12yo needs an Ipad for school?

Fran27

Active Member
Joined
Mar 15, 2005
Messages
10,642
Likes
0
Points
36
Age
45
Location
New Jersey
#21
I'm 25, so it's been a while since I was in grade school. Even so, I did HAVE to have a computer for homework in high school and middle school, and it was highly recommended in elementary school. Now that I'm in college, YES, I NEED a computer. A laptop, actually, to take notes in class. EVERYTHING must be typed and 90% of stuff needs to be turned in online.
That's just so weird to me. In college 10 years ago I did everything by hand. Heck in France I'm willing to bet they STILL do everything by hand.

But again... college cost me $150 a year. It's just so different over there.
 

JacksonsMom

Active Member
Joined
Nov 1, 2009
Messages
8,694
Likes
0
Points
36
Location
Maryland
#22
I can't imagine an iPad being that useful for homework ... but I do think young kids absolutely need access to the internet/computer somehow. My 8 year old brother who is in 3rd grade has a few assignments and such that he needs to do on the computer. And like already said, it's a vital part of surviving in this world today, so I think it's important to learn young for future jobs. I'm 22 and I grew up on the computer, I often have to teach people older than me how to simple things, because they did have the technology when they were younger, and now have to know it for jobs, etc.
 

CaliTerp07

Active Member
Joined
Sep 9, 2008
Messages
7,652
Likes
0
Points
36
Age
38
Location
Alexandria, VA
#23
A few schools have started trying to go to etextbooks which is actually cheaper to check out iPads than provide paperbacks.

I'm guessing its not the same situation though?
We have online textbooks. The county polled the students' families and found that something like 95% have internet access, so they are able to justify not purchasing hard copy textbooks. The problem is, the county is huge--so the rich side of the county is just fine. My kiddos on the other hand, claim they have internet access because their cell phone can access google. There is no way they can access an online textbook from home. The school checks out netbooks to a lot of the kids so they can type their papers up at home, but it's not helpful for accessing web sites because a lot of them don't have internet access at home to use the netbook.

We had two options. They gave each teacher 30 hard copy textbooks (a class set), so we could check out those textbooks to the 30 kids (out of the 140 I teach) who I think would have the most difficult time getting online to do homework, and ask the rest of the kids to stay after school to do their homework. Option 2, we could just choose to not use the textbook. We chose option 2.

I make all my lessons from scratch, and have not opened the online textbook once. Notes, activities, homework are all made by hand and copied for the students. It uses more paper, but it allows the students to be successful, and it's working.

I got my hand slapped by the county this week though. I was forced to miss a day of school for mandatory textbook training, and interrogated on why I wasn't using it, because I'm "not preparing my students for the future" if I'm not using online textbooks and daily computers in algebra class. I call BS on that statement though--in 5 years when our kids get to college, whatever software they'd use in middle school would be outdated anyway, and these kids are great at figuring out software without any instructions. They don't need their middle school math teacher to "teach" them how to use an online textbook to be successful in life.
 

milos_mommy

Active Member
Joined
Oct 14, 2006
Messages
15,349
Likes
0
Points
36
#24
I'm 22, and never used a computer for homework in elementary school, but it was required in middle school for many papers and definitely required in high school for MOST work.

Now, the elementary kids I do watch are expected to do homework on the computer, but usually only one or two nights a week. It's fairly simple for a kid that age to do work at the library. Most of the work they do is still by hand - although I have heard that they'll soon be replacing handwriting ENTIRELY with typing in early education :( Kids now don't need to learn cursive writing at all, only print.
 

CaliTerp07

Active Member
Joined
Sep 9, 2008
Messages
7,652
Likes
0
Points
36
Age
38
Location
Alexandria, VA
#25
I don't mind that cursive is gone from the curriculum. I have not written anything in cursive a day in my life, outside of 2nd grade. Typing would be way more relevant to kids. I'm amazed how many 8th graders are still doing the hunt-n-peck thing. It's so inefficient!

Obviously they'd still need to know printing too. You can't completely wipe out pencil and paper.
 

milos_mommy

Active Member
Joined
Oct 14, 2006
Messages
15,349
Likes
0
Points
36
#26
I write in cursive all the time! But I do handwrite letters, postcards, take notes in college by hand, and write a lot in notebooks by hand.

I really think pen and paper will become obsolete in the future, or at least become a sort of art form. And I'm not talking far far into the future, I wouldn't be surprised if my grandkids never learned to handwrite in school at all.
 

Snark

Mutts to you
Joined
Mar 27, 2006
Messages
4,023
Likes
0
Points
0
Location
Midwest
#29
The gal I work with has kids in Catholic schools and her daughter's HS did away with textbooks this year in favor of an iPad. I believe the parents got a discounted price (sort of like the student discount Apple has for buying software such as photoshop or illustrator). Her son is still in middle school and they still carry textbooks (one of the teachers calls them 'the camels' since they trudge around, bent over from a backpack full of books.) Ipads are probably healthier from a physical point of view...
 

Kilter

New Member
Joined
Jul 4, 2012
Messages
536
Likes
0
Points
0
#30
I wouldn't have a problem with it as far as providing one, but would be concerned with it being transported back and forth and getting trashed. Maybe once he's in high school but he's in grade 2 and looses his gloves all the time and those are on his hands.

His school does have ipads they use in class for things though and the older kids have to have access to the internet and a computer at home, which isn't a problem.
 

Laurelin

I'm All Ears
Joined
Nov 2, 2006
Messages
30,963
Likes
3
Points
0
Age
37
Location
Oklahoma
#32
I am 26. I remember using computers some in elementary school. We had typing class and everyone wanted to be the best because once you got done you could play games and if you were the fastest you could get one of the computers with Oregon trail on it (great motivator).

Middle school we continued typing/computer class. High school the only things we did on the computer were research for papers and then typing up papers. Everything else was hand done.

College I had a few classes where we turned in work online. A couple easier math classes and then physics and some spanish too. We had grades online. My english class had a forum for discussions and you had to post X discussion posts and start X discussions over the semester. (Of course what happened was everyone posted the last week and nothing before).

The harder math classes were all done pencil and paper. It's just not practical to show all your work online. Too many special keys and trust me, we want to be able to show our work. There were many cases where your final answer would be wrong on almost every question. All my proofs were hand written too, and it's the same thing- too many symbols and too long. Plus my profs were old and not always computer savvy themselves. My statistics classes and one of my math/finance classes had everything turned in via excel workbook.

Josie's in high school now and they have e-textbooks and have in middle school for a few years. They have the option though of e-book or hard copy. Papers still need to be typed. but that's about it. I honestly worry about her because she's 14 and still hunt and pecks on the keyboard and isn't very computer savvy. She's joined a creative writing forum in her spare time and is on it a lot though so I'm hopeful that will help her typing. i know my computer savvy/typing came from playing games on my computer and being on evolving online communities since I was about 12/13. I think kids getting in their own online interests is a really good thing sometimes. In fact when I was 12 I played petz online and used a hex editor to recolor my 'petz'. Now at 26 I use a very similar hex editor at work for our data. Always amuses me when I think about it.

I'm off topic a bit. :p
 
Joined
Dec 20, 2003
Messages
94,266
Likes
3
Points
36
Location
Where the selas blooms
#33
I write in cursive all the time! But I do handwrite letters, postcards, take notes in college by hand, and write a lot in notebooks by hand.

I really think pen and paper will become obsolete in the future, or at least become a sort of art form. And I'm not talking far far into the future, I wouldn't be surprised if my grandkids never learned to handwrite in school at all.
Kind of like calligraphy is now :)

The math is a good example, though. Right now keyboards aren't really math friendly, and, like Laur's example, even at the junior high level in my classes we needed to show our work -- were required to -- and got partial credit for doing even part of it correctly, even if we got the answer wrong. Conversely, if we got the answer right somehow, but did the work wrong, we got points docked.
 

crazedACD

Active Member
Joined
Mar 13, 2012
Messages
3,048
Likes
0
Points
36
Location
West Missouri
#34
Did you do your problem solving online or on paper? Posting your answer in a box online is not the same. Unless you were in math 92 where your problems lack long hand complications.
Yes that is true. I need to do out long problems on paper (or uh..copy and paste in an algebra solver ;) ).

As much as people worry about kids not being able to write, I do think it would be almost worse not to have them learn computers. The people that I work with that aren't as computer savvy have a difficult time even in just the basic retail environment. It's hard to teach someone a computer based interface if they don't even know what a start button is.
 

milos_mommy

Active Member
Joined
Oct 14, 2006
Messages
15,349
Likes
0
Points
36
#35
Did you do your problem solving online or on paper? Posting your answer in a box online is not the same. Unless you were in math 92 where your problems lack long hand complications.

It was a Math 100 class, and honestly I don't remember that much and I also dropped it about a week or two in. I don't recall doing any work on paper, but it is possible later in the course that was necessary. We did need to "show work" online, but I think it was more of a click-through, step-by-step kind of thing? More interactive.
 

JacksonsMom

Active Member
Joined
Nov 1, 2009
Messages
8,694
Likes
0
Points
36
Location
Maryland
#36
I am 26. I remember using computers some in elementary school. We had typing class and everyone wanted to be the best because once you got done you could play games and if you were the fastest you could get one of the computers with Oregon trail on it (great motivator).
YES!

 

Gypsydals

New Member
Joined
Jul 13, 2008
Messages
2,804
Likes
0
Points
0
#37
If it is required by the school. Then the school should provide for the Ipad. If the school is not providing the ipad, then its not a need but a want for that child. And not to mention if the school isn't participating in the program. The chances of the child being able to use her/his ipad in school is slim.
Here the kids from middle on up have Ipads. But the school provided them. I can see the benefits and the downfalls of them. From what I understand the schools here went with the Ipad vs. the laptop. Is the ipads seem to be more durable than the laptops, not to mention lighter to carry.
 

CaliTerp07

Active Member
Joined
Sep 9, 2008
Messages
7,652
Likes
0
Points
36
Age
38
Location
Alexandria, VA
#38
Why are kids still carrying textbooks back and forth anyway? I mean, my school last year checked out books to all the kids, but they stayed at home all year long. They definitely weren't used in class every day! That's very outdated teaching methodologies if the teacher is going through the textbook each day during class time.
 

milos_mommy

Active Member
Joined
Oct 14, 2006
Messages
15,349
Likes
0
Points
36
#40
I was only in high school a few years ago, and it was expected of us to lug our textbooks back and forth from school, I honestly think that's part of the reason I have back problems. Because as much as you tell a 14 or 15 year old to get a backpack with padded straps and a waist support and a spinal pad blah blah blah, they're still going to throw everything in whatever trendy tote or whatever and drag that around.

After a while I figured out how to do the work in textbooks during lunch or between classes, and brought the work in smaller books or online home.
 

Members online

No members online now.
Top