Technology for school kids

[Pollyanna]

I would decline the laptop, to be honest. Of course, that's easy to say when I'm sitting here with a first grader in a non-MN school district (you guys take school seriously and it shows in your test scores!) But still. I can dream! There I go, my dream-self putting my foot DOWN! LOL.

You'd like to but the schools make it impossible. When dd was in the 4th grade and her teacher insisted that all assignments be turned in via Dropbox but the teacher was not tech savvy so would claim dd and other students didn't turn in their work, I said fine just turn in a paper copy so she sees your work. The teacher refused because 1. That's not the system and 2. Dd was "wasting" resources by using the printer. Makes no sense does it?
The teacher finally figured out how to use her "system" about 3/4 of the way through the year

[Sheherezade]

When our district was looking in to this last year, they most common solution to the need to upgrade was that Apple has an educational program. They provide the newest/bestest iPads to the schools, lock down the apps that can be used on the devices and insure them against loss or damage. This comes to each student in the form of a technology fee ($100/year was the estimate) and the students or families do not own the devices. They are school property. Hence the ability to lock them down to certain programs, etc. The $100 is paid each year per student. That's just one program -- I'd imagine the Chrome book program from Google is similar or will be.

If this were eventually to replace all textbooks and required reading, I think a $100 fee could work. We end up paying a flat fee of $80 in fees now for "books and supplies" at our high school.

I don't know about not being able to use ebooks or computers in place of textbooks. I think that may be the case eventually. There are some pretty cool video and simulation programs for many of the sciences that are more instructional than flat, static images. If I was still teaching neuro in college, I'd probably be intrigued.

It's my understanding that it's the publishers of textbooks that are the big hold up with the move over -- because that's going to alter an entire industry just like mp3s altered the music industry.

I fear that we are between generations on this. It's a difficult time for students --- but I do see this going forward eventually. It's like trying to say those fancy auto-mobiles won't catch on in the place of walking or taking the carriage because we can't imagine it working for us. Or my mom not understanding why everyone uses text messages. I think our kids may be different from us.

But -- as for the runaway spending in schools, that I can agree. I just think that looking at new technology for education is actually smart and timely. Maybe jumping in with both feet isn't the best move, but being informed and piloting things? That's wise.

[MrsC]

This saddens me. I wonder if the next generation will be able to write, or know what a book is!
At my college (this year), only a few professors allowed note taking on laptops. I did it for one class but found it to be a total waste of time and very hard to study from and I just ended up printing the notes anyway. I can't imagine how much more difficult it is for kids.

[SoonerTexan]

I took science and math notes by hand in college--you needed to. But man, for history, business, and most of the other classes typing was a lifesaver.

[ladymoreta]

This saddens me. I wonder if the next generation will be able to write, or know what a book is!

Well, I know what scrolls are, but I'd probably need a little instruction for quill and ink! J/K!

Sorry, I know I'm late to this thread. I also can't get over the cost. My hometown high school is literally falling down (pieces of the roof fall in classrooms often, there's mold and water damage everywhere, etc). My sister is probably going to have to quit teaching because she can't afford it - she makes much more waitressing. Educational funding is such a difficult topic. I think spending on high-end laptops makes it hard for schools to raise funding for real needs.

[MrsK]

Look, no one supports education and experiences more than me. I want my kids to travel, go to camp, and and have myriad experiences in their life time. Equally important to me is I want them to learn how to budget, learn delayed gratification, make due without all the bells and whistles. WTF are we teaching our kids? If it is out there you HAVE to have it? You deserve it just because?

This is where I am. I constantly have this argument with certain indulgent grandparents who think that our kids should have all the fancy electronic toys and branded merchandise that our cousins' kids have. Or that DrK and I are insane for not subscribing to 300 cable channels and constantly updating our technology. I don't care if all the affluent kids have the new new thing or if the cool kids' parents let them stay up late to watch Miley degrade herself on the VMAs. I want MORE than that for my kids. I want them to learn how to think, budget, plan, and to appreciate the things that they have.

I was reading Parenting magazine in a waiting room and it gave advice on how to handle your 10-year-old texting girls but not speaking to them and your 6-year-old only unplugging from technology when he goes to bed. Say WHAT? Not in my house. NEVER in my house. Yesterday my 6yo probably had 15 minutes on the iPad, 20-30 minutes on the Kindle, and nearly an hour watching videos. It was a VERY high-screen-time day for our family, and I will probably cut that down to ZERO today to compensate.

Yeah, this is where I start having my how-am-I-going-to-keep-up panic. I don't like tweens having unlimited use of cel phones and texting. I want my sons to have to introduce themselves to moms and dads when they call girls on the phone. I want to know who is calling/texting my kids. I don't want to deal with teen girls texting half naked selfies to my sons. I want teen boys to have to shake DrK's hand if they want to date our daughter. I don't even like teachers texting my kids because I've had too many up close encounters with teachers who have inappropriate interactions with students. If you want to talk to my kid, you have to go through me. And I should hope that if my kid wants to talk to yours, that you will be there to supervise too.

This saddens me. I wonder if the next generation will be able to write, or know what a book is!

There has actually been a lot of discussion about taking penmanship/cursive out of the grade school curriculum because kids won't have to know how to write by hand. It makes me sad.

Sorry, I know I'm late to this thread. I also can't get over the cost. My hometown high school is literally falling down (pieces of the roof fall in classrooms often, there's mold and water damage everywhere, etc). My sister is probably going to have to quit teaching because she can't afford it - she makes much more waitressing. Educational funding is such a difficult topic. I think spending on high-end laptops makes it hard for schools to raise funding for real needs.

This was my high school too and we lived in an affluent district. The ceiling was literally falling down and during parents' night, my math teacher took out his mop and showed the parents how he cleans the floor several times a day. Yet there were corvettes and BMWs parked in the student lot.

[GrayMatterWife]

It is spending like this that makes me vote "no" on every single school bond proposition that comes along. The school spent over $1mill for laptops, are you f-ing kidding me? I'd be pissed, I'm pissed on your behalf as a matter of fact (can you tell).
I do not think the laptops will enhance their education in any way to be honest. I think in many cases all this technology slows the learning down because it breaks, or the teacher isn't fully up to speed, or the wifi is down. Honestly, paper and a pen people!
I am all about being up to date on technology but many times schools get ahead of themselves in an effort to be forward thinking. Dd11 used to take spelling tests on a computer. When a word was spelled wrong the magical red line showed up. The teacher just said, oh well, consider it a hint. I've had kids waste entire periods because the technology wasn't working so the teacher couldn't proceed with the lesson.
I'm also in agreement on the fad of e books. My older kids want nothing to do with them and I wouldn't either.

This.

[Sheherezade]

Sorry, I know I'm late to this thread. I also can't get over the cost. My hometown high school is literally falling down (pieces of the roof fall in classrooms often, there's mold and water damage everywhere, etc). My sister is probably going to have to quit teaching because she can't afford it - she makes much more waitressing. Educational funding is such a difficult topic. I think spending on high-end laptops makes it hard for schools to raise funding for real needs.

Just FYI, in our district, the 1:1 technology plan was formulated passing all the cost on to the parents. So, not part of the standing budget. (I realize that's still a cost, but it isn't taking away from existing expenses or adding additional property taxes.) Also, our big district upgrades in technology all came as grant funding or prizes. The district WON 150 new laptops from an online texting competition run by our hospital system. Ponder that for awhile. It will probably make you mad about spending priorities in a whole other sector we are all familiar with....