Posted on 01/30/2012 8:47:37 AM PST by RicocheT
Summary: It’s actually cheaper to go to another planet than to give an iPad to every child.
This month, Apple dropped a bombshell on the academic community by introducing iBooks Textbooks and iBooks Author. In combination, the two create a compelling framework for re-engineering the textbook in electronic form for K-12 students, permitting for rich color educational content and possibly an entirely new textbook ecosystem that could be made accessible to tens of millions of schoolchildren.
The problems with Apple’s daring textbook plan are twofold. First, in that the iPad as a hardware platform is completely unsuitable to the needs of schoolchildren and schools, not just from an initial capitalization factor but also from a durability one.
Second, legitimate concerns with the company’s “walled garden” aside, is that the iPad lacks the type of software management ecosystem that is required to host and deploy an entire curriculum of schoolwork for thousands of American schools and millions of K-12 students.
I discussed at length with my ZDNet Education colleague Chris Dawson exactly what type of hardware and software and back-end infrastructure would be required, and the conclusion we came to is that the scale of the problem that we are trying to solve is monumental.
(Excerpt) Read more at zdnet.com ...
Apple is now getting into electronic book as well as its lucrative music distribution. The article points out the iPad may not be the answer. Will our brainwashed public "educators" who look for quick fixes to our troubled public schools choose Apple, rather than other ways or products? Also, are paper books really outmoded, or not? Cost v. benefit should be a factor as we taxpayers want the best bang for our tax bucks.
I would think that a tablet would work great and streamline content. The only problem would be distractions such as kids watching videos, etc.
I’m guessing that a content lock-down, with a wi-fi inaccessible to students, and a passworded entry everytime the ipad goes into sleep mode (every 5 minutes) would decrease theft and make the system work.
Students interact naturally with technology and the ipad might facilitate it. You would need a very good tech coordinator, however, to manage and suppress content.
I’d be curious of the costs for the iBook licenses. I know I spent over $300 for my daughter’s high school text books this year, if the books were down around 100 per year plus 800 for the iPad, I’d about break even. I guess she’d appreciate not hauling all those books around too.
Not true in my school district in Atlanta Metro. It's all Windows.
Just a thought ... just because Ricky Rich has a new set of Nike’s doesn’t mean that everyone deserves a pair. Just because his older brother Davy drives a Porche, doesn’t mean that everyone is entitled to one either.
However, if Mom and Dad want to put aside the Budweisers, cigarretes, movies and steaks for a little while - and actually make a sacrifice for their kids - the iPads are not out of reach of the average American consumer.
A kid who EARNS an iPad, will take proper care of that iPad, and it will last years. It will also mean he won’t be lugging a 20lb backpack full of books.
The iPad is an ALTERNATIVE to a textbook - in many ways it may be superior to a textbook. Just like a Porche is superior to a bike - it doesn’t mean that everyone is entitled to a Porche.
guess i’m old and out of touch but you have to buy high school books now? the schools don’t lend them out for the semester?
Bravo,
I surmise that Mr. Homes is talking about a private school.
As for iPads for the kids, a lot of them will just use them to text, sext, and watch porn.
All of these electronic books will have an impact on the environment as it takes electricity to power them.
And the lessons of today can be rewritten next year with no physical record of the global warming/cooling/warming “CHANGE” that was once predicted.
Apple has been strong in pushing their products in schools from their beginnings as a company. They offer steep discounts to the education market. The problem I have with schools is that they waste taxpayer money on these products, rather than focusing on teaching the basic three "R"s. I love Apple products, but hi-tech tools don't necessarily need to be showered on young kids in order to teach them. I collect and fix old Apple computers as a hobby. It's disconcerting to buy old Apple computers that are not very old for only a few dollars from recyclers because a school district gave them away. The school administrators buy high and give away in a never-ending cycle.
It all depends on the school, the budget, etc. Our sons' public high school is in a well funded school district. Textbooks are normally loaned out for the school year, and you can tell by the succession of names in the front of each book that they are used for many years. Unless the content becomes outdated, I'd estimate 8-10 years in many cases. The students are responsible for supplying some of their instructional materials. Typically we buy several books for summer reading assignments for AP English and history classes. In the fall, we usually buy a few more books because some teachers insist on having the students write in books of literature as a method of teaching them to read with analysis in mind. Finally, we may occasionally be called upon to buy single-use workbooks, such as for math or language studies. This is usually for younger students, fortunately.
Here's the problem: All these high school text books add up to a lot of weight. Our 16 year old son is a sturdy kid - 6 foot tall, swimmer, very fit. He gets constant headaches from the neck strain when he carries all this stuff around all day. His locker is too far from his classes, and he needs to schlep most of this stuff around with him. We've gone online and bought used copies of some of his heaviest books so that he at least didn't have to carry them on the bus. He still ends up carrying them all day, so it's an incomplete solution.
The e-books idea is very interesting, and would solve some of the problems of carrying so much stuff around. They are also readily updated, and could include a lot of excellent supporting material like video demonstrations, virtual field trips, etc. I don't see the adoption of e-books being a uniform district-wide action, because of the different needs and capabilities of different age groups. I could see starting with the older kids who would be kinder to the equipment and who currently are being asked to carry around a lot of weight. Little kids would love it, but the issues of damaged equipment are more significant. I believe e-books of some kind are coming, but it's a big transition and won't be sorted out overnight.
The business model really reminds me of the whole razor and blade strategy. Sell the razor once and create a long-term demand for your re-fill blades. It used to work for cameras and film until digital technology came along. If Apple gets its hooks into these school districts with their platform, they have a vast captive market for their content updates. As it stands, we have a healthy re-sale market for used textbooks, and some of us actually hang onto old books because we know where to find things in them. Going digital is a very different way of operating.
For some kids technology might help them with learning the 3 R's. It affords us the opportunity to engage their brains differently and address different styles and capabilities of learning. That's all good stuff. Unfortunately, for some of us, that differentiated instruction becomes time consuming and distracting when we'd really like to just 'git 'er done' using time-tested methods of instruction.
“...permitting for rich color educational content.”
My kids used Saxon Math. These books (at least back then) were black and white, no picture, and about the only concession to PC was to use the name Juan, rather than John, in a few places. They entered college between 3 and 6 years ahead of their age-level.
It really doesn’t take much, just making sure that junior sits down and does problems...WITHOUT A CALCULATOR.
The public schools in our district are considered failing schools and the demographics have changed considerably with the obliteration of property values. Drop crotched thugs and low expectations rule. So we have no choice but home school or private school. We’ve done a mix of both.
But the thing to remember, is whether I pay for the books because it is a private school, or collectively we all pay for the books as part of public school, it seems like there should be favorable economics of moving to a modern platform for text books. My only reservation with Apple is their tendency toward proprietary software and content, rather than an open and competitive market that would bring more market forces to bare on the price of the content.
> . My only reservation with Apple is their tendency toward
> proprietary software and content
Being a Linux geek, my response would be to use Open Source Software!
:)
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