Should Schools Phase Out Textbooks in Favor of Tablets?

Ben_Reilly wrote:A modular tablet could save a lot on lifetime costs. Considering the expense of textbooks that Veya noted, that budget could easily pay for the distribution of tablets, which would only require maintenance and occasional replacement if they were ruggedized and modular.
Not even a problem if you have technocrats, as you can negotiate insane deals when you are looking at not only 100,000's of units but also to train the next generation in the use of their products.

Plus the interactive learning possibilities are enormous. Kids learning to read could tap difficult words and have them spoken, defined, used in example sentences, etc.
we already have so much more than that when you combine smart boards and cloud storage we are getting close to 'magic'. kids can literally click and be given entire video tutorials. part of the goal is to allow kids to work past their school grade, if they have an interest we want to make as much information available as possible. As we get more teachers making content we get even more out there. Often considered one of the best features is the teacher resource sharing, Now if one teacher is exceptional at teaching a certain subject matter their lesson can go out to every student in the state even if they go to a school thousands of kilometers away

People talk about the wear and tear (and hacking attempts) that would be involved in issuing tablets to students, but have the parents sign a form that says they could be held liable for the cost of replacement or repair and see how well those tablets are taken care of ...
hacking is non-issue, if you have technocrats as we just hack back which is beyond simple when you are the Administrator
wear and tear is fact of life and generally no worse than textbooks. it is less of an issue than you would think (about a quarter of a million netbooks are with students in my state) simply because the devices are under warranty like int he first point "Insane contracts" which include 4 year warranty which is the expected life frame of a netbook

Tommy Monk wrote:Veya you are wrong on many levels.


Even in English literature we are studying writings from decades or even centuries ago.


You don't need any tech tablets to learn basic arithmetic or any other core subjects.

Ben_Reilly wrote:

Tommy Monk wrote:Veya you are wrong on many levels.


Even in English literature we are studying writings from decades or even centuries ago.


You don't need any tech tablets to learn basic arithmetic or any other core subjects.

You completely lack imagination and cling to outmoded customs like a baby with a security blanket.

heavenlyfatheragain wrote:
perhaps we should just give them computers that do their lessons for them then their exams, then the computers can have the jobs the kids can have four kids and a council house of their own and live happily ever after..

I assume we are trying to produce more and more dumb people, it will ultimately make control easier...

Lone Wolf wrote:

THERE ARE already far too many tablets finding their way into classrooms down here in Oz  !!!

I RECKON it's time that more tablets were phased out and replaced with good ol' textbooks..

NOT ONLY easier on the eyes, but books also last a lot longer than tablets, especially under your usual classroom conditions..

ALSO, we need a return to actually teaching children the "6 R's" (Readin', 'riting', 'rithmetic, respect, rebelliousness and rioting..) ~ no computers until Year 2 and no tablets until Year 4 !

eddie wrote:

Ben_Reilly wrote:
You completely lack imagination and cling to outmoded customs like a baby with a security blanket.

I agree change can be for the good Ben, but honestly, children still need to learn to read and write with ordinary methods. There's nothing wrong with pencil and paper.

It teaches us to respect words and language IMO

Ben_Reilly wrote:For fuck's sake, nobody's saying that we don't teach reading, writing and arithmetic just because we use new technology to do so ...

eddie wrote:

Ben_Reilly wrote:For fuck's sake, nobody's saying that we don't teach reading, writing and arithmetic just because we use new technology to do so ...

No, it's the actual physical act of writing I'm arguing against Ben.
Already we see language being phased out with numbers; M8 (mate) being just one tiny example.
Teens are forgetting how to spell!!

Lone Wolf wrote:

eddie wrote:

Ben_Reilly wrote:
You completely lack imagination and cling to outmoded customs like a baby with a security blanket.

I agree change can be for the good Ben, but honestly, children still need to learn to read and write with ordinary methods. There's nothing wrong with pencil and paper.

It teaches us to respect words and language IMO

YEP !!!

eddie is on the right track..

NOT ONLY should students be taught how to read and write and count before moving on to computers;  but also :

learn some basic history and geography before studying "politics",
learn how to use a map and compass before learning to rely on GPS systems,
learn some basic science before tackling technology, "personal development", psychology and the like,
have commerce and economics made prerequisites for "business studies"..

AND make all year 10, 11 and 12 students study maths and science subjects, as well as English !

http://thewarrencentre.org.au/technology-educator-steps-up-to-nsw-board-of-studies/
“Also, every child in NSW has to do a minimum of 200 hours of technology studies in the junior school. It is the only western education system that I know of where this is mandatory,” he said.

Tommy Monk wrote:Veya you are wrong on many levels.


Even in English literature we are studying writings from decades or even centuries ago.


You don't need any tech tablets to learn basic arithmetic or any other core subjects.

Tommy Monk wrote:A pen and paper with decent teachers and blackboards and chalk and The occasional text books and print outs are all that's needed.
Much cheaper and more efficient than the expensive tablets and ensuing backroom IT networks and infrastructure and systems could ever be.
And let's face it... either way is only going to be showing the same information to be learned.

NOT a single part of the above is correct
But PLEASE get the UK to keep its primitive education.


As I said previously... we have had increasing tech over recent decades and declining standards. WRONG your standards are still higher You need to get FACTS Tommy don't make me defend the UK by telling you that YOU HAVE NOT SUCKED THAT MUCH. As displayed in table above your still going up just not as fast or as high as nations like Australia that have embraced technological education revolution


Plus what about the carbon footprint, pollution caused in manufactur etc, and extra electricity needed to power all this network of duplicity!?
Solar cells we are putting them in schools too


Seems the climate change argument only applies sometimes to the lefties...
LOL it takes more energy to make a book Tommy Please you are making things up this is my profession.

Irn Bru wrote:
Remember when it was ink-wells, pen nibs and ink stains over clothes and hands which took ages to get off.



I remember when text books were handed out in school that had been handed on from year to year and it was interesting to note on the inside cover all the names of the pupils that had had them before you did.

veya_victaous wrote:

Tommy Monk wrote:A pen and paper with decent teachers and blackboards and chalk and The occasional text books and print outs are all that's needed.
Much cheaper and more efficient than the expensive tablets and ensuing backroom IT networks and infrastructure and systems could ever be.
And let's face it... either way is only going to be showing the same information to be learned.

NOT a single part of the above is correct
But PLEASE get the UK to keep its primitive education.        


As I said previously... we have had increasing tech over recent decades and declining standards. WRONG your standards are still higher You need to get FACTS Tommy don't make me defend the UK by telling you that YOU HAVE NOT SUCKED THAT MUCH. As displayed in table above your still going up just not as fast or as high as nations like Australia that have embraced technological education revolution


Plus what about the carbon footprint, pollution caused in manufactur etc, and extra electricity needed to power all this network of duplicity!?
Solar cells we are putting them in schools too        


Seems the climate change argument only applies sometimes to the lefties...
LOL it takes more energy to make a book     Tommy Please you are making things up this is my profession.  

Tommy Monk wrote:There was a channel 4 documentary the other night showing schools and teachers cheating the exam system by lenient marking and helping students etc.

Tommy Monk wrote:Exactly hf.


Check out the channel 4 doc, can probably find it on catch up tv some how or probably on youtube.

Tommy Monk wrote:

veya_victaous wrote:

Tommy Monk wrote:A pen and paper with decent teachers and blackboards and chalk and The occasional text books and print outs are all that's needed.
Much cheaper and more efficient than the expensive tablets and ensuing backroom IT networks and infrastructure and systems could ever be.
And let's face it... either way is only going to be showing the same information to be learned.

NOT a single part of the above is correct
But PLEASE get the UK to keep its primitive education.        


As I said previously... we have had increasing tech over recent decades and declining standards. WRONG your standards are still higher You need to get FACTS Tommy don't make me defend the UK by telling you that YOU HAVE NOT SUCKED THAT MUCH. As displayed in table above your still going up just not as fast or as high as nations like Australia that have embraced technological education revolution


Plus what about the carbon footprint, pollution caused in manufactur etc, and extra electricity needed to power all this network of duplicity!?
Solar cells we are putting them in schools too        


Seems the climate change argument only applies sometimes to the lefties...
LOL it takes more energy to make a book     Tommy Please you are making things up this is my profession.  

Firstly veya, our education standards have declined in recent decades, don't be fooled by the increasing exam results as all that has been happening really is they have been getting made easier every year and students now leave with a string of qualifications but struggle with basic numeracy and literacy.


Plenty of evidence out there to support this... even businesses are complaining about it!


Secondly, the cost of a shit load of new tech and IT infrastructure and backroom servers and software etc can never be cheaper than the already existing black boards text books.


Plus solar panels don't come out of thin air, they also Have their manufacturing costs to the environment and financially .



1+1 is still going to equal 2 no matter whether being shown on a blackboard in chalk or in any other format or device.



You say you are involved in this 'business' so no wonder you are pushing this as being better.


But I don't buy it.

veya_victaous wrote:those same employer that have been cutting training expense, lowering wages and expecting a higher level employee as a casual.

No, employers selecting young people on The basis of qualifications and expecting a certain level of competence only to be expected from someone who has achieved said qualifications, willing to then invest in progressing them further only to find they are failing in basic numeracy and literacy skills and then wanting to know how our exam system can be awarding so many people with such high grades in multiple subjects when they not only know very little about each vocation but are also lacking in these fundamental numeracy and literacy skills!?

Companies are increasingly finding that they are having to first educate these youngsters in these core fundamentals that they should already have A high standard in if their claimed qualification is to be in any way legitimate.


AND every generation does the same Because OLD people suck that is just fact
Old people always complain about the generation before and say they were better when clearly progress show they where not We can literally see this all the way back in ancient Greece.


Not at all in this case... surely you would expect a school leaver with a string of high grade passes in multiple subjects to be able to do basic spelling and arithmetic etc!?

Plus I've already said how a few years ago, a group of 'Advanced level (A level)' maths students were given some old 'ordinary level' (O level) maths papers to do, and they all failed dismally!!!

Maths doesn't change and given that these A level students had already passed the O level equivalent exams with flying colours... you would have expected much more from them if the exams were really of same standards!?


AND your businesses are clearly MUCH worse than the past so maybe it is them shifting the blame for their own failure to keep up with the modern world.


Reality is every generation is better than the last. It is denied because when people actually take number is it proven untrue it is JUST OLD PEOPLE BRAINS they don't like change and young people represent Change it is not they are wrong they are doing things the new way. you economy is dropping because your BUSINESS are failing to adapt to the new way and blaming the people they should be following.

veya_victaous wrote:Cause maybe England is that Shit house, I don't know You guys seem to be crap at everything.
How the fuck did you ever have an empire????  


Anyway Handwriting has just officially became Obsolete.

Victor would appreciate this borrows a lot of components from a CNC router

Lone Wolf wrote:

NEITHER the English nor the British people can be considered to be separate "races", heavenly'.

SO, WHERE'S the implied "racism" in veya's insults ?

I believe "nationalism"/"nationalist" is the more correct term for your blast against veya there..  
Just saying...

mentor wrote:And just WHAT are you going to do when the technology fails

when some nation or other perfects a purely EMP bomb?

or we get hit with a nice juicy solar flare

and all the precious tech goes up in smoke