I remember hearing something about an initiative where iPads are going to be used in the schools. The reasoning is that it is cheaper than continually printing out text books which become quickly outdated, and I think that there will be a push to show this generation how to locate information that they need with technology- as opposed to how we used to learn everything by rote. Much more information can be accessed with iPads than with any text books that can be provided. The news piece I read said that the school boards would be purchasing the iPads.

gads as hard hit as our mi schools are being hit, i can't imagine a school dist buying ipads...at least right now...

however, if a student doesn't understand the problen in the first place, how are they supposed to do a search for the answer?

ok, tried putting a simple math problem in search...sent me to mcafee, lol...

actually did watch on cbs 60 minutes this young man who does use the computer to teach...and was doing so well helping kids learn. including bill gates' children, bill funded him to expand from his closet office to a real one...

The concept of using Ipads was recently discussed at our schools. There were a number of ppl argueing that we could not afford it, but the school bean counter said it would actually save the taxpayers a considerable amount of money.

Each student could be issued an Ipad at a cost of about $325 to $400 per unit when purchased in bulk. That Ipad would then take the place of 6 or 8 text books which currently cost in the order of $85 to $120 each. At the end of a school year that Ipad could be reformated then loaded with the latest text for the next year, rather than using outdated text for 5 or 6 yrs before they can afford to update them.

According to the bean counters using Ipads would insure that our students are constantly being taught from state of the art text materials yet when compared to the anticipated 5 yr service life of text books, the Ipads would reduce the school systems overall book costs by upwards of 60%.

Issuing the Ipads would be one thing. Maintaining them another. How many will be lost/stolen? Who pays for them? And when the parents can't afford to pay for them, presupposing they were stolen, not sold is something else to work through. Even securing them in school is a problem, for instance lunchtime, phy-ed, etc.

Plus the cost of the unit is not a one-time purchase. They'll be replaced in what time frame? I highly doubt they'll be used more than 3 years tops since the technology changes in software and hardware both will mandate updating the units more frequently than a frugal person would schedule replacement.

I like the idea, and certainly see a lot of benefits but there's a lot of issues to work through. There's a strong possibility that there would need to be multiple formats for teaching at least for a while, possibly book, home computers, possibly smart phones and Ipads, which would naturally cause other issues.

I can just see 1st/2nd graders playing with ipads. Throwing them around, slamming them on desks, and just plain dropping them on a hard floor (carpeted classrooms are a rare around here). And, when those ipads are broken/lost, etc.....who will pay for the replacement(s)?
Secondly, Apple releases new ipads every...what? 2-3 years?
They are the most disposable electronic devices around, except for the cell phone.

Yes, there are a lot of questions on this idea that is being proposed by Apple.

According to the bean counters the school grade Ipads are much different from their civilian counterparts. First of, they have a rubberized shockproof case and to confirm that at the meeting they dropped one from the balcony of the auditorium to the floor below, then picked it up and it was still working perfectly.

To address the issue of theft, each unit is serial numbered and issued to the student by serial number. In addition, each unit has a built in GPS locator that is powered by an internal lithium ion battery that is separate from the Ipads power supply. If its lost or stolen they can trace it via the GPS for up to 15 days after the on board battery is dead, even if the unit is turned off.

The eduction units do have limited online connection, but they will not access any social networking sites, chat rooms or public discussion forums. Basically the kids won't want to steal them because all they access is education materials..

On the other hand, the schools are also making a big point of notifying both the students and parents that if the unit is stolen, the person found in possession of it will be charged with grand theft.

One of our neighboring communities have been using these in their high school for two years and they have had very little problems but everybody loves them. They said that they have an optional insurance policy that the students can take out on the unit for $25 per school year.

I've watched the 2, 3 and 4 year old neighbor kids work on iPads and have never observed anything like what monica proposes. Little kids do quite well with them...The 3 yr old across the street is a truck/tractor kid and he knows websites that show piectures of various John Deere, Caterpillar and other equipment. He then teaches us about what he's looking at. pretty neat.

I haven't heard about any changes in Ontario that anyone I know is talking about. Could be from another Province other than Ontario.

Anne

I think it's happening in some places in Toronto, and I think it *may* be happening in our region.

Sounds promising to me. It's the way of the future.

Not only is it the way of the future...Encyclopedia Britanica announced today that they are not going to print any more encyclopedias.. They said they have about 4000 sets left in stock and when those are gone that is the end of their printed encyclopedias. They are making encyclopedias on dedicated Ipad type E-books or software to load on a home computer..thats it.

They have them in a high school near me. Theirs only work on the school's WiFi so they have no outside value to anyone else. The environmental savings of all these paper books that are no longer going to be published is probably a good thing. I was shocked at how much school books cost anymore. $50 is the low end, for sure.

Our schools (yes, in the financially depressed Michigan U.P) handed out iPads last year. All students from 3rd grade on up received one.

The school district paid for them, but elementary school students and their parents were required to sign an agreement saying that if they lost or damaged the iPad, they would pay for loss or damage (there was a set amount listed in the agreement). Parents of high school students didn't have to sign any agreement. I don't know if the students had to or not, as my step-daughter didn't mention it. The reason I know about the elementary school agreement is because I have a granddaughter in 5th grade.

My step-daughter also said something about some sort of insurance the school had on the iPads, but I don't recall the details on that.

I didn't think it was a good idea to provide them to the elementary students. If they're going to provide them, I think that middle school, or even high school, is soon enough. I just don't think the younger ones are responsible enough to be carrying around someone else's expensive electronic equipment.

I-pads being used in elementaries on up here too.

And...haven't heard of any one throwing them around.
Good grief - these kids are already exposed to computers
before then even go to school.

It will be their world --so they might as well get
used to it.

Books? Ipads? Nah. The real way to save money is to make the kids buy slates. Or not even bother educating them at all!

Kids know far more about computers and how to treat and use them than we do, and can teach us a thing or two. My three-year-old gdtr made a little video for me on my brand new tablet. Imagine my surprise and delight when, several days after she had gone home, I was learning to use my tablet and came across her sweet little video, her sweet voice singing a silly song, her beautiful face bouncing around on my screen. I have no idea how she did it; I was consulting my manual, reading step-by-step, trying to figure out how to make a video when she popped up! Maybe I will ask her how to post it here next time I see her, so you can see for yourselves.

As a book lover, I am sad to think that books, of all things, are not permanent! But I do believe that computers are the future. Kids will have their school-pads AND their personal pads. And cell phones. And fuel-efficient vehices. And everything else, as things come along. We will still have our slates and buggy whips, our gas-guzzlers and short-sightedness. My great-grandmother, born in 1873, would have nothing to do with airplanes!

Books can be lost, stolen or damaged also.

I work at a University where students purchase their own books at the beginning of each semester to the tune of several hundreds of dollars each. There has been a move to download this information electronically and it has been welcomed.

I am a book lover too - it doesn't necessarily mean that personal books will become obsolete.

I know iPads and computers are used in Windsor schools and even many University text books are now digitalized for ereaders. I thought Marie was asking about Math programme changes. I haven't heard of my teacher friends discussing any changes so that is why I thought it could be from a different Province. I will ask them if they know of any changes to the math curriculum.

Anne

Lazypup, I saw the same news article as you. And one about the teacher who has the students watch class at home, then do homework at school. A turn around that is getting attention from many other teachers. The kids love doing it this way.

Books, I love them. Have some old McGuffy Readers from the 1800s to early 1900 and am still fascinated with the information. Especially the geography books which show the world maps and US....nothing as we know now. And I also love looking at the worn pages of my kids books when they were younger. Sometimes they will actually re-read them.

A poster on one of the forums has become part of the Gutenberg press as a volunteer where they translate books into multiple formats. One of which is for E-books. I have a daughter who is visually impaired and wonder how they will deal with this along with other disabilities if going to I-pads.Our electronics will find a way.

My background is IT, never thought books would go this way. Yup, I walked a long way to school in the snow.

Will students still learn to 'write'?

Here is a link that might be useful: Gutenberg Press

When DD does her math, even simple multiplication, I cannot help her. We used to put one number over the other, start with the rightmost column, and work our way towards the left. Now, they leave the numbers horozontal and seem to work from the left to the right. No carrying numbers, and I have no idea how it works LOL.

She really had trouble with it, and I showed her the "old" way which she picked up in minutes. Unfortunately, the teacher insisted she use the "new" way, and she still struggles in grade 7 (after how many years of trying to get it??).

Dances.

Yes, there is a huge change. My two older ones are in grade 6 and 4. I noticed it in grade 3 (I believe) with addition where you change the top number to the nearest, say thousand, subract then add it back on??? I just remember having to sit and go, huh? and figure it out. Yeah, I guess it makes sense but it seems confusing, especially for someone just being taught (and just previously taught the traditional method). It's a lot to take in. They also didn't learn their times tables in school. We taught them this at home but it was expected for them to learn it. I no longer do the math with my kids - my husband does. I have a language barrier with the French so I have an out - yay. My older one goes to a full French school and the kids in grade 8 get computer notepads. No such thing for my kid in grade 4 which is the English school board.

The government in India is set to buy 100,000 Aakash tablets to start with.
They want to "give"one every student .
This notepad runs apx $45 each.
Bugs still need to be worked out.

It doesn't have to be an Ipad.

No wonder the kids can't spell, use proper grammer and do simple addition and subtraction.

They are no longer being taught multiplication tables now?! What next? What are the highly-paid teachers being paid to do?

Mutiplying and dividing is essential. Something like going to the grocery store and figuring out the unit price; seeing if something is a good deal or not, just day to day living.

My kids grew up with "new" math. They'd come home and attempted to do their homework, couldn't do it, I couldn't help, they'd end up crying. I asked why they didn't understand, they insisted the teacher had not taught them the material, she just gave the homework assignments and they were expected to learn it on their own. I called the school and insisted on a conference with the teacher, principal, myself and the child. Teacher suggested I review handouts one at a time, they would "explain". I still couldn't "get it". My kids tried after-school study groups,and buddying up with a student mentor. That seemed to work. Both my girls managed to graduate from high school, both are now in college, in fact, the younger one is now a (gulp) math major. My only advice is, contact the school and insist they deal with the problem.