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Apple To Unveil a Cheaper iPad Next Week At Its Educational Event

Apple is holding an education-focused event on Tuesday where it's expected to launch a "low-cost iPad" alongside new education software. The goal is to win back students and teachers who have adopted similar products/services from rivals Google and Microsoft. Bloomberg reports: In its first major product event of the year, Apple will return to its roots in the education market. The event on Tuesday at Lane Technical College Prep High School in Chicago will mark the first time Apple has held a product launch geared toward education since 2012 when it unveiled a tool for designing e-books for the iPad. It's also a rare occasion for an Apple confab outside its home state of California. In Chicago, the world's most-valuable technology company plans to show off a new version of its cheapest iPad that should appeal to the education market, said people familiar with the matter. The company will also showcase new software for the classroom, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private plans. Apple declined to comment.

78 comments

  1. 800 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What schools cant afford 800 dollar toys to hand out to students who are hell bent on breaking them? The hell you say!

    1. Re: 800 by datavirtue · · Score: 2

      I have seen them distributed in cases and witnessed ipads survive for years. The kids were allowed to take them hime etc...

      --
      I object to power without constructive purpose. --Spock
    2. Re: 800 by Type44Q · · Score: 1

      I prefer the disposable ones, myself; the ones with the stick-on backing? More absorbent...

    3. Re:800 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      also an android tablet is better for a curious mind. Ipad is too closed even with the file app. I'm all in for kids learning on a BSD based device but it's just too damn locked down for any tinkering.

    4. Re:800 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      We'll let you maintain their devices for a year and then see how you feel.

    5. Re:800 by jellomizer · · Score: 1

      If the schools would move all of its textbooks to the iPad it may offer some cost savings.
      Each Textbook (hard bound, color images, high quality paper) Probably cost $150 per student, for 6 classes a day would be $900 per student in books. if they can get the eBooks for $10.00 a piece then that would be $860 and would save $40 per student.

      That said, I am not seeing a real benefit off of this, as stated the iPad are more prone to breaking, and you can return a book and reuse it for a decade. While the iPad you probably have to upgrade every few years.

      --
      If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
    6. Re:800 by jbengt · · Score: 1

      The cost of a textbook is not in the paper.

  2. VOUCHERS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    is what them skools neeb. Make AMeriuca grate again.! On Line toes!

  3. Good by Dutch+Gun · · Score: 2

    Now that there's nothing more these tablets need to do, technologically speaking, they really need to start coming down in price.

    Actually, I think it will be the same with smartphones reasonably soon. We've probably hit a technological peak of sorts, where there are literally no more substantial gains to be had by making smartphones more powerful. My prediction is that we'll see the high-end phones hover at the $1000 mark for a while, but they'll start sliding back down, as people simply don't see any added value for the minor improvements with each new model.

    Oh, the phone makers will fight this kicking and screaming, of course, but I think competitive pressure will probably win out over the next five to ten years, especially as the novelty factor wears off for most people.

    --
    Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
    1. Re: Good by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You can already get really good phones for cheap.

      Hell.. I'm here in Nepal trekking and I'm just using a cheap moto g5s plus and it's more than enough for most my photos.

      The only reason many people are still buying the top end phones are because they think they will last longer before being obsolete.. They probably won't though

    2. Re: Good by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Fuck you and your humble brag

    3. Re:Good by Teckla · · Score: 1

      Now that there's nothing more these tablets need to do, technologically speaking, they really need to start coming down in price.

      I wish I could develop real iOS apps on my iPad. :(

      Lack of mouse support really sucks, too...

    4. Re:Good by tepples · · Score: 2

      You can develop real Android apps on an Android tablet using AIDE. If iOS as a host or target is an important feature to you, what features are you missing in Swift Playgrounds?

    5. Re:Good by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The surprising thing about Apple isn't their relative unwillingness to cut prices; that's what left them reaping most of the profit in laptops and mobile devices and something will really have to scare them to get them to try to compete on price with random plasticky Chromebooks. The surprising thing is how unconcerned they seem to be by the fact that managing the damn things is miserable, labor intensive, and relatively costly.

      For device management, iOS MDM is somewhat less dismal than Android MDM(fewer OS versions; no vendor specific 'does this depend on Samsung Knox?' nonsense); but for account management Apple IDs have stubbornly remained close to their roots as something that individuals set up, for themselves and by themselves; and iOS devices remain close to their roots as either single-user devices or single-app kiosk widgets. They have slowly made incremental concessions to management over time; but mostly in a direction that suggests that BYOD is the preferred use case; which is very, very, not interchangeable with 'organization owned and operated'.

      Managing a whole bunch of Google Apps (for business or for education, architecturally pretty much the same thing) is downright trivial by comparison; either through their interface or with AD synchronization if you are doing an implementation alongside some amount of Windows infrastructure. It is...not impressive...that Google plays better with Microsoft's directory infrastructure than iOS plays with OSX's(to the degree that that even exists anymore, with OSX 'server' being allowed to bleed out in a corner somewhere).

    6. Re:Good by Dutch+Gun · · Score: 3, Insightful

      That's just a matter of software, not hardware capabilities. That being said...

      If you're attaching a keyboard and mouse to a tablet, aren't you pretty much acknowledging that what you really need is a laptop and not a tablet? We've seen several well-publicized, failed attempts at merging mouse and touch paradigms. I'm not sure why you have such faith that Apple could pull this off where everyone else so far has failed miserably.

      --
      Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
    7. Re: Good by datavirtue · · Score: 4, Informative

      The 12" iPad Pro is amazing and what I would consider the bare minimum at $800-900. I bought one for my son who is able to create impeccable art without any technological distractions. I am not an Apple fan...I own no other Apple products....but the newest iPad is near perfect.

      --
      I object to power without constructive purpose. --Spock
    8. Re: Good by iamhassi · · Score: 1

      My only complaint with the 12.9" is the 1.5 lbs weight is a little heavy to be holding with one hand and tapping the screen with the other. The 0.68 lbs iPad Mini is perfect but Apple never puts the latest components in the Mini line. I settled for the 0.97 lbs iPad Pro 9.7" but would still rather have it in the Mini form factor. At least civilization VI runs well.

      --
      my karma will be here long after I'm gone
    9. Re:Good by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 2

      BlueTooth mice work perfectly fine on iOS.

      --
      Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
    10. Re:Good by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 1

      We've seen several well-publicized, failed attempts at merging mouse and touch paradigms.
      You have some links for that?

      AFAICT mouse and touch works exactly the same ...

      --
      Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
    11. Re:Good by Teckla · · Score: 1

      I was under the impression Swift Playgrounds was for learning the basics of Swift and not a development environment that could be used to create first class iOS applications.

    12. Re:Good by Teckla · · Score: 1

      That's just a matter of software, not hardware capabilities.

      I agree. When you said "technologically speaking," I wasn't sure if you were talking about hardware, software, or both. I agree that modern tablet hardware is more than capable these days.

      If you're attaching a keyboard and mouse to a tablet, aren't you pretty much acknowledging that what you really need is a laptop and not a tablet?

      I don't think so. For example, I frequently use my Bluetooth keyboard with my tablet. The tablet still does everything I need (for certain use cases). The keyboard just makes some things much easier. Like typing this comment. :)

      We've seen several well-publicized, failed attempts at merging mouse and touch paradigms. I'm not sure why you have such faith that Apple could pull this off where everyone else so far has failed miserably.

      Honestly, I think Apple could pull it off, but I don't think they will. They're too stubborn to try.

      When I dock my tablet on my Bluetooth keyboard, it very much looks and feels like a small laptop. Reaching up to interact with the screen is terrible, though. (When I'm using the keyboard, I'm usually at a desk or table.) At those times, a mouse would be much better, similar to when using the BT keyboard is better.

      But maybe you're right -- maybe it's not feasible to have a good touch interface and a good mouse interface on a single device. I'm not really sure.

    13. Re:Good by Teckla · · Score: 1

      BlueTooth mice work perfectly fine on iOS.

      Are you sure? From what I've read, that doesn't seem to be the case.

    14. Re:Good by Actually,+I+do+RTFA · · Score: 1

      The Microsoft Surface did a good job merging laptop and tablet, in that I've seen people comfortably use it both ways for real work and for play. NB: It's mostly artists, who love the ability to draw on the screen.

      --
      Your ad here. Ask me how!
    15. Re:Good by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 1

      Yes, I'm sure.
      There are even Apps that let you use your iPhone as touch bluetooth mouse for your iPad or Mac ...

      --
      Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
    16. Re:Good by Teckla · · Score: 1

      It's not working for me. Could you give me precise steps? Thanks!

    17. Re:Good by Dutch+Gun · · Score: 1

      For example, I frequently use my Bluetooth keyboard with my tablet. The tablet still does everything I need (for certain use cases). The keyboard just makes some things much easier. Like typing this comment. :)

      Fair enough. At some point, the differences are more about convention. By convention, I tend to think of tablets as mostly a media consumption device, and a laptop as a production device, but if that's really only because of the lack of a keyboard.

      But maybe you're right -- maybe it's not feasible to have a good touch interface and a good mouse interface on a single device. I'm not really sure.

      A mouse has greater precision, can hover, use multiple buttons, and has independent scrolling. So as long as you're willing to forgo those capabilities, you can certainly create an interface that uses both. But the catch is, I think, that you'll always need to optimize your interface for one of those input methods. They seem similar superficially, but are different enough that you can't quite use a common UI and still have it feel right for both. That's what really killed Windows 8.

      I think this may be why Apple doesn't add mouse support. I'll bet they've tried it experimentally. It could very well be that it just felt tacked-on. Just a guess, of course.

      --
      Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
    18. Re:Good by Teckla · · Score: 1

      Good thoughts. I think you might be right. The only "solution" might be to be able to switch back and forth between "tablet mode" apps and "laptop mode" apps or something. A lot of extra UI work would be involved for each application... It'll be interesting to see where things go from here!

    19. Re:Good by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 1

      Seems I was wrong, and you need special mice and an app for it: https://forums.macrumors.com/t...

      --
      Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
    20. Re: Good by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > At least civilization VI runs well.

      Just curious, How are you running Civ VI on iOS, I thought it only worked on desktops?

  4. Get 'em hooked while they're young. by Immerman · · Score: 2

    Does anyone really think Apple's goal is anything other than getting them hooked on their brand of opaque "computing appliance" at a young age?

    --
    --- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
    1. Re:Get 'em hooked while they're young. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ya but its too bad Chromebooks are kicking apples ass in the schools.

    2. Re: Get 'em hooked while they're young. by datavirtue · · Score: 1

      Schools rarely make good technology decisions or are capable of exploiting those purchases to thier potential.

      --
      I object to power without constructive purpose. --Spock
    3. Re:Get 'em hooked while they're young. by iamhassi · · Score: 1

      Yeah because it's so difficult to get kids to want to use iPads you have to "hook" them. Oh please, they beg for them, one kid at school gets one and that's all you hear about until they get one. And while the schools are using chromebooks for educational software they hold about as much entertainment value as a caulkboard (which schools don't use anymore either).

      --
      my karma will be here long after I'm gone
    4. Re: Get 'em hooked while they're young. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Schools rarely have the money. Did you ever go to one? apple is never a good choice in any technology area.

    5. Re:Get 'em hooked while they're young. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ya thats what todays apple using snowflake kids need is entertainment value in their schooling tools.

    6. Re: Get 'em hooked while they're young. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Great. So now our already poor education system can add "teacher must compete with Spotify for student attention" to it's list of problems.

  5. Where's the RoI? by VeryFluffyBunny · · Score: 1

    Even at a lower price, this is a lot of money for cash-strapped education systems to be paying for a gadget. So what's the benefit of pupils having iPads in the classroom? Show me the objective evidence that they serve some educational benefit to pupils that outweighs the negative research evidence available today, e.g. that reading texts on electronic screens results in substantially lower comprehension?

    Tax payers are paying for these so companies like Apple, Microsoft, Google, et a., should be held publicly accountable and show how their devices provide good educational RoI.l

    --
    Debate is a form of harassment. Do not question my truth.
    1. Re:Where's the RoI? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Even at a lower price, this is a lot of money for cash-strapped education systems to be paying for a gadget.

      Exactly! After all, schools are going to be spending so much on guns for every teacher that they might not have any budget left for iPads

    2. Re: Where's the RoI? by datavirtue · · Score: 1

      Agreed. Why arent the schools required to show ROI?

      --
      I object to power without constructive purpose. --Spock
    3. Re:Where's the RoI? by iamhassi · · Score: 1

      ipads allow children to move at their own pace. Rather than every student slowly learning a lesson and then practicing what was taught and waiting for slower children to finish, a child can learn the lesson and practice and move on to the next lesson. They're doing this now with chromebooks but it's limited to only apps chrome runs while iPads run chrome and iOS apps.

      --
      my karma will be here long after I'm gone
    4. Re:Where's the RoI? by VeryFluffyBunny · · Score: 1

      They can also do that with textbooks, which are much cheaper and more durable. BTW, adaptive testing (what the pundits now call "personalised learning") is no better than just studying everything in the book as most pupils already do. In fact, in some cases, it actually leads to lower learning gains because pupils spent so much time on repeating some items that they didn't spend enough time studying everything else, i.e. insufficient "strengthening" of foundational knowledge.

      --
      Debate is a form of harassment. Do not question my truth.
    5. Re: Where's the RoI? by VeryFluffyBunny · · Score: 1

      Or even show that the pedagogies and tools that they intend to adopt have some decent independent controlled research evidence that shows exactly how effective they are, i.e. research that establishes causal relationships and measures effect sizes.

      --
      Debate is a form of harassment. Do not question my truth.
  6. cheaper? by arbiter1 · · Score: 1

    I think we all know that means its an ipad using 3-4 year old ipad hardware claiming its new but its just repackaged old device.

    1. Re:cheaper? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Remember the price of the iPhone 5c? It'll be $249.99. Less than the $329.99 for the standard 9.7-inch iPad. Might be down to 16 GB of storage like the iPad Mini, though.

    2. Re: cheaper? by kenh · · Score: 1

      Cheaper isn't the issue, manageability and survivability are the issues.

      These devices add nothing to education, they provide distractions for bored students and incentives for teachers to offer children that finish tasks early.

      --
      Ken
    3. Re: cheaper? by Dixie_Flatline · · Score: 1

      More likely 2 year old tech, like the 9.7â iPad from last year (which Iâ(TM)m typin this on).

      But more to the point, *that's how technology works*. New stuff isnâ(TM)t cheap. 2 or 3 year old tech has economies of scale and whatnot behind it. The only way to make inexpensive good things is for them to based on old technology, not unlike the raspberry pi. Given the state of mobile processors and tablet components, I suspect you'll still see 3 to 4 years of life out of these things.

  7. Screw the iPad by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 1

    What people need is a cheaper MacBook Air. Fuck retina displays, fuck USB-C-only ports and fuck those weak-ass lame butterfly keyboards.

    --
    #DeleteFacebook
    1. Re: Screw the iPad by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's called a Chromebook. If Apple can sell a Mac for under $120 they can compete.

    2. Re:Screw the iPad by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Tim Cock, Eddie Clueless, Craig Ferengi, Phil the Shill, and Jony Ego are completely out of touch with reality.

      Public education is not going to replace their Chromebook laptops for iPad tablets. Apple has been in denial about their loss of the education sector for years and if this is their solution, they need new management.

      This is just like their amazement that people didn't like the trashcan MacPro. It took them years to finally figure that out and when they did, they sat down with journalists rather than the actual professionals that use workstation class machines. Why does it take two years to come up with a new MacPro when HP and Dell can design and manufacture a new model in 6 months?

      The secrecy at Apple is killing them. It is a computer company, not the NSA.

    3. Re: Screw the iPad by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Jony the imbecile designer hasn't finished yet redesigning iPad into a toilet paper.

      New MacBook Amateur is to be released later this year. You'll enjoy popular emoji bar fullscreen, there won't be any keys you were complaining about.

    4. Re: Screw the iPad by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A device that needs the cloud for everything? Fuck Chromebooks. Just get any regular laptop and install your favorite Linux distro.

    5. Re: Screw the iPad by iamhassi · · Score: 1

      Chromebooks only run chrome so it's not practical. iPads and even android tablets do so much more than any chromebook.

      --
      my karma will be here long after I'm gone
    6. Re: Screw the iPad by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Or just get any regular Chromebook and install your favorite Linux distro. It'll probably end up cheaper

    7. Re: Screw the iPad by Teckla · · Score: 1

      Chromebooks only run chrome so it's not practical.

      I think Google is working toward Chromebooks also running Android applications. I think many Chromebooks already do.

    8. Re: Screw the iPad by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Almost all Chromebooks run Android apps. Google sees the future ; apple is still chasing profits at the expense of childrens education.

  8. Lower price before or after ... by fahrbot-bot · · Score: 1

    ... the US / China tariffs and trade war get going?

    --
    It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
    1. Re: Lower price before or after ... by datavirtue · · Score: 1

      Negligble tarrif....only meant to demonstrate intent. Pull up your pants.

      --
      I object to power without constructive purpose. --Spock
  9. So if I understand this right... by mark-t · · Score: 2

    They are making a cheaper, and inferior ipad to try and capture a piece of the market that isn't otherwise willing to spend the kind of money that an ipad goes for when an android tablet will do the trick just fine.

    1. Re:So if I understand this right... by AHuxley · · Score: 1

      Next gen Apple LC. Flat so it looks modern and trendy. No Apple IIe Card.

      --
      Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
    2. Re:So if I understand this right... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Schools don't buy Android tablets, they buy Chromebooks and use Google Apps for Education. Apple has no equivalent, both in hardware or software. The Los Angeles School District went the iPad route and it went badly. The district eventually canceled the whole program.

    3. Re:So if I understand this right... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      apples race to the bottom

  10. Programming & Interactivity by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

    iPad Playgrounds are a really, really good way to learn "real" programming.

    I'm still not sure about them for pure reading either, but tablets have a much better potential for visualization and thus comprehension of complex subjects as well, all in a more usable form factor than a traditional computer.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re:Programming & Interactivity by VeryFluffyBunny · · Score: 1

      Show me one K-12 curriculum on iPad that is anywhere near as effective as an average textbook. Textbooks have charts, tables, diagrams, illustrations, and infographics too, BTW. Plus, video and animations for learning in all but a small number of use-case scenarios aren't any more effective.

      --
      Debate is a form of harassment. Do not question my truth.
  11. Thanks but no thanks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Do these Apple slabs still come without microSDs? Don't follow apple tech too much but mouse support is suppose to be pretty bad, data-collection is on par with all other government-approved spyware companies, iTunes is still a thing (right?) just to move a little data around. These things feel more like an annoyance than an actual aid. Price needs to come down to Amazon tablet levels or replaced with PureOS, LineageOS or similar.

    1. Re: Thanks but no thanks by datavirtue · · Score: 1

      MicroSD on a tablet is no longer relevent. I would rather hook up to cloud storage than fiddle with little chips.

      --
      I object to power without constructive purpose. --Spock
    2. Re:Thanks but no thanks by AHuxley · · Score: 1

      Look at the average IQ and consider the non university end of that bell curve in a normal educational setting that can only afford educational priced computer devices.
      Extra computer parts that can get pulled out and lost are not good in todays more inclusive educational setting.
      One flat new computer is what todays educators can work with and what parents expect.
      GUI software sold to the school that everyone can learn with.
      Different students will learn at their own pace and in their own ways.
      The challenges of small computer parts do not help education.
      A nice new GUI and more of that Elementary and Secondary Education Act funding is what is needed.

      --
      Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
    3. Re:Thanks but no thanks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Gotta love that iTunes! They managed to invent the most complicated and least reliable way to get things on and off the blasted thing with one comprehensively crappy piece of software.

  12. Oh, sorry, I read that as Creepier by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Cheaper for some reason read at first glance as Creepier. Guess nowadays more creepware is 'standard'. Until the sheeple rebel.

  13. Swift Playgrounds 2.0 changed much by tepples · · Score: 1

    And I was under the impression that since the upgrade from Swift Playgrounds 1.0 to Swift Playgrounds 2.0, one could develop applications and test them on the iPad. From Apple's page about the product:

    Swift Playgrounds also gives you access to iOS frameworks such as UIKit, SpriteKit, SceneKit, Bluetooth, and Metal. And because you are coding and running your playgrounds on iPad, your code can respond to touch gestures or interact with hardware such as the accelerometer and gyroscope.
    [...]
    With access to thousands of APIs in the iOS SDK, you can create amazing playgrounds that explore the web, generate 3D worlds, experiment with physics, and much more.

    Then once you think your application is worthwhile enough to sell $5,000 on the App Store, either A. hire someone with a Mac to prepare your app for publication or B. take out a loan to buy a Mac and a subscription to Apple Developer Program and publish it yourself.

    Disclosure: This is secondhand knowledge. I do not own an iPad nor a sufficiently recent Mac, and my specialization is on another platform.

    1. Re:Swift Playgrounds 2.0 changed much by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      if they would allow develop proper apps on ipads then mac as a platform would die. And let's be honest, you want to use a platfrom agnostic middleware for mobile dev, you can't ignore android.

  14. I want one! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yeah, that's the ticket, get me some cheap china shit marked up to pay for Timmy Cook's jet. Make it so it's "for the kids". Yeah right.

    They need to fire little Timmy Cook and revamp the board. It's time Al Gore get voted off the island too.

  15. When revenue on one platform outweighs the other by tepples · · Score: 1

    Let's say you have 4 times as many users on Android tablets as on iPad, but the average iOS user actually spent nine times as much on "bookings" (paid apps and IAPs) as the average Android user in 2015. This would mean your iOS revenue is likely to be double your Android revenue, which to some developers justifies making an app iOS-exclusive in order not to have to spend time=money working around deficiencies in the multi-platform middleware.

  16. Too little, too late by KlomDark · · Score: 1

    The world has gone Android.

    Apple got arrogant and their shit is overpriced/underpowered junk.They may have been the best 7 years ago, but that is no longer the case.

  17. A thought by CimmerianX · · Score: 1

    How about instead of spending money on ipads and the extra costs associated with support, infrastructure, staff, replacement every few years when apple retires a model etc to support the ipads, schools could instead fix crumbling buildings, lights, buy new desks, provide better lunches, ...

    My generation learned from books, blackboard, chalk, and a classroom that didn't have 60 kids in it.

  18. I said "interACTIVITY" by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

    Textbooks have charts, tables, diagrams, illustrations, and infographics too

    Too, what?? I'm not talking about any of those things.

    I am talking about INTERACTIVITY. You can stay all of the charts and tables and formulas you like but it all means squat compared to a nice physics simulator you can mess around with parameters dynamically.

    Kids could also understand chemistry a look sooner with an interactive guide to reactions...

    I am pretty sure you don't want to keep poor kids ignorant of how the world works, but that is the end result of pushing for dead trees over live screens.

    Again, I don't think tablets are great for everything. I think real books are better for reading (though I have to admit more and more I am reading ebooks now). I also think note taking is better done by hand than typing - though there at least, there are options for had writing to an iPad and being able to read/search it later.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re:I said "interACTIVITY" by VeryFluffyBunny · · Score: 1

      As the saying goes, "Without data, you're just another opinion."

      When the independent, reproducible research evidence shows learning gains that justify the expense, then it's worth considering buying the hardware. The last 20 years of education research (when reporting effect sizes actually become common practice) say otherwise.

      On the "learning by doing" side of pedagogy, which "interACTIVE" apps fall into, it often fails dramatically because app designers and teachers are poorly informed about what it takes to learn from doing something. In Graham Gibbs' words, "Much can be learned from doing but seldom only from doing." Under these circumstances, so called "discovery learning", which is how it usually plays out in real-world classrooms, has consistently led to reductions, not gains in learning.

      --
      Debate is a form of harassment. Do not question my truth.
    2. Re:I said "interACTIVITY" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      load of bullshit. with a "wont someone think of the childern" thrown in. none of this require a overly expensive idevice.