If your child came home from school with a note saying........

[Alex1975]

Hi all,

If your child came home from school with a note saying that the school wanted to embrace technology and that they wanted every child in the school to have an ipad. They asked you to donate about £21 a month for 24 months and then you would own the ipad. It is interest free, fully insured and will help engage your child both at school and work.


Your reaction would be?


thanks

Alex

 

[fundy]

Hi all,

If your child came home from school with a note saying that the school wanted to embrace technology and that they wanted every child in the school to have an ipad. They asked you to donate about £21 a month for 24 months and then you would own the ipad. It is interest free, fully insured and will help engage your child both at school and work.


Your reaction would be?


thanks

Alex

Would love to post it but believe the mods would give me an infraction! If the school really want to go this route they should be doing it with a cost aware option not the most expensive brand on the market (and one tied to its own software). Should be able to do it with an Android based tablet for £10 a month for 1 year!

 

[StrangelyBrown]

Right, that's £504... how much is an iPad new..?

To be frank, i'd tell them to go forth.

 

[Adi2Dassler]

There are schools in Edinburgh that give kids tablets for free...think Forrester is one...not sure it's an Ipad,but Androids are were it's at anyway.

 

[Region3]

Are they saying the iPad will remain the property of the school until the 24 months is up, and that they will remain at school?

How old are the children in the school?

My initial reaction wasn't printable, but may change with more details.

 

[drawboy]

And what about the kids whose parents cannot be bothered working? It sounds like you will be paying extra for yours to supplement the kids whose parents cannot be bothered to get up on a morning. If that is the case it would be a firm NO!

 

[WideEyedFox]

My initial response will get censored, so...

I would want it in writing from the school what they are planning to deliver by tablet that cannot be done using the existing home computer, and how it benefits the curriculum. I would want to see their plan for the next 24 months to deliver a teaching programme that is better than what they are doing now, and how the school will be "embracing" the technology. Do they have any apps in development, or are they delivered via a web portal and using the browser? Are the children expected to bring them to school each day? If so, what is the school's plans regarding charging them if/when one needs charging. What is the turn around time for replacements should one get lost/broke/stolen? What is the school's plans for those children without iPads?

My lads have iPads. They may use them for searching, but nothing they cannot do on their laptops. Sometimes the school sets tasks on an online portal system - but it only works in MSIE - so they have to use their laptops anyway.

Sounds to me like the school is getting a bung ;-)

 

[Alex1975]

I have a lot more information but I am currently interested in initial reactions.

 

[Fader]

I'd want to know what benefit to there education owning a iPad would be. I'd also want to know how they can justify asking for £24 a month for 2 years, because that takes you well over the price of an iPad.

Also what are they really missing out on in lessons by not having one, because not every family will be able to afford it, what if they have 2 or 3 kids at the school that'd be £72 a month for 24months a total of £1728. Families can't justify that sort of cost especially as you could pick up 3 x iPad3's in Argos fro £1200, so how can the school justify asking for £500 over the retail price.


Sorry but I'd be saying we have a perfectly functioning home pc and laptop for researching school projects, if you want them to have additional tech to benefit at school that is over priced them you as a school can either provide it or teach accordingly without them.

 

[brendy]

Nothing wrong with a pen and bit of paper (this is coming from a tech head too).
Tablets are really over hyped in what they can and should do, they should not be used in education for several reasons, damage, theft, mugging etc never mind the fact that actual pcs can do ten times what a tablet can.

 

[Rooter]

I sell IT to schools, there is a new technology we are selling right now to schools that is iOS only, teacher has full control over the entire class's ipad, can watch anyone, can force content to pupils, can broadcast theirs and much more. Its the future people, time we woke up and caught up. I am not saying proper writing and reading should go by the way side, but this IS the future. gone are blackboards and chalk! This is a very efficient and effective means of teaching.

The funding of the ipad however, i am not getting into, with more schools becoming academy status, they should fund them maybe..

 

[vkurup]

I will stay away from commenting on the finance side of things, since it looks a bit warped.

Learning about IT is a good thing, but not sure if Apple & its proprietary set of iCandy is the best option. With an iPad, the kid will get to use the interface well, but will never understand how computers work. HID is a bit of a luddite, but loves her iPhone/pad BECAUSE it lets her do her stuff without needing to understand the tech.

The iPad is an easy option, the school could look at using Android et al. Anyone heard of Rasberry Pi?

On a different note, if every kid & teacher at the school carried an iPad, it would be meals on wheels for thieves..

 

[Rooter]

To keep this on topic, when my daughter starts secondary school and i got the letter, i would pay it. as i can see the advantage of it. however, i would have concerns over a few things:

Security - if its common knowledge that the kids at XYZ school carry ipads, they are then targets for local scrotes, druggies etc for mugging.

damage - we all know if you drop an ipad, it can be expensive. who pays for the damage? is a rugged case included in the cost?

Security (in a digital context) - what procedures are put on the system to protect A. attacks on the ipad, and B, protect shizzle i dont want my kids looking at?

Lastly, "what if" not everyone signs up? do the school make it mandatory? will low income families receive help? whay cant the school pay if they want to implement technology which will ultimately help them by "hopefully" getting better results..

 

[bladeplayer]

I see all schools going this way mate, not sure what age your child is but our eldest girl is in second year & her school bag is stupid heavy , i do think your school parents council or what ever ye have over there could go to a company & negotiate a better deal than that ..

our second girl (10) has an ipad we feel its better she is familiar with them before they become the norm in school ..

Payment etc i would want to know schools full "plan" & is there going to be syllabus[sp] update charge etc ..

agree with vkurup , theft from kids on way to school could be an issue , alot of things to get clarifyed

 

[pbrown7582]

seems to be the way some schools are going my nephews had exact same scenario but with laptop 5 years ago, you had to buy the laptop the school ordered and through them so they all had the same with same software and there wasnt any competetion for who had the best etc.

 

[Alex1975]

I shall put a load more information about why I have asked this and answer a load of questions that have been asked after dinner tonight.

I really appreciate your responses so far, thank you...

 

[vkurup]

I wud feel the same way as the Mrs would feel if I gave her a note from the club....

'Our club has invested in some great greens. To optimise usage, all club members will need to buy the latest white gear from TaylorMade. The same will be made available via the pro shop. Also, since everyone in the club will be using the same clubs, handicaps will be adjusted to compensate for change of kit'..

 

[JustOne]

I would say No.

The school should provide the learning materials, and that's that as far as I'm concerned.



Will they also be insisting your child own their own laptop and that all your home PC's are upgraded to Windows 8?

 

[Rooter]

I would say No.

The school should provide the learning materials, and that's that as far as I'm concerned.



Will they also be insisting your child own their own laptop and that all your home PC's are upgraded to Windows 8?

Many a truth said in jest JO.. . just wait! LOL

 

[User20205]

Its the future people, time we woke up and caught up.

is it really ?? tablets will be old technology in about 2 minutes!! I remember when I was at school my ZX spectrum was the future !

has been mentioned but surely a generic tablet costing £50 is the way forward do they have to be apple ??

I'd be concerned that technology was being embraced without a focus on the key skills that underpin it.