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No Child Left Untableted

Posted by samzenpus on from the get-your-device dept.

theodp writes "Made possible by a $30 million grant from the Dept. of Education's Race to the Top program, the NY Times reports that every student and teacher in 18 of Guilford County's (NC) middle schools is receiving a tablet created and sold by Amplify, a division of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. The tablets — 15,450 in all — are to be used for class work, homework, educational games — just about everything. With a total annual per unit lease cost of $214, Amplify was the low bidder of those responding to Guilford's Race-to-the-Top RFP, including Apple. Touted by Amplify as one of the largest tablet deployments in K-12 education, the deal raised some eyebrows, since Guilford's School Superintendent once reported to an Amplify EVP when the latter was the superintendent of Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools, coincidentally a proving ground of the Gates Foundation. Amplify and the Gates Foundation are partners on a controversial national K-12 student tracking database that counts the Guilford County Schools among its guinea pigs. Getting back to the hardware, after putting their John Hancock on a Student Tablet Agreement and the Acceptable Use Guidelines for Tablet, students are provided with an ASUS-made tablet "similar to ASUS MeMO Pad ME301T" ($279 at Wal-Mart). The News & Record reports on some glitches encountered in the first week of the program, including Internet connectivity issues affecting about 5% of the tablets."

38 of 214 comments (clear)

  1. Yes, exactly what we need. More distractions. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    What we really need is well paid and highly motivated teachers with small class sizes. Not yet another way for students to play angry birds.

    Of course the ones making decisions know this, but they're happy taking the tech sector money. And a class full of little kids with tablets make good press and website pictures.

  2. No Child Left Untableted by ColdWetDog · · Score: 3, Interesting

    That headline fills me with unease. Sounds vaguely improper.

    Maybe I'm just getting old but in my days, children were simply never verbed. It isn't polite.

    --
    Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
  3. 3.3 million down the drain by Lawrence_Bird · · Score: 5, Insightful

    per year out of tax payer pockets. Please stop doing it for the children because everything you do sets them back even further. Smaller class sizes? Boon for teachers union, bane for tax payers. Students? Show me the improved test scores. New math? Fail. "Smart" classrooms? Fail.

    It remains fact that students pre WWII were better educated in every discipline. The US has sunk hundreds of billions of dollars, if not trillions, over the decades to "fix" education with absolutely no positive results. Perhaps it was not broken in the first place.

    1. Re:3.3 million down the drain by MacTO · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The [i]fact[/i] is that students [b]pre[/p] WWII were better educated in every discipline because people dropped out of school. Prior to the second world war, the high school graduation rate was virtually always below 50% (contrast that to over 70% today). Even citing a figure that high is misleading because the graduation rate had been consistently increasing from 10% to 55% between the wars and there were a substantial number of drop-outs as early as the elementary grades. And all of that assumes that they were better educated. Much of the knowledge that we feed to students today was being developed during WWII, so those pre-war students could have hardly learnt it.

    2. Re:3.3 million down the drain by Mitchell314 · · Score: 2

      [citations needed]

      --
      I read TFA and all I got was this lousy cookie
    3. Re:3.3 million down the drain by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      An average student today would browse to Google Maps, search for "new york", and be presented with the information they need.

      Rote memorization is really a useless skill these days, especially for facts that are retrieved infrequently.

      It's a lot like the situation with those Indian Java "programmers" who can quote you namespace-qualified class names and method signatures, yet they can't write even simple loops or conditionals correctly. Yeah, maybe they can regurgitate API facts better than an American or European programmer, but they can't get any real or useful work done. The ability to do, which the Americans and Europeans tend to have, far outweighs the ability to memorize.

    4. Re:3.3 million down the drain by iggymanz · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Wrong, lack of basic information between the ears, not being on readily "on tap", means a person can't form a proper mental model to understanding any issue where geographical configuration is key. They won't understand why Russia, for example, would be much more interested in not having external forces involved in a civil war in the nearby trading partner. They wouldn't understand why a hurricane making landfall from state A to state D would also involve states B and C.

      You are deluded that education in prior decades was solely focused on rote memorization, as writing, speech making and speech, and solving problems from principles was also taught.

      Today's java programmer, to use your example against you, relies on frameworks instead of understanding the basic construction and implementation of the basic objects of the language, and so fails to recognize bad code in an interview. This is what I see at work with interviewees. Yes, they *could* "google it", but they won't when sitting and writing code.

    5. Re:3.3 million down the drain by iggymanz · · Score: 3, Interesting

      No, your average US high school student lacks basic principles to do math, let alone make algorithms to automate the doing of math. You imagine an average student could automate the finding of a square root with just addition and subtraction and multiplication and branch after compare being the only operations allowed? The average student has no idea how to find a square root by any means other than pushing a button on a calculator, but even then could not give any situation where a need for a square root would be useful.

    6. Re:3.3 million down the drain by fermion · · Score: 2
      First, money down the drain. In any corporate venture acquisition costs are only part, and often not the majority cost, of utilizing a capital item. For instance, when I was working at a University about 50% were added to most purchase orders to pay for acquisition and running costs. At schools, which tend to pay for future costs, such as maintenance and supplies, out of the current budget, initial purchase prices always seem a bit high.

      Second, I would strongly argue that pre WWII people were better educated than we are, or than the current generation of kids are. I know many many kids who know more Calculus than I did when I was in high school. Kids now much more about genetics, astronomy, physics that I did at there age. Kids were so dumb back then that, assuming they knew the planets, they thought Pluto was one of them.

      Specifically talking about technology, all money invested is well worthwhile. In my high school we had a mainframe. Best investment the district could have made. We all left high school with skills that were in demand, and with the basis to acquire the skills that would soon be in demand. I am sure everyone was saying 'but can they read' and 'how are the test scores'. But no cared. We were going into the work force to make a lot of money or to the top colleges.

      The key thing was that we were using, what at the time, was pretty advanced if not cutting edge technology to not only learn but to use as a tool to complete tasks. Is your argument that when kids graduate they are going to use pencils and slide rules? Are the females going to be sequester in a room to be human calculators? Maybe they will be manually flying airplanes?

      The thing is that we are educating more kids in more complex techniques and skills that we ever have. Sometime people look at the educational outputs and see some kids that would have traditionally been successful and see them less so and from that infer that education is doing worse. But is it not. On the whole literacy rates have risen. Kids can do simple tasks, like program a DVR, while their parents cannot. The need for the trivia based educational system has been completely proven obsolete by the problem solving tasks that kids need to do know. Machines are so complex that a user manual is too inefficient, and knowing the vernacular of the machines is the only way to be successful. Oxford reports that in 20 years half of todays jobs will be gone. You will not be able to make a living in construction or sales. Technology has already significantly reduced the need for lawyers, the age of the massive law firm and large number of high earning partners is gone.

      Tablets are the way to get machines into every students hands. It is affordable and practical. This is what kids will doing in 20 years. Don't you think it is what we should be teaching them?

      --
      "She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
    7. Re:3.3 million down the drain by Nerdfest · · Score: 2

      It's not race, it's culture, and it can be changed. First, people need to stop thinking it's about race and understand that some cultures have very damaging elements to them.

    8. Re:3.3 million down the drain by nbauman · · Score: 3

      OK, you're a racist.

      http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/wp-content/blogs.dir/470/files/2012/04/i-56483a6e9716d73ba0369eb27a275548-sci_racism.jpg

    9. Re:3.3 million down the drain by dk20 · · Score: 2

      We do the same thing here (Canada). Year after year we are told part of the problem is "large class sizes" and how we need to hire more teachers and reduce this.

      My kids were sent to school in China for a few years.
      While China may have the largest primary class size (37.1 per class) the kids found it much much easier when they came back to Canada.

      Class size wasn't the issue, the work was challenging and the environment was strict.

      Put a Chinese student up against any other and measure the results for yourself.

    10. Re:3.3 million down the drain by dk20 · · Score: 2

      Not sure how its done in other areas of the world, but in Ontario (Canada) we started doing this. My daughter is in such a program and loves it whereas when she was in the "mainstream" program she was miserable.

      The main concern we had was your point about bullying. She was somewhat of an "outcast" in the mainstream program and it made going to school difficult (she was only 10 at the time). Once she was tested and transferred to the gifted program her life changed dramatically (both socially and academically). Without the program i'm not sure what would have happened to her but we are thankful for the program and opportunities it presents.

    11. Re:3.3 million down the drain by iggymanz · · Score: 2

      your cartoon is trying to make an incorrect point. those remaining people in africa, in general, also score low on IQ tests. the problem has a different source having nothing to do with the experience of african-americans.

    12. Re:3.3 million down the drain by dk20 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Are you sure?

      see my post:
      My kids were sent to school in China for a few years.
      While China may have the largest primary class size (37.1 per class) the kids found it much much easier when they came back to Canada.
      Class size wasn't the issue, the work was challenging and the environment was strict.

      Do you have any empirical evidence smaller class sizes pays off? Here (Ontario) they state 90.1% of classes have 20 or fewer students.
      When the kids came back to school here they found it a joke. What they were teaching in Ontario was at least one year behind what they were studying when they were in China.

    13. Re:3.3 million down the drain by immaterial · · Score: 2

      Squares and square roots (along with area/volume) and basic pre-algebra are covered in 5th and 6th grade public school, at least here in California. I haven't noticed any trig though.

  4. Re:OLPC by cookYourDog · · Score: 2

    OBSSPC (One Brain Stem Stapling Per Child) is already being touted as the next big thing.

  5. Re:No Correlation by Livius · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I don't see how politicians think a tablet/laptop/computer/ebook reader will make students better.

    Manufacturers have lobbyists.

    Students do not.

    Whose lives do you think politicians are really trying to make better?

  6. Wow! by jones_supa · · Score: 2

    The summary has 15 hyperlinks! *head explodes*

  7. Rupert Murdoch? by plopez · · Score: 2

    Will they only be allowed to visit the Fox News site for current event assignments?

    --
    putting the 'B' in LGBTQ+
  8. Wait a sec... LEASING?! by NegroponteJ.Rabit · · Score: 5, Funny

    The federal government is *leasing* tablets from a division of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation at a cost of $200 per year.. Not buying..... LEASING!!! For $200 per tablet. Let's see how Fox News deals with this WASTEFUL GOVERNMENT SPENDING!

  9. Re:Yes, exactly what we need. More distractions. by contrapunctus · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Someone once told me "the further you get from the classroom, the more money you make"

  10. Re:proper e-books maybe? by DogDude · · Score: 2

    Oh, just stop with the "dead tree" and "5 lbs" garbage. Not everybody is a fussy little primadonna that is afraid to carry around a few pounds of real books. There's nothing wrong with using actual textbooks for teaching children. The last thing kids in modern society need are *more* gadgets.

    --
    I don't respond to AC's.
  11. Re:annual of $214! by dfghjk · · Score: 3, Insightful

    "Now, at $214 a pop, that is orders of magnitude less expensive than textbooks."

    You don't know what an "order of magnitude" is. Textbooks do not cost $20,000+ per year per student in K12 or anywhere else.

    $200 could buy a tablet outright rather than lease for a year. eBook software won't change that equation and other educational software is value-add a book can't offer.

    And, of course, the horrors of exposing children to display screens. We couldn't possibly know the effect of that by now!!!

  12. Re:Could you have gotten any more links in there? by hawguy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    In other word, you visit a page using http, aka hyper text transport protocol, you got served some hypertext, AND YOU COMPLAIN???

    Yes. Because too many links make the article hard to read and obscure the most relevant links.

  13. Re:Yes, exactly what we need. More distractions. by TheRaven64 · · Score: 3, Informative

    Only two factors have consistently been shown to positively correlate with student performance: parental support and teacher enthusiasm. But, hey, throwing technology at the problem might work this time...

    --
    I am TheRaven on Soylent News
  14. Re:No Correlation by dfghjk · · Score: 2

    "We need to change this perception and reward students who try really hard and/or do well in school..."

    That won't be successful as long as the rewards "we" offer are not the ones students want. Education is a cultural issue and our culture is one of lives getting easier and lazier. It will never be "cool" to pursue what your peers don't want.

    Good education requires the expectation of achievement that children take as a given. Instead, we publicly value ignorance over education and today's parents were spoon-fed on that pathetic value system. Using tablets in place of books is entirely beside the point; that are a tactical consideration only.

  15. Re:OLPC by rubycodez · · Score: 4, Insightful

    One basic education in reading, writing, arithmetic, speaking and science per child, using paper and pencil and no computers, would be a superior solution. That's all the education I had as child. I've had no difficulties putting computers to work on engineering, financial, and scientific problems since then. What a fallacy, to think children need "computer skills"; they need thinking skills.

  16. Re:Wait a sec... LEASING?! by NegroponteJ.Rabit · · Score: 2

    Maybe, but I'm assuming that this company did in fact come in with the lowest bid. To be fair, having parents who've been teachers, schools spend A-LOT of money on *CRAP* - CRAP standardized programs, CRAP books, CRAP software, CRAP consultants, CRAP tech, CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP! I was amazed to hear what one school paid to have specialized desks built, each with an embedded CRT and a PC with a RealMagic Hollywood card to play DVDs, and a huge 64-port Cisco router for the 15 or so machines, apparently none of which got much use. Money that could've gone to better things. Still, $200 to lease a tablet? Just buy the freaking tablets! Get Nook HD's - they're cheaper and keep Barnes and Nobles in business. Seriously, If I were in charge, I'd put Apple IIs, Atari 800's and TRS-80's back in classrooms. Maybe give a Raspberry Pi to every kid. There was something to using a device that essentially gave you a blank slate and you had to learn and create to make it do stuff. Now, everything comes flying at you with bright colors and stupid, condescending, badly drawn cartoon characters. By the way, remember that Neil Bush's No Child Left Behind program was a pretty nice deal for Neil Bush's IGNITE! company, formed the very same year that his brother ran for president. Gotta love family connections.

  17. Here you go by rsilvergun · · Score: 2

    Two Seconds of googling. That said, have been going down because we're admitting more people, and those people aren't as wealthy so they don't have access to a full time parent, a nanny, and tutors. They're often more or less on their own. Basically, we expanded education to everyone but we didn't expand all the advantages afforded to the rich and powerful to them. If you think about it it's common sense. Dump a bunch of under privileged kids into underfunded schools and what do _you_ think will happen?

    As for the Charter & Private schools, don't make me laugh. They get to pick and choose their students. If a kid starts under performing or is disrupting class it's back to the public school for them. Not that I think we should abandon those kids.

    On a side note, +5 insightful? Really /.? We're better than this.

    --
    Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
  18. Re:Yes, exactly what we need. More distractions. by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 2

    Gerry Sussman is enthusiastic enough and the electronic media allows him to influence many more people that it would be possible in brick school settings. And I'm sure there are more such people...now if only the mediocre regional drones who only think that they can prepare good teaching materials and deliver good lectures stopped deluding themselves.

    --
    Ezekiel 23:20
  19. County Ed Budget Too High by CaptainOfSpray · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Obviously they've got money to burn, the fools.

    For their "total annual per unit lease cost of $214" they could buy 5 Raspberry Pis at Adafruit, and OWN THEM OUTRIGHT instead of the devices still being on lease so they have to pay $214 every year till the supplier is fat and happy.

    --
    "Cock Up Your Beaver" does not mean what you think. This sig is intended to clog filters and annoy do-gooders
  20. Re:annual of $214! by slick7 · · Score: 2

    You don't know what an "order of magnitude" is. Textbooks do not cost $20,000+ per year per student in K12 or anywhere else.

    ... We couldn't possibly know the effect of that by now!!!

    Sure we do, we can watch them on the installed video camera, watch what they type on the installed key-logger, listen to what they say on the installed microphone, and when necessary, alter the text material ala 1984.

    --
    The mind conceives, the body achieves, the spirit manifests.
  21. Edison promoted phonograph as teaching aid by peter303 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Said pre-recorded lectures would revolutionize education. Every home should have one. Hwever his competitors discovered that entertainment was more commercially viable.

    Every new media invention in the past 140 years has been promoted as an education aid with varying success.

    P.S. Edison originally invented the phonograph as a means of cramming more information onto a telegraph. You'd record message on a phonograph, send them at high speed across the wire, record them at the other end, and play back at human readable speeds. Wires were a precious resource in those days.

  22. Re:annual of $214! by gmuslera · · Score: 2

    Should be at the very least cheaper to make and distribute than the paper ones, if not just free in a way or another. And textbooks are not the only way to teach, there is a lot of educational resources on internet, from Khan Academy videos to Wikipedia.

  23. Re:BYOD? by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 2

    Read "Little Brother" by Cory Doctorow ...

    Please don't post these sorts of things anonymously, Cory.

    --
    #DeleteChrome
  24. Re:Yes, exactly what we need. More distractions. by AlphaWoIf_HK · · Score: 2

    What we really need is to get rid of standardized tests and realize that one-size-fits-all educations have their limit.

    --
    Da derp dee derp da teedly derpee derpee dum. Rated PG-13.
  25. Re:annual of $214! by glassware · · Score: 4, Informative

    My daughter's school just purchased a few classrooms full of iPads, and received a gift from the parent teacher association for electronic whiteboards with projectors.

    Yet on the opening day of school I was sent home a list of art supplies (markers, crayons, glue sticks, construction paper) that the school couldn't afford to buy, and they wanted each parent to buy and contribute supplies to the classroom.