05-23-2016, 07:34 PM
We have more than 100 iPads now in this K-8 school. We have found that they are OUTSTANDING for K-3, less useful, but still useful, in grades 4-5, and by about 6th grade, not very useful.
An iPad IS NOT A TYPING DEVICE! If you want to generate content; AN. IPAD. IS. NOT. THE. RIGHT. TOOL!
If you want to expose the kids to media you have created, or let them play a HUGE variety of educational games, then the iPad is an extraordinary tool.
We also have more than 225 Chromebooks.
They are not very useful in K-3, fairly useful for 4-5, and SPECTACULARLY useful in 6th to 8th grades. In fact, we'll be ordering 60-90 more this summer.
The Chromebook is NOT an iPad. It is not good for younger hands, and is not a "touch device" (at least, not the ones we can afford).
They each have their uses.
I skimmed parts of the linked article... they're trying to use iPads for the wrong uses, in the wrong grades, so of COURSE they're not finding them useful. Right in the picture it shows an iPad with the keyboard input menu up - the very thing that the iPad is NOT GOOD AT (no matter how Apple likes to downplay that). It's not a surprise that the 7th through 12th grade classes they surveyed were not happy with the iPad... that's not where it shines.
An iPad IS NOT A TYPING DEVICE! If you want to generate content; AN. IPAD. IS. NOT. THE. RIGHT. TOOL!
If you want to expose the kids to media you have created, or let them play a HUGE variety of educational games, then the iPad is an extraordinary tool.
We also have more than 225 Chromebooks.
They are not very useful in K-3, fairly useful for 4-5, and SPECTACULARLY useful in 6th to 8th grades. In fact, we'll be ordering 60-90 more this summer.
The Chromebook is NOT an iPad. It is not good for younger hands, and is not a "touch device" (at least, not the ones we can afford).
They each have their uses.
I skimmed parts of the linked article... they're trying to use iPads for the wrong uses, in the wrong grades, so of COURSE they're not finding them useful. Right in the picture it shows an iPad with the keyboard input menu up - the very thing that the iPad is NOT GOOD AT (no matter how Apple likes to downplay that). It's not a surprise that the 7th through 12th grade classes they surveyed were not happy with the iPad... that's not where it shines.