"Parents 'left hamstrung' by school after it tells them to buy their children iPads"

*max*

I think I'm one of the last generation to go through till degree level without the internet. It started becoming popular after I graduated. I remember someone showing me how to get a hotmail email address in my last year!

I don't deny that it's useful, it would be ridiculous to say it's not. However, having lived through a degree and a postgrad without it, I'll have to say the skills I learned from having to go to the library and find books, and then finding the bits that were relevant to me, were invaluable. I use them today, on the internet.

Oh, and I learned Latin too, for 7 years. And German. And English. Also Italian and some Arabic. My first language is French. Without the internet, I'd probably be in pretty much the same place I am now. Without books? I have a good inkling I wouldn't be anywhere at all.

custardy

*max* wrote: »

I think I'm one of the last generation to go through till degree level without the internet. It started becoming popular after I graduated. I remember someone showing me how to get a hotmail email address in my last year!

I don't deny that it's useful, it would be ridiculous to say it's not. However, having lived through a degree and a postgrad without it, I'll have to say the skills I learned from having to go to the library and find books, and then finding the bits that were relevant to me, were invaluable. I use them today, on the internet.

Oh, and I learned Latin too, for 7 years. And German. And English. Also Italian and some Arabic. My first language is French. Without the internet, I'd probably be in pretty much the same place I am now. Without books? I have a good inkling I wouldn't be anywhere at all.

It hasnt changed
just now you can research what books you need,check which library has them and where
make up a list(and reserve/order them) with where they are in the library
so when you get there you can find them quickly

[Deleted User]

custardy wrote: »

It hasnt changed
just now you can research what books you need,check which library has them and where
make up a list(and reserve/order them) with where they are in the library
so when you get there you can find them quickly

We got the Internet in our student flat in my 3rd year. Downloadable PDF research papers were a godsend. It saved me hours in traipsing around the library stacks.

It was very rare that textbooks were up to date enough for our work

jap200

My husband is doing teacher training this year (science) after having been a university lecturer for over 20 years. He is shocked at how outdated (and often plainly wrong) some of the curent science textbooks are.

Students need to be (and often are) taught to question their sources these days so as long as they are using those skills the source of information - internet or text book - shouldn't matter. What does matter is that students are taught to access information in a way that makes sense to them and that is often by digital means these day - like it or not.

mrcow

jap200 wrote: »

My husband is doing teacher training this year (science) after having been a university lecturer for over 20 years. He is shocked at how outdated (and often plainly wrong) some of the curent science textbooks are.

At KS3-5, the level of science taught is so fundamental, many of the books aren't out of date at all. You may find one or two concepts which are taught differently for ease of communication given the target audience, but the whole point is that this is then built on as the pupil matures and is able to assimilate more complex concepts.

ladymarmalade222

We are currently going through this with my son's primary school in Year 6. We attended a meeting saying they were supplying the children with ipod touches and they would be used during class but if they wanted to use them at home to carry on their homework and to participate with group projects we much pay £100 for the ipod touch. In July next year it will be unlocked and given to the child.

Before July it is only used as an educational tool, no apps can be downloaded on it or email other than the schools email accts.

The problem I had is I have just bought an Ipod 5th Gen for my son for Xmas before they told us about this which he cannot use for school as they say he will not be able to communicate with fellow students without a school ipod.

So now I either let him go without (and the school really played the guilt card on this about how they would not be included in collaborative learning) or he gets 2 ipods!

Unbelieveable, but I feel I have no other choice.

xxx

newcook

I personally think it would be more use to teach the children how to spell and use grammar before teaching them about ‘advanced technology’. To be honest though, some posters on here who claim to be teachers look like they could do with a few English lessons themselves!

While I think its great that kids can learn and use new technology and put it to use in the classrooms I think its bonkers to expect parents to pay huge amounts for something that is more than likely going to get broken and help bullies find targets.
there is so much talk about lack of jobs and families being in poverty and children being fed rubbish as its cheaper than vegetables Im sure that parents could find plenty of other areas that £300 could be needed!

mrcow

newcook wrote: »

I personally think it would be more use to teach the children how to spell and use grammar before teaching them about ‘advanced technology’. To be honest though, some posters on here who claim to be teachers look like they could do with a few English lessons themselves!

While I think its great that kids can learn and use new technology and put it to use in the classrooms I think its bonkers to expect parents to pay huge amounts for something that is more than likely going to get broken and help bullies find targets.
there is so much talk about lack of jobs and families being in poverty and children being fed rubbish as its cheaper than vegetables Im sure that parents could find plenty of other areas that £300 could be needed!

But this is a forum. It's informal. Mistakes are allowed you know.

As your own post shows, none of us are immune to basic typing errors or incorrect grammar.

Treevo

newcook wrote: »

I personally think it would be more use to teach the children how to spell and use grammar before teaching them about ‘advanced technology’. To be honest though, some posters on here who claim to be teachers look like they could do with a few English lessons themselves!

While I think [STRIKE]its[/STRIKE] great that kids can learn and use new technology and put it to use in the classrooms I think [STRIKE]its[/STRIKE] bonkers to expect parents to pay huge amounts for something that is more than likely going to get broken and help bullies find targets.
[STRIKE]there[/STRIKE] is so much talk about lack of jobs [STRIKE]and [/STRIKE]families being in poverty and children being fed rubbish as [STRIKE]its[/STRIKE] cheaper than vegetables [STRIKE]Im[/STRIKE] sure that parents could find plenty of other areas that £300 could be needed!

I wouldn't normally comment on someone's standard of English but considering you did, I feel it's only fair.:)

daska

I have to disagree with the overwhelming view on here that ipads don't provide great benefits in education. OK, so my view has been formed by DS2 having special needs but it was the ipad that got him drawing, got him writing, got him learning phonics - it opened up so many things that previously were impossible for him.

Just imagine that you can't control your arm/hand/fingers particularly well and that your sense of touch is magnified. You can't hold a pencil but your only other options for mark making are involve sand or paint on your fingers which is incredibly uncomfortable and distressing. Wouldn't you find the ability to draw letters on a smooth screen and correct them easily a revelation?

Just imagine that you have ADHD and struggle to keep your attention on one thing for any length of time - wouldn't it be easier if the very thing you needed to pay attention to attracted your attention by moving?

Those are just two examples of how an ipad revolutionised my son's education. Within a matter of weeks! I really can't begin to emphasise what an incredible change it brought about for him.

And in 6th form DSD already has the facility to email assignments to her teachers but she either has to work by hand or lug her rather ancient laptop around as there aren't enough seats to guarantee that she'll get a pc during a study period. She would love to have access to all her textbooks on a single handheld device which she could use to work on assignments and submit them electronically.

DS1, doing GCSEs, has even more subjects than DSD. Thankfully he's a strapping lad who has no difficulty shouldering his huge load of text books - except no, he doesn't have to do that at all, his school provides a free laptop to ALL pupils with the set texts available electronically. No games, no personal e-mail, no social media etc but it puts all the pupils on a level playing field where technology is concerned. Win:Win!

On balance, I'm firmly of the belief that locked down units (i.e. ones that can't be used to play angry birds 24/7) could be and indeed are of great benefit during the school life.