Giving kids laptops/ipads in the schools

[PrincessFiona]

This seems to be the new trend in the districts that have more cash available. Our district supplies MacBook Air laptops to grade 9 and above. Grades 5-8 get ipads.

There are a couple of things that bother me. As parents, you really can't opt out because they are using the devices during class periods. Aidan's 5th grade class requires him to have his iPad at all times to use as a planner and learning tool during class. The older kids use their computes to watch vidoes, log into schoology, etc during class. It isn't an option to not sign up for this plan.

I had to pay $100 for the rental fee for a macbook air and an ipad this year. The school provides no insurance plan. The plan is "you break it, you buy it". We are looking into having our homeowners insurance cover the devices.

My kids are constantly hooked up to some sort of technology. Both Aidan and Alex have already downloaded their MineCraft/Clash of Clans etc by overrriding whatever security was on the devices. They use these computers/tablets as much for pleasure as for work (as do their friends).

I know that at the University where I'm at, some of our professors have instituted a policy of no computers in the classroom because we as adults sometimes end up slipping onto Amazon instead of paying attention to lectures. What about these kids?

So here is a bigger issue I have. The programs across the state are hooked up to Apple. All of these kids getting these computers are getting Macs. We frankly can't afford to buy Mac computers for all of our kids. They are the only computers are kids are being trained on though. Result? We bought Amanda a $500 laptop to do her school work on this year for college. She completely ignores it/won't use it because she can't intuitively get Windows. She uses Thomas' Mac laptop from work to do her online math assignments. It' such a waste.

I 'get' that there are Mac users who believe Macs are the only way to go, but I'm a Windows users and I'm completely able to use both a Mac computer and a Windows computer. I own a Windows laptop because it is less expensive and I'm just able to navigate it as I am a Mac. My kids are learning Mac only. What a fabulous advertisement Apple has going on.

How do you feel about this new trend?

Kris

[mommax3]

I think it is stupid. Our HS kids all get ipads and in the four years we've had the program, I really don't think it has done any measurable good for any of them.

[spotty_dog]

Apple's education marketing has been powerfully in effect since they provided Apple IIe computers to schools in the 1980s. So that part I don't really see as a trend.

The part about giving children expensive electronics to take home horrifies me. I'm ambivalent even in our district that they even have ~8 iPads in each class to use for educational purposes and free choice time. Plus a weekly Technology class starting in first grade, which alternates between "how to play educational iPad apps" and rudimentary keyboarding. It all adds up to just way too many screens and too much emphasis on screen time rewards and gamified learning. :\

[Ladybug]

I'm curious what the cost difference is to districts. Book are expensive too. I'm not sure it's more expensive over the long term.

[Sheherezade]

Our district just went one to one in grades 6-12 with Chromebooks. Google Classroom is the new player in town and Google is fighting back in the education market.

I don't think the OS is going to matter in the end. Everything is going to the cloud. At Z's university, they could care less about the type of computer, it just needs a browser. Even MS 360 is all cloud now, as us Adobe Suite and Quickbooks.

All hail the mighty Internet.

[Pollyanna]

Sigh, I hate the idea. Our private high school is just coming online with the technology requirements. Interestingly the requirement eliminates Mac as an option for us. We will have to buy ds14 a laptop by January. Our school does not provide the equipment. Everything for them is Windows based. I think it's a big ass waste of time and money. And not a single person can articulate to me why this is necessary and how it will improve the education of our children.

[MrsK]

I don't think I have to tell you how I feel about this. My kids will be doing homework at the kitchen table with me looking over their shoulders and then charging their computers in my room once homework is done.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

[scrub-jay]

Giving kids laptops/ipads in the schools

K-2nd here have assigned individual iPad Airs at school (not taken home), 3rd-8th have iPad Airs assigned for both home & school use and all high school students have MacBook Airs. I hate it.

ETA: MrsK, does your school district do this too?

[Ladybug]

I think the cost of technology has dropped significantly. I'm curious what they are charging for families to replace versus what they are paying wholesale.

[scrub-jay]

Our district boasts about the $20 million dollar technology investment. Yea. :/

[spotty_dog]

I think the cost of technology has dropped significantly. I'm curious what they are charging for families to replace versus what they are paying wholesale.

Institutional pricing is available on the Apple site. A 10-pack of the cheapest iPad Airs costs $4790. A 5-pack of the cheapest Macbook Airs with applications included costs $5060. So even if the school is able to offer educational pricing for "you break it you buy it," it is still WAY too rich for my blood. Our last two laptops have been eBay refurbs for about $500.

Our voters recently passed a levy that is giving our schools $300000 per year for four years to upgrade technology.

[Sheherezade]

When our district looked at Apple, what was attractive was the insurance program. You could buy the devices and Apple would replace and upgrade free of charge as needed. I'm not sure what desk they got for the Lenovo Chromebooks, but they can be purchased for just over 300 a pop retail. We don't have a "you break it you buy it policy" yet. They will replace once for accidental damage, after that they did not specify.

[Phoebe]

Our new district just got ipads for each classroom. If my kid came home with some kind of electronic from school I would be livid. That money should be allocated to getting another teacher so my 5th grader doesn't have 33 freaking kids in her class!