BBC Technology - iPods for every student

[Guest theeldergeek]

Only £120,000 ...

 

BBC News - Bolton school equips every pupil with iPod Touch

[mac_shinobi]

Just curious - where do they get the £120,000 from ?

 

tax payers money ?

[cookie_monster]

I'd be very interested in how it works out. I feel the device is just too small to be really usefull in most situations and the battery life is very poor. It's certainly looking in the right direction though.

 

I wonder how much they cost though I can't help thinking that netbooks would be a more usefull tool in school.

[eean]

I liked the ipod touches until I found out they don't support flash. Well, that rules out using them with almost every educational app/website that is currently available!

[mac_shinobi]

thought they were making flash lite

 

Update on Flash for iPhone and iPod Touch | Flash for mobile | iPod Republic

[torledo]

I'd be very interested in how it works out. I feel the device is just too small to be really usefull in most situations and the battery life is very poor. It's certainly looking in the right direction though.

 

I wonder how much they cost though I can't help thinking that netbooks would be a more usefull tool in school.

 

nooooo. The touch is much more useful...and practical.... than a netbook, also i'd guess many schools have gone down the route of buying lots of netbooks.

 

you probably have a point regarding the battery life when the devices are connected to wifi for the majority of the time.......and once you start using safari you really have to keep an eye on that battery level, but you can actually add another £50 to each unit cost for a good 3rd party iphone/ipod touch power pack that would/could provide sufficient power for use through most of the day

 

That would still take the price to less than the cost of a usable netbook. That makes the touch a really

useful device in schools.

[torledo]

I liked the ipod touches until I found out they don't support flash. Well, that rules out using them with almost every educational app/website that is currently available!

 

Are there not plenty of choices for edu apps on the app store.........obviously not the same volume of apps but then could the flash market be saturated to the point of having too much choice...quantity rather than quality, i mean ?

[cookie_monster]

nooooo. The touch is much more useful...and practical.... than a netbook, also i'd guess many schools have gone down the route of buying lots of netbooks.

 

I suppose we'll just have to disagree on that then. I can't imagine working on an IPod Touch.

[mac_shinobi]

I suppose we'll just have to disagree on that then. I can't imagine working on an IPod Touch.

 

I would much rather just use a normal size laptop then a netbook and the ipod touch / iphone 3GS are pretty nifty and web browsing on it imo is nice and not yet used a netbook but couldnt imagine trying to use a netbook myself.

[torledo]

I suppose we'll just have to disagree on that then. I can't imagine working on an IPod Touch.

 

i don't consider them a replacement for productivity tasks, in those areas like writing up work laptops/netbooks [or even pen and paper!!!] are a better option, but for communicating short messages, communicating with teachers and taking advantage of wireless technology i think there's a lot of potential.

 

Notice in the video they seem to be using pen and paper to do their workings, and using the iphone to compliment that by using the iphone as calculator - that's a very straightforward application, but as the iphone is essentially a multifunction device you can switch between all sorts of apps that can be used in the classroom.......for that i think they could work well.

 

i think netbooks are great, and i think in an ideal world you'd have a handheld device like an iphone, an ultraportable laptop with great battery life, and something with a proper sized screen !!!!

[synaesthesia]

Sounds to me like a bribe more than an actual function.

 

"Do your work and you get to play with an iPod"

[localzuk]

http://www.edugeek.net/forums/general-chat/46547-bolton-school-equips-every-pupil-ipod-bbc-vid.html

[webman]

http://www.edugeek.net/forums/general-chat/46547-bolton-school-equips-every-pupil-ipod-bbc-vid.html

 

Too much recursion

[localzuk]

Too much recursion

 

recursion - Google Search

[CAM]

i don't consider them a replacement for productivity tasks, in those areas like writing up work laptops/netbooks [or even pen and paper!!!] are a better option, but for communicating short messages, communicating with teachers and taking advantage of wireless technology i think there's a lot of potential.

 

Notice in the video they seem to be using pen and paper to do their workings, and using the iphone to compliment that by using the iphone as calculator - that's a very straightforward application, but as the iphone is essentially a multifunction device you can switch between all sorts of apps that can be used in the classroom.......for that i think they could work well.

 

i think netbooks are great, and i think in an ideal world you'd have a handheld device like an iphone, an ultraportable laptop with great battery life, and something with a proper sized screen !!!!

 

Or you can buy a 99p calculator. This isn't the time for schools to waste money, especially with the impending 2010 home reporting requiring expensive kit like SLG to be installed!