General Chat

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2245003/iPad-fury-Parents-furious-school-tells-buy-tablet-children.html

Hard-up parents were left furious after a school asked them to fork out hundreds of pounds on iPads for lessons and homework.

Staff at Rossett School in Harrogate, North Yorkshire told children to ask their parents to buy them the £300 tablet for their work.

But the request has infuriated parents, hundreds of whom attended a showdown meeting with the headteacher over the cost.
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Would you pay for your child to have one of these for school.? I'd be deeply worried about sending my 12 yr old into school everyday with a £300 piece of equipment on her...even before working out how I'd actually be able to afford one ! I think it's a bit high handed of the school..and am in two minds as to whether I'd relent and buy one if i was in this position. Wondered what others thought?

I most certainly would not buy one. If every single parent boycotted the idea the schools would have to back down. This technology thing is getting out of hand now, what has happened to proper teaching ???? :-| :-| :-|.

Rant over :-D

Tablets might help in some situations with older scholars for note taking etc but why IPads when there are much cheaper ones on the market.

To be fair, it is a specialist maths and computing college........

Its always difficult when technology is advancing so swiftly. And they are offering purchase schemes. Whether i could afford one is another matter, but i would certainly be listening to what the school had to say and the reasons why they thought it was necessary before i jumped to any conclusions.

It is the Daily Mail remember!

LaGooner....... People would have been saying that same thing when slates were invented. This is proper teaching. The days of inkwells and the cane for not remembering your latin declensions are over. If we want to provide an education that is capable of competing with the rest of the world, we teach accordingly. Proper teaaching? What an insult to the profession!!!!! Technology out of hand? Tell that to japan, korea and germany! Keep up or fall behind, then where will your grandchildrens futures lie!

Rant over :-D

I wouldn't buy one for school. No way would I want my 13 year old daughter shouldering the responsibility of carrying it to school & risking it getting stolen or broken.

If they want the kids to use media, then scrape together money for laptops or pcs for each classroom.

Asking parents to supply a pen drive for their child would be a lot cheaper for them to afford, or better still, a notebook to write down what they need to learn, rather than type!

I may be wrong but this school has academy status and i thought one of the benefits of academies was the they would have the latest up to date IT paid for by their sponsors?

Roy

Has anyone looked at the school website?

I have.

Yes I've just finished watching the Ipad one to one videos. I can see why it would b e a great tool to have in the classroom. Just wonder why it specifically would have to be Apple...as Ann says there are other cheaper alternatives...I'm convinced of it's usefulness just not of a 12 yr old's ability to be expected to look after it responsibly or the possible issues it could create with regards being stolen....... Tried to get into the frequently asked questions part to see what was being said but couldn't get in to read.

The students at a school in our county have them (its been an Academy for 2 years).

The parents can purchase them and pay off over a number of years. There are grants available for those who can't afford them, and the Academy has some which they can lend out on a 'lesson' basis to the Students who have forgotten to bring/have parents who won't purchase. The 'won't purchase' parents tend to be those of pre-existing students.

The Year 7 is over subscribed, part of the reason being the emphasis on IT.

Ive had a quick look, thats where i read that they has academy status

I just think it's strange that an academy who specialise in computing would be asking for students to supply their own IT equipment

Roy

Extracts from "a Study undertaken on behalf of Naace (the IT Association) and supported by 9ine Consulting Ltd. Paul Henrich."

undertaken at the Academy – link can be provided by PM (54 pages of Pdf)

There is now strong evidence that devices such as the iPad2 (indeed the iPad in particular rather than Android tablets) are valuable educational tools. As will be seen in the detailed analysis of the xxxxxxx study, there are issues to be resolved in using personal devices in an enterprise environment but the increasingly positive impact on learning and attitudes to learning are clearly identified, even after a mere two school terms.
*****
A further extract regarding Student participation

The iPads are provided through a leasing scheme with uptake as at March 2012 of 726 units representing 76% of the pupils on roll. A further 100 (approx 10% - 960 on Roll)) students have iPads not provided by the school.
******

As part of the same report, 23 parents responded to the questionnaire,.” the price could be lower’ although the respondents may not have realised that the leasing scheme provides insurance and maintenance.

Just did a bit of googling about the people who compiled that report and it's hardly an independent one lol. Whilst googling I found this.....


“The iPad as a Tool for Education” is written in the style of an academic report and the first section provides a welcome sift through the limited research on this technology along with existing insights into mobile technology for learning to set a helpful context. It finds other reports that chime with its own findings, However, its handling of rival Android tablets could have been tempered by rather more academic objectivity.

For example, evidence ought to be produced to justify a statement like “There is now strong evidence that devices such as the iPad2 (and indeed the iPad in particular rather than Android tablets) are valuable educational tools.” And quoting Fraser Speirs’ views on Android without pointing out the partisan nature of this source (ie an Apple evangelist) is disingenuous.

Of course, a report into the use of iPads in a secondary school doesn’t have to refer to other digital pads but, if it does, objectivity is essential. Those with long memories remember “You don’t get sacked for buying IBM,” and the effect that had in education – the effective and unfair exclusion of Apple and the failure of most government advisers and organisations to stand up for schools that wanted to exercise a free choice.

I'm not against their use in school (if the school provides them & keep them there),

Mainly for me its the parents being asked to fork out for one, bearing the cost (via payment scheme or not) The added insurance when first year warranty runs out (imagine the repair cost when things do go wrong with such items, faults or accidental damage from dropping or bags bashed in busy corridors)

But the real big issue is taking it to & from school. My daughter has a 40 min walk starting at 7:45am. - We live in Essex - need I say more??

Kids get mugged for their phones/money, its not common but it has happened a couple of times in recent years enroute to school or on the way home.

I would be afraid if it was my school, once it becomes common knowledge that kids have IPads on them, kids would be targeted putting them at further risk of mugging etc. And as not all kids are lucky to get a regular lift to school & back, you could be talking about rich pickings for the scum who just take & think nothing of whom they hurt in the process. Many kids leave later to come home as they are in after school clubs. Its dark by 4pm, and for some it means a walk past a park with entrances along the route, and through an underpass. Prime areas where bags can be snatched & the culprit can be out of sight quickly.

I totally agree with you Mildred...although my daughters school is a town school..there are a huge amount that attend from neighbouring rural villages who cycle in from vast distances. It's not such a worry for us as daughter gets a lift or an accompanied walk home but I'd worry about others who travel much further.

Also it was only last year that she dropped her mobile down the loo and that was bad enough £300 down the toilet would cause untold stress to all of us !!! However...

If I've read it correctly it appears that part of the cost of the ipad includes insurance and maintenance...I've been trying to find where I read that but can't lol so I could be wrong ! x

I had 2 in senior school twice at one time and I wouldnt of been able to afford £600.00 then or now.

Page 51 Muffy.

Thank you DET lol.

iPads and cats can be a poor choice for young girls
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01p96ft

I put up a thread a week or two ago...whatever next....about my son in Oz having to buy an iPad for daughter starting secondary school at the end of Jan as that is the start of the school year there.
I can see that technology has advanced,but like others it is an expensive thing for a youngster to carry around . Are they old enough to take responsibility?
How can parents afford these tablets?
I love mine...but I do look after my things...but 12 year olds?

My grand-daughter who is 6 has an iPad at school. She has Downs' Syndrome and the school provided it to help work with her together with her speech therapist. The school has paid for the applications. Of course this is an entirely different situation - just pointing out that there are a lot of students with special needs that would greatly benefit from these.