cost? That’s what parents and school board leaders are wondering.

“It’s extremely disconcerting that the parent and student responsibility issue has not been hammered out, and that different parents and students received different information during the rollout,” said Monica Ratliff, a member of the district’s board of education, according to The Los Angeles Times

Strangely, no comment from Obama on this glitch in the giveaway program.

[phillygirl]

I heard of a local school issue here where parents are up in arms about i-pad requirements for homework. Apparently those kids that are on sports teams, etc., will be unable to do their homework on the bus during late games because they are only wi-fi enabled.

I don't see that a school should be giving away i-pads to all of its students.

[Adam]

When I was in high school, we had this:




Can anyone seriously claim that kids are somehow learning more or better with iPads? I very seriously doubt it.

[scott]

I heard of a local school issue here where parents are up in arms about i-pad requirements for homework. Apparently those kids that are on sports teams, etc., will be unable to do their homework on the bus during late games because they are only wi-fi enabled.

I don't see that a school should be giving away i-pads to all of its students.

When I was in high school, we had this:




Can anyone seriously claim that kids are somehow learning more or better with iPads? I very seriously doubt it.

Actually, I'm pushing for it at our school. It'll save $300 per student per year by having digital books and digital worksheets.

[phillygirl]

Actually, I'm pushing for it at our school. It'll save $300 per student per year by having digital books and digital worksheets.

any reason why the parents shouldn't pay for them?

[Gingersnap]

So far, there's no evidence that computer-based learning is actually working. It's cheaper in terms of books and paper but there's no indication that paper-less classes perform better on any measure than old school methods. In fact, there's emerging evidence that pencil-and-paper exercises engage more areas of the brain and cause more retention of skills than other methods. Apparently human beings are hard-wired to learn best through repetition and hands-on motor skills.

Who knew?

It would probably work better if students used tablets at school for research and tests but had to actually write math and English exercises on paper.

[scott]

any reason why the parents shouldn't pay for them?

We (the parents that pay tuition) already do. That's why instead of buying paper books, I'm pushing to go digital. And making it a book replacement means that the scholarship kids are on the same system.


Imagine a workbook that lets you work out the Algebra problem on your own and shows you exactly what you got right and what you got wrong in an automated way and also tracks key indicators which also allows near instant personal help from a teacher regardless of when you are doing the assignment.

It's a new world and private education should be leading the way. The only obstacle we're having right now is the parents that don't want their kids to have iPads. The very same people who praise kids that bury their faces in paper books during recess have scorn for kids that bury their faces in Roblox programming during recess. And when the kids who are hardcore programmers and starters on the soccer team? Still scorn but the kids reading Harry Potter books while 20 lbs. overweight are just "intellectual."

Bullshit.

[scott]

So far, there's no evidence that computer-based learning is actually working. It's cheaper in terms of books and paper but there's no indication that paper-less classes perform better on any measure than old school methods. In fact, there's emerging evidence that pencil-and-paper exercises engage more areas of the brain and cause more retention of skills than other methods. Apparently human beings are hard-wired to learn best through repetition and hands-on motor skills.

Who knew?

It would probably work better if students used tablets at school for research and tests but had to actually write math and English exercises on paper.

It's not the pencil, it's the multiple choice aspect of most computer-based lessons (designed by education majors instead of technology majors). We have this thing called a stylus and it's possible to do "old school" in digital form too.

[Gingersnap]

It's not the pencil, it's the multiple choice aspect of most computer-based lessons (designed by education majors instead of technology majors). We have this thing called a stylus and it's possible to do "old school" in digital form too.

Yeah, it's possible but kids who could use the stylus to work out math or spelling problems are usually herded toward multiple choice or short answer formats. It's takes a lot longer to review written work.

[phillygirl]

We (the parents that pay tuition) already do. That's why instead of buying paper books, I'm pushing to go digital. And making it a book replacement means that the scholarship kids are on the same system.


Imagine a workbook that lets you work out the Algebra problem on your own and shows you exactly what you got right and what you got wrong in an automated way and also tracks key indicators which also allows near instant personal help from a teacher regardless of when you are doing the assignment.

It's a new world and private education should be leading the way. The only obstacle we're having right now is the parents that don't want their kids to have iPads. The very same people who praise kids that bury their faces in paper books during recess have scorn for kids that bury their faces in Roblox programming during recess. And when the kids who are hardcore programmers and starters on the soccer team? Still scorn but the kids reading Harry Potter books while 20 lbs. overweight are just "intellectual."

Bullshit.

I don't mind the requirement for private school. It makes some sense because the parents are directly buying the books anyway, which I agree are far more expensive. i have an issue in the public schools due to the general lack of responsibility by the students there.

My niece that is in kindergarten gets a half hour of technology each day. I think that is awesome. She already is very proficient because both her parents are computer geeks and her older siblings are of course proficient. The twelve year old was watching Nick.Com when she was two and was able to play her games on the puter herself as long as we signed on for her.

On the flip side, my 74 year old mother was reading her instructions for her appointment with a specialist on Monday and saw that the hospital has free Wifi...she asked me what that was. I really should get her a tablet so that the grandkids can stay in touch with her more.

[Gingersnap]

On the flip side, my 74 year old mother was reading her instructions for her appointment with a specialist on Monday and saw that the hospital has free Wifi...she asked me what that was. I really should get her a tablet so that the grandkids can stay in touch with her more.

You could teach them how to use a phone to make voice calls - she'd be thrilled to actually hear from them.

Most kids (and most people) can easily grasp "technology" at the end-user level. If you are motivated, you will spend the 15 minutes it takes to learn how to download movies, upload clips and pix, Pin things, fiddle with your FB settings, or set up your online banking profile. There's no general skill set here to teach because the actions aren't skilled, they just require access and little goofing around.

The only real skill set for end-users on the Internet involves discernment. You have to learn to winnow through information to arrive at sources that are accurate or verifiable or both. You have to have enough discretion and strong enough personal boundaries to avoid being taken advantage of or compromised. You have to have enough experience in social interactions to spot unsavory virtual companions. Schools can't teach children to notify an adult when a peer states he or she is going to blow away a class or kill themselves (although schools keep trying). Discernment is probably too much to ask in a "technology" class.

[phillygirl]

You could teach them how to use a phone to make voice calls - she'd be thrilled to actually hear from them.

Yeah, they're terrible about that. I should talk to them and their parents about making them call her.

[Adam]

I don't mind the requirement for private school. It makes some sense because the parents are directly buying the books anyway, which I agree are far more expensive. i have an issue in the public schools due to the general lack of responsibility by the students there.

My niece that is in kindergarten gets a half hour of technology each day. I think that is awesome. She already is very proficient because both her parents are computer geeks and her older siblings are of course proficient. The twelve year old was watching Nick.Com when she was two and was able to play her games on the puter herself as long as we signed on for her.

On the flip side, my 74 year old mother was reading her instructions for her appointment with a specialist on Monday and saw that the hospital has free Wifi...she asked me what that was. I really should get her a tablet so that the grandkids can stay in touch with her more.

I have never in my life encountered a "computer class" in which the students did not outpace the instructor by a country mile. Sure, when they were forcing everyone to take FORTRAN in college, not many people knew that or understood it; they would just go back to their dorm rooms and google up the answers to their homework assignments and write (or just copy and paste) the code instead. I'm sure MCSE classes and such have a lot of learning in them, but that's skill that very, very few people ever actually need to use.

When I was in the second grade, our school bought a couple of Apple IIe computers for our classroom (among others), and they spent a small fortune bringing in a "computer expert" to teach us how to use it. Within a week, every single student in the class was doing everything and more assigned for the computer-learning aspect of class while the "expert" was flipping through manuals trying to figure out how to explain how to do X, Y, or Z on the computer. I had the exact same experience all the way through high school. I very distinctly remember Cyril Pfeffer telling our class that we all had to learn the Macintosh because DOS would be dead soon and no one would ever use the new-fangled Windows thingy that was coming out, especially not businesses, because it was "too cute." Well, one out of two ain't bad, I guess.

[phillygirl]

I have never in my life encountered a "computer class" in which the students did not outpace the instructor by a country mile. Sure, when they were forcing everyone to take FORTRAN in college, not many people knew that or understood it; they would just go back to their dorm rooms and google up the answers to their homework assignments and write (or just copy and paste) the code instead. I'm sure MCSE classes and such have a lot of learning in them, but that's skill that very, very few people ever actually need to use.

When I was in the second grade, our school bought a couple of Apple IIe computers for our classroom (among others), and they spent a small fortune bringing in a "computer expert" to teach us how to use it. Within a week, every single student in the class was doing everything and more assigned for the computer-learning aspect of class while the "expert" was flipping through manuals trying to figure out how to explain how to do X, Y, or Z on the computer. I had the exact same experience all the way through high school. I very distinctly remember Cyril Pfeffer telling our class that we all had to learn the Macintosh because DOS would be dead soon and no one would ever use the new-fangled Windows thingy that was coming out, especially not businesses, because it was "too cute." Well, one out of two ain't bad, I guess.

You're either far younger than me, or just a lot more advanced. First of all, there was no such thing as google when I was in college. I don't think Mr. Gore had even invented the internet yet...if he did I certain didn't have access to it.

My first class in computers was my freshman year of college (my only class, as a matter of fact) and it was taught by a nun. I had never even turned one on before that, despite the fact that my brother had one.

90% of my work in college was done on an electric typewriter, as we had a total of about 12 computers on campus that could be used by anyone other than the computer science majors. In law school I had to go to New Jersey, to the aunt of a classmate's home, in order for us to borrow her computer for typing the brief so we didn't have to use a typewriter.

[Adam]

You're either far younger than me, or just a lot more advanced.

Not gonna say it. Wouldn't be prudent....