[plug] iPads in WA schools

[David Dartnall]

On 08/04/13 13:12, Michael Van Delft wrote:
> I used to be the sysadmin in a high school and I was vehemently
> opposed to iPads.
>
> Partly because of the closed nature of the device (Can’t develop for
> it without a $99 USD Developers license, need iTunes, can't
> repair/modify it, etc…) and partly because I don’t believe that
> tablets (be they iOS, Android or any other OS) are useful in a
> classroom when you can buy a netbook that can do more for less. They
> are fine for consuming media (e.g watch a video, read a book, look at
> pictures, check email) but useless for producing it. It took a bit of
> explaining that they were not a good idea for an English class to do
> essays. I pointed out to many teachers with dreams of a class full of
> reports and classwork getting done on iPads the lack of office suite
> and even with one; you can type quicker on a laptop/netbook.
>
> The one redeeming feature I found was the “Shiny” factor. We had a
> problem with attendance and kids skipping class but in classes where
> they got to play with an iPad we had markedly better attendance rates.
> I don’t know how much sinks in when they are sitting up the back
> playing angry birds with their mates but it’s got to be better than
> skipping class and tagging up the local skate park.
>
> Interestingly not long after I left they bought a bunch of MacBooks and iPads.
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Fully agree with your argument.
Wonder of it's possible to find out who the "they" are and ask for 
"their" response.
Might be interesting...
Dave