From the Globe story about the proposal in Wellesley requiring that parents purchase iPads for all 5th graders..
Teachers and students who participated in the Schofield pilot said that having personal iPads allowed children individualized learning experiences, fostered cooperative learning skills and helped children appreciate the iPad as a tool instead of a toy….
…fifth graders who participated in the 1:1 pilot showed improvements in math scores on their MCAS tests, though the site notes that it is difficult to correlate improvements with a single factor.
but would this work in Newton?
Families would have to supply the iPads for their children….
…In the second option, families who lease to own could get an iPad through the district for $155 per year….
I would be interested to hear what the iPads would be used for. I’m a fan of introducing immersive use of technology. Not a big fan of locking kids in to operating system (iOS vs. Android vs., I suppose, Windows) if they are making them supply their own devices.
For what Newton does, I am a big fan of the use of Google Docs for class work. My son can log on on any computer- or tablet or even his phone if he wanted to – to check or edit documents.
Like Doug, I’d have to know more about what they’d be used for before deciding whether or not it was a good idea.
As a basic principle of public education though, I would be dead set against any program that would require parents to purchase or lease the iPads. Charging fees for optional extra-curricular activities I have no problem with. Charging parents $100’s for required materials for basic schoolwork is crossing a very important line.
I feel that line is already beginning to blur a bit in recent year (e.g. charging elementary school children bus fees when they live too far to walk – 2 miles).
Why iPads? Why something with such a narrow functionality? No problem with requiring laptops but why an iPad? Just ridiculous.
If you are going to require technology make sure you can use either a Mac or Windows.
We are preparing out kids for a world that includes Mac OS and Windows OS. It make no sense to spend all that money on such a narrow functionality.
I worry about any additional fees/financial burdens for Newton parents. Since 2008 the number of low-income students in Newton has grown from less than 7% or 819 students to almost 11% or 1,304 students. One of our elementary schools has 30% low income students.
Low-income is defined as those students who are signed up for free/reduced lunch program which means a family of four with an income at or below $40,000 per year. You can be sure that not every eligible family is taking advantage of the free/reduced lunch program. While many families could afford to buy their 5th grader an iPad and I’m sure many 5th graders have one, there are many others who couldn’t afford it.
One on one computing models take more than just supplying every child with an iPad. Teachers need to be trained and supported to integrate the devices into their teaching – not just a one-off tech camp, but a real concerted effort to integrate technology into instruction. Textbooks need to be available online and curriculum adjusted to make use of the technology and ensure that it is being used to support and improve student achievement.
Frankly we have more pressing needs – like the need for a full day kindergarten program – that should be tackled first.
Yesterday, I nearly pulled my shoulder out of its socket lifting my son’s backpack. At the same time, virtually every kid in Newton has an iphone or ipad, or a laptop, all which can hold enough data that would store more than a roomful of books. In college, the students are not hauling around backpacks full of books — they carry laptops or tablets.
This is the 21st century. I’m not sure how this should be administered, but there seems to be a sizable disconnect between the available technology and what’s being used. We should at the very least be experimenting with or moving in this direction.
“Frankly we have more pressing needs – like the need for a full day kindergarten program – that should be tackled first.”
HEAR HEAR
@Jerry that line has been crossed.
We charge families for instrumental music programs during the school day taught by teachers as part of their full-time teaching load. I believe instrumental music is a part of basic education. My mother taught instrumental music in public school for over 40 years and I know that the skills it teaches (note reading builds reading and math skills and practicing and rehearsing build study skills and self-discipline) are important for every student.
I am also deeply troubled by the activity fees for afterschool clubs in the middle and high schools. The families/students who need to be encouraged and supported to be part of these clubs are exactly the ones who are turned away by the specter of a fee. Yes, we waive fees for those who can’t afford them, but many kids won’t even ask because they know that money is tight at home and that things that cost money are out of the question.
When we start charging fees for these important things we widen the “opportunity gap” – some students are afforded every opportunity and activity and others are denied them because of the costs.
Margaret – I totally agree. I would love to see the NPS enshrine that line in some kind of formal policy. I. E.- if it’s an optional school related activity, user fees can be considered as a funding option. If its part of standard classroom instruction, funding must come solely from NPS budget. Anything less is an assault on the concept of public education.
One exception, inevitably leads to the next.
To be honest I’m not really in favor of this. In my experience iPads are content consumption devices, rather than content creation devices. This latter process is such an important aspect of education that I don’t really see how iPads would fit into instruction.
For example, students would have difficulty taking notes without a proper keyboard. In art class, it is much easier to use paper and pencil/brush than touch screen and finger.
iPads are fantastic devices but for the classroom it sort of seems like a gimmick.