Teachers in pilot project explain how iPads used in classes in Willmar, Minn., classrooms
November 25, 2011 at 6:00 pm in West Central Tribune
WILLMAR The Willmar business community could be a partner in helping the Willmar School District put iPad2 tablet computers in the hands of high school students next year.
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***Kjergaard OK’d a pilot project for three high school teachers that later expanded to six. He challenged them to prove that it would be useful in classrooms.*** I understand the desire to have cutting edge technology in school, but at what cost and to what end? I would challenge Kjergaard to first convince me that this would somehow be more useful as a teaching tool rather than instead becoming another tax burden, another teaching fad or distraction at both the school and home. At $400 a piece,who’s responsible for broken Ipads? Lost or stolen ones? A teacher said how they could be used to replace the interactive whiteboard (SMART Board) didn’t they just get those, now they are trying to replace them? Come on, lets just teach the kids and stop trying to keep up with the Joneses.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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I teach in an area school and am lucky to have an iPad classroom set. I spent my summer creating my own flexible textbook instead of having the school buy new textbooks for our department. Having an online flex book instead of an old paper text will save the district money over the years to come. Also, the flex book can be edited from year to year allowing teachers to keep up with the dynamic curriculum. Then add to the experience, Apps such as interactive periodic tables, virtual cells, video physics and genetic code…students who have a chance to use the iPad have many more opportunities to learn than students who do not.
How we get our information these days has changed quite a bit. The question for you Chris, are you ok with our kids not having the opportunity others around the world have because it costs too much?
Btw, it sounds like a group of private business partners are looking at sharing the cost…sounds like a great win for Willmar schools.
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Maybe more information would be nice. I am not totally against it. But I highly doubt that by not having the latest IPad our children will be left out or more behind others around the world. I just can’t see getting a IPad into the students hands is going to somehow “fix” our education system. Their concern about how to make them useful without a internet connection shows just how reliable/vulnerable this teaching tool is. Being a teacher you would know and correct me if I’m wrong, but are the schools required to purchase certain books for classroom instruction? If so would they still have to buy those books under a government mandate? What I am also wondering and more concerned about would be the retention of all the information we are throwing at the kids. How smart are we when all the answers are just searched or looked up on an app? Are we beginning to rewiring our self’s to become unable to problem solve without a computer, smartphone or IPad to find the answer? When I was in school we started learning the metric system and I loved it. Just move the decimal point to convert mm to Kilometers. Why are we still teaching everything in the English system when the rest of the world (including nearly every nut and bolt on things bought now days) is in the metric system? BTW I had an excellent teacher that wrote each and every assignment out long hand in such a way that you needed to actually read the textbook to find the answers. Skimming and searching the index or glossary didn’t work with him. I am not against technology and I love the latest gadget, but it has to be useful, cost effective and durable. Are schools are trying to compete too much against the other schools and not getting the kids prepared for college and the real world? Yes I have a computer and smartphone that I use nearly everyday, but I still have to pay for that internet connection, apps and programs…so they are not “free”…updates may not work right, virus, identity theft, hacking and stolen personal data are just a few of the problems I need to deal with. Are all the kids ready for these problems also? Convince me this is a good idea…
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I am also an educator in the area with student access to the iPad. I don’t see the iPad “fixing” the education system, but I do see it impoving teachers abilities to differentiate their instruction in the classroom to meet the needs of thier students. If you want a fix to the system, get a hold of a local legislative leader and express your opinion. If you want classrooms in your school district to have a tool that has train-loads of opportunites for students to enhance their education I believe the iPad will help.
Chris, I am happy you had a teacher that made learning and reading your textbook useful. I try to do the same in my classroom. I just have more sources for my content other than a textbook or guided reading notes that I create to go with the textbook. I try to teach the power of inquiry to my students and the ability to problem solve, along with the basics of biology. The iPad is a very nice supplement to my content because all of the information that is simply at the students finger tips.
To answer your question of whether it is worth the $ is easy. Yes! I have lab equipment in my room that has piled up over 25-30 years that has cost the district a bunch of money (light microscopes, balances…triple beam and digital, thermometers, beackers, graduated cylinders and many different chemicals), and I think in combination to the new technology out there the iPads are worth it. I also believe if we truly want to push STEM into our classroom we need to properly fund our science and math programs so we can engage and inspire our next generation of problem solvers.
Jake Suter
YME Science Dept.
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I talked a bit with my son about the IPad and they are using it in the his class. Told me alot of stuff is restricted on them. Many web sites have been blocked or filtered out. They rarely use them from the sound of our conversation. I’m also not aware of any businesses that are using the IPad on a regular basis. (Correct me if I am wrong) Many have moved away from the Mac also and using PCs instead. The schools have alot of desk-top PCs. Why not replace them on the next lease with lap-tops for the students? Home work could be made in PDF form, filled out by the student and e-mailed or turned in on a flash drive to his/her teacher. (I’m not losing you am I Bac?) My son already has a lap-top, so the school wouldn’t even need to buy him one! I’m sure the business community could and would be more willing donate used lap tops to the schools. The business would get a tax write-off and if the students would be allowed to bring them home, the households without computers would now have access to one and everyone would be a winner! The math and science books are already on-line so couldn’t the school just not purchase the paper version if every student had a lap-top? If they kept donating, eventually the graduating class could keep their lap-tops as a small carrot, giving the student one less thing to buy for college. That should actually save the schools money while at the same time getting rid of Bac’s mimeograph. HA! Just not sure all options have been thought out here…or have they?
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I appreciate all the points that are given about the IPad. Many are good and some I hadn’t thought about. But I still haven’t had my questions really answered. Is the school going to spend any money on books, paper etc for the class the IPad is going to be used in? If so Why? How much will have to be spent on Wireless, software upgrades at the schools if any? Who will be paying that and how? I want to know if this is a wise use of limited dollars and/or if we need to change state law to allow for true savings from a IPad. If the school is still buying the same books PLUS the IPad and/or spending to make Wireless classrooms in all the schools, to me the IPad sounds like an expense, even if it is bought by the business community.
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Well, Chris, we’ve moved past the age of the mimeograph, (as much as I miss the smell of that ink). We’re on the verge, if not past it, of being a completely paperless society.
We’re still in transition, but it won’t be long before all the schoolbooks are online.
This is just one more step in preparing our children to be able to compete in a world marketplace.
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Lets not get all tied up in a knot Bac, I’m well aware where we are heading, but it makes no sense to throw money down the drain with text books that won’t be used, if the school is mandated to buy them because of some dumb rule, law or contract. Whats so flipping hard about answering a question without insinuating I somehow am behind times?
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If all this technology overloaded and crashed… would our kids even know how to pick up pen and paper and physically write the alphabet, muchless their own names?
It’s kind of sad, actually… how handwriting is becoming so antiquated.
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Breezy I somewhat agree with you. Will they ever know how to add, subject, multiply, or divide – not unless they have a calculator. Technology is great for inquiring and expanding ones view outside the box but experience can never be taken away.
The only other comment I have is with regards to the person who said they developed their curriculum over the summer. But is the instructor limiting the curriculum from their viewpoint of what should be used to teach the students? The explanation of students being able to inquiry is great but how many will actually do it.
Yes, technology is great, applications in learning maybe useful, but why do we have the problem of students lacking skills when entering college? While technology may give ways to teach with many answers , it also creates many questions in the future.
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As a mom, I did not allow my kids to have email at an early age so they never picked up those bad punctuation habits. Now that they are older and have cell phones, I notice that they often use commas and Caps when texting. They are also quite talented student writers. Young students are still being taught the basics at school – all this technology is for enhancements. Students will have access to current data, or conflicting and/or supporting information. For example, history is often taught with limited information – dates, places, people – but history is subject to so much interpretation. It’s a critical thinking class in college, but not in K-12.
As a college student myself, I see great value in preparing our children for the realities of college. Distance learning is becoming very popular; even full-time campus students will take an occasional on-line course. It is imperative that students have the tools that will make then successful in college and in the workforce. The same basics (the 3 Rs – ya write:) are the foundation, but teaching our students how to use technology productively is also essential.
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