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News & ArtsThursday, March 7, 2013
Education / Tech Mercer Island to Distribute iPads to All High Schoolers
Posted by Goldy on Thu, Mar 7, 2013 at 8:43 AM
The Mercer Island School District will kick off its "One to One" iPad initiative next month by distributing free iPads to all 10th and 11th graders. The iPads will be used by students for the remainder of the year, returned for the summer, and then redistributed in September.
Say what you want about the economic disparity that allows districts like Mercer Island to hand out iPads while other districts struggle to pay for more basic needs, but I'm guessing that this technology will be the norm in schools, not the exception, by the end of the decade. The advantages over traditional textbooks are too obvious and numerous to list. This is the future.
But there's one huge advantage that might not be so obvious about this inevitable shift away from print and toward digital: It breaks the power of the Texas Board of Education to dictate what is and is not in our nation's textbooks. Because Texas is one of the largest buyers of textbooks in the English-speaking world, publishers would tailor their texts to the state's demands, making textbook approval a highly politicized process in the conservative state. And the economies of scale of printing, warehousing, and distributing meant that the rest of the nation would get these Texas-approved textbooks too.
No more. In the digital realm, publishers are adjusting their content to the curriculums of individual states. For example, Texas students can continue to get history texts that teach that the United States was founded as a Christian nation, while the rest of our nation's students can learn the truth. A triumph of technology.
Anyway, as the parent of a Mercer Island High School student (no, I don't live there, my daughter's mother does), I'll be watching this experiment with great interest, and no doubt will report back my own observations.
1
Of course, the Texas Board of Education has done just fine in destroying common sense.
Look no further than the Zinn history books and how grotesquely twisted that has made us...
Look no further than the Zinn history books and how grotesquely twisted that has made us...
2
What a waste of taxpayers money to lock our schools into an out dated technology controlled by one company.
3
The Shoreline district has been doing this since 2006 with laptops and is now switching to i-pads.
http://schools.shorelineschools.org/tech…
http://schools.shorelineschools.org/tech…
4
While ipads are not necessarily going to be the norm, if some other tablets like the kindle become able to preload all text books onto them, I could see this definitely happening.
How many text books does the average student use within a year? Calculate the cost of replacing those text books versus a kindle and it might actually be a more economical solution. ($200 for a kindle fire and maybe Amazon might give the schools better deals for buying in bulk.)
Parents might have an issue with it as trusting your kid not to lose a tablet and forcing the parents to cough up enough for a new one when it happens is going to be a hurdle (not for Mercer Island folks, but for others)
How many text books does the average student use within a year? Calculate the cost of replacing those text books versus a kindle and it might actually be a more economical solution. ($200 for a kindle fire and maybe Amazon might give the schools better deals for buying in bulk.)
Parents might have an issue with it as trusting your kid not to lose a tablet and forcing the parents to cough up enough for a new one when it happens is going to be a hurdle (not for Mercer Island folks, but for others)
7
I'm not sure each school district being able to have it's own custom made history text book is a good thing. Students in wacky right-wing places will read nothing but wacky right-wing history. Students in wacky left-wing places will read nothing but wacky left-wing history. I think the result will be greater political polarization.
8
I imagine the chiropractor industry will start calling foul any time now. Imagine how much better our back health would be if we hadn't had to carry around heavy backpacks all through school.
9
The cost of the physical book is not what makes textbooks expensive. It's the cost of creating the content.
10
My son goes to Rose Hill Middle School in Redmond. Kids at Rose Hill began receiving Netbook computers last year. We love it and it's a money and time saver. A. Books are now on their computer or on line. No more storing and distributing heavy books. No more outdated books that need to be repurchased. No more shipping pallets of books to various school. No more kids carrying 6 - 10 books around all day long. B. The teacher can poll the class. The kids can answer a few test questions on line and the teacher can see how they are doing - are 50% of the kids not understanding and missing 2 out of 3 or are the majority following a concept. While they are at their desks, you can see what their lap top screen is doing on a ‘master’ screen that’s where the old school chalk board use to go. C. Easier grading and feedback on how you did in real time. D. Zackary had to do a Lewis & Clark report. His format? He created a Web Site about Lewis & Clark. Time are different now and our I’m glad that our school systems are evolving along with them!
11
Yes, but what breaks Texas's hold on what goes into textbooks also breaks California's. We've made textbooks a lot more progressive for the rest of the country. (We buy more textbooks than Texas.) So the downside is that companies will be able to afford to tailor materials to a far smaller states than they perviously could. And I think that will empower states like Idaho and and Virginia to set education back in their respective neighborhoods. I'm not sure a text book world where each state is empowered to set any list of demands on publishers is superior to a polarized world where states had to choose between CA and TX curriculums.
12
@7 Right now everyone gets wacky right wing history as the norm... unless a progressive teacher also shows an alternative (usually out of their own salary).
14
@12 Lurk, what do you mean "wacky right wing history?"
The schools are FULL of lib-teachers trying to twist their version of history into a dirty white sock.
The schools are FULL of lib-teachers trying to twist their version of history into a dirty white sock.
15
Somewhere in South Lake Union, somebody is writing an uncomfortable email to Jeff Bezos about why the MI school district isn't handing out Kindle Fire HD's.
(Amazon should have won this one -- they have "Whispercast" which is basically an over-the-air e-book distribution system that institutions can use to push things like manuals and textbooks to all enrollees. AFAIK, Apple offers no such feature.)
(Amazon should have won this one -- they have "Whispercast" which is basically an over-the-air e-book distribution system that institutions can use to push things like manuals and textbooks to all enrollees. AFAIK, Apple offers no such feature.)
16
@9 Yes, but that cost is greatly decreasing in our interconnected world. Someone researching the necessary content for a Educational Text 50 years ago, vs someone doing it today is completely different.
17
My heart goes out to their IT staff. I predict 1/3 of said iPads will be non-functional (or just plain missing) by the end of the school year.
18
How much of the cost of producing a textbook is actually in the printing and shipping of the physical book? My understanding was that the major cost of the book was from paying the writers and researchers, and then paying any intellectual property costs associated with the book.
If that's the case, Texas maintains its stranglehold...
By the way, why does Texas have a stranglehold, but California doesn't?
If that's the case, Texas maintains its stranglehold...
By the way, why does Texas have a stranglehold, but California doesn't?
19
Ooops...delayed post. @9 already made my point. See what happens when I walk away from the computer for an hour.
20
Years and years ago when I was in high school they distrubuted internet ready PDAs (remember those?) to the freshman class for basically the same reason.
A year later, they took them away, because they were used by the kids exclusively for cheating on exams and porn, and used exclusively by the teachers for porn.
A year later, they took them away, because they were used by the kids exclusively for cheating on exams and porn, and used exclusively by the teachers for porn.
21
#10, is there evidence that kids at your school are learning as well or better than with physical books (and without having these machines on their desks)?
22
They don't necessarily need to give them full tablet funcitionality. Just a tablet with the books they will need pre-loaded. Everything else can be locked down. Should cut down on IT time and energy. Using iPads is just a proof-of-concept. I know NewsCorp is developing a tablet specifically for schools.
http://techcrunch.com/2013/03/06/news-co…
http://techcrunch.com/2013/03/06/news-co…
23
@12 Why any school would allow a teacher to do such a thing is beyond me. I mean indoctrinate young people with your cockamamie notions of 'social justice' all you want, but do it on your own time.
24
Given the location, you'd think they would give out Surfaces, not iPads. Who pushed that contract?
More evidence that our state's school funding methodology is brain-fuckingly bankrupt. You won't see Federal Way handing out free iPads. They can barely hand out free education.
More evidence that our state's school funding methodology is brain-fuckingly bankrupt. You won't see Federal Way handing out free iPads. They can barely hand out free education.
25
Obviously people on Mercer Island have too much money and don't need to be exempted from tolls anymore.
26
Several comments.
"What a waste of taxpayers money to lock our schools into an out dated technology controlled by one company."
Actually there are tablets just for school use. They don't have to buy iPads and I hope they consider shopping around.
Concern around the condition and location of iPads is not a small one. This has happened a lot at Cleveland STEM high school in Seattle. And the insurance is costly.
I worked in the textbook publishing industry. Texas has long dominated it because of the huge amount of buying they did. California did, indeed, also have sway but Texas would get out there early, review texts and then place their orders. The publishers would based a lot of what they stocked on that single state's order.
Sad but true.
I think we are moving towards a more technology-based education but there should be a lot of thought about how much time - both in and out of school - that students spend with a screen.
"What a waste of taxpayers money to lock our schools into an out dated technology controlled by one company."
Actually there are tablets just for school use. They don't have to buy iPads and I hope they consider shopping around.
Concern around the condition and location of iPads is not a small one. This has happened a lot at Cleveland STEM high school in Seattle. And the insurance is costly.
I worked in the textbook publishing industry. Texas has long dominated it because of the huge amount of buying they did. California did, indeed, also have sway but Texas would get out there early, review texts and then place their orders. The publishers would based a lot of what they stocked on that single state's order.
Sad but true.
I think we are moving towards a more technology-based education but there should be a lot of thought about how much time - both in and out of school - that students spend with a screen.
27
Say what you want about the economic disparity ...
All too frequently lately, Goldstein comes out with one of these completely douchetard remarks suggesting he may not really be a "liberal" -- or a real democrat, and certainly not a progressive!
Ah, douchey, the American educational system (what exists thereof) has always been a Capitalist Educational System, with brief lapses towards economic democracy/equality of opportunity, but all too few and far between.
All too frequently lately, Goldstein comes out with one of these completely douchetard remarks suggesting he may not really be a "liberal" -- or a real democrat, and certainly not a progressive!
Ah, douchey, the American educational system (what exists thereof) has always been a Capitalist Educational System, with brief lapses towards economic democracy/equality of opportunity, but all too few and far between.
29
gene, ken: "indoctrinating" is also what occurs when the official version of history is taught. the whitewashed, rah rah USA #1 version is the default.
either the alternative that these theoretical "libs" teach has truth or it doesn't. in many cases, including zinn's people's history, it has a lot of negleted truths.
but since you both live in a world where facts don't matter or exist only to be bent to serve the interests of power, i understand your objections.
either the alternative that these theoretical "libs" teach has truth or it doesn't. in many cases, including zinn's people's history, it has a lot of negleted truths.
but since you both live in a world where facts don't matter or exist only to be bent to serve the interests of power, i understand your objections.
30
@29 Perhaps your right. As a teenager I thoroughly enjoyed Howard Zinn's version of what happened when Columbus discovered America. It's a much better story w/ all the blood and gore left in.
31
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32
Goldy, I believe the term is "baby's momma."
Give that one a shot. "Daughter's mother" is a bit staid. Much more Mercer Island than South Seattle, if you want to put it that way.
Remember, you're hip, you're with it!
Give that one a shot. "Daughter's mother" is a bit staid. Much more Mercer Island than South Seattle, if you want to put it that way.
Remember, you're hip, you're with it!
33
@23,
The official U.S. history textbook I read in eighth grade made a concerted effort to inform us that slavery wasn't so bad. We had a teacher who told us to ignore that bullshit. She didn't go far enough (by, for example, showing us *real* historical sources), but fuck you for dictating that she wasn't allowed to teach us actual history.
The official U.S. history textbook I read in eighth grade made a concerted effort to inform us that slavery wasn't so bad. We had a teacher who told us to ignore that bullshit. She didn't go far enough (by, for example, showing us *real* historical sources), but fuck you for dictating that she wasn't allowed to teach us actual history.
34
Mercer Island is behind the times. The Shoreline school district already did this last year. Or maybe it was the beginning of this school year; I don't remember exactly. Anyway, Shoreline has issued iPads to all their high school students. They require the parents to pay for a relatively inexpensive insurance policy to cover lost or broken iPads.
This was basically a move up. Or over. They had issued laptops to all high schoolers several years ago. A few got lost or broken, but not as many as you might imagine. The insurance covered the losses. The students goofed off with them occasionally, but the internet at school is filtered and use is monitored, which keeps the porn to a minimum. Teachers were trained in how to use them effectively to improve learning in the classrooms. It worked pretty well, all in all.
This was basically a move up. Or over. They had issued laptops to all high schoolers several years ago. A few got lost or broken, but not as many as you might imagine. The insurance covered the losses. The students goofed off with them occasionally, but the internet at school is filtered and use is monitored, which keeps the porn to a minimum. Teachers were trained in how to use them effectively to improve learning in the classrooms. It worked pretty well, all in all.
35
Ironic. Do remember when Mercer Island tech levy was in danger because of the district's reliance (then) on Apple in a community of Microsoft techies.
36
Unfortunately the textbook writers/publishers have not caught up with technology. Many of them will claim to have "interactive digital editions" which turn out to be a bunch if .pdfs with a hyperlinked table of contents. Woo-hoo.
Shoreline School District has had 1:1 iPads at one high school for 2 years, and at the other high school for one year. There are several other districts around the country who have followed suit - Shoreline was the model for some of them, according to the literature - and all have discovered that the technology has moved way ahead of the content.
Shoreline School District has had 1:1 iPads at one high school for 2 years, and at the other high school for one year. There are several other districts around the country who have followed suit - Shoreline was the model for some of them, according to the literature - and all have discovered that the technology has moved way ahead of the content.
37
The thing Goldy's ecstatic about is that his daughter won't be mingling in the same school as Mudede's kids. Well, he would never say it, but the lack of disruptions..well, you know. Hip Hop Forever! Sorry if you don't get invited to the Rhodesian Thanksgiving!
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