[plug] WA Govenment iPads for year 1 and 2 students

[Alexander Hartner]

My kids public school has a special technology program which covers a lot of different aspects. The program does however require the purchase or lease of Apple hardware 

http://ashdalesc.wa.edu.au/teaching-and-learning/specialist-technology-science-program/enrolment-for-2013-year-8-intake/
"What commitment is needed from families for successful participation in the program?
Access to appropriate technology is vital. Ashdale Secondary College will provide access to specialist software, specially trained teachers and specialist industry personal. Parents will be required to provide students with access to Apple MacBooks, in a one to one program model.  There are a number of purchasing and lease arrangements that have been made possible through our partnership with Apple and more information regarding this will be provided at parent evenings during Term 2."

I wonder what they going to learn that can't be done on a non-Mac computer. 

I am rather keen to take a look at that document. 
Regards
Alex


On 09/02/2012, at 11:04 , Michael Van Delft wrote:

> Hi everyone,
> 
> At the LCA Bid meeting Luke mentioned that some people have been
> kicking around the idea of putting together a formal letter to send to
> Premier Colin Barnett and Education Minister Liz Constable about the
> “nearly 900 iPads” for year 1 and 2s that the WA State Government is
> spending “$1million”[1] on. I would be very interested in getting
> something like an open letter or partition going. I personally believe
> that this is atrocious, educating young children about technology is a
> step in the right direction but iPads are not the right tool for the
> job. Some of the points made were:
> 
> *Cost of the device ($1,000,000 / <900) is more than $1,110 per
> device. OLPC laptops are arround $400 I think and
> *Vendor Lock-in - Need iTunes
> *Suitability of the Device - vs OLPC laptops that are *designed* for
> education or even just of the shelf netbooks
> *Open-ness of the device software - what if a parent wants to write
> software like a maths quiz for their child?
> *Setting a standard - will parents of kids that don't get iPads
> through this program feel presured to buy iPads for their children?
> 
> I've started typing up a document last night on Google Docs that I
> intend to flesh out and make into a formal letter over the next few
> days. I'd appreciate any input that people may have and I've made the
> document publicly editable to anyone with the link so feel free to go
> and add/edit anything you think should be in there.
> 
> https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rcVJL11Hp4LOGZ50MuIJGKPKzCKc_EZQ6CCu55wRxMI/edit
> 
> 
> Regards,
> Michael
> 
> [1] www.premier.wa.gov.au/Ministers/Colin-Barnett/Pages/video.aspx
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