IPad praise where its due

[SimpleSi]

Just come in from helping out at a North-West Gifted and Talented event at my wife's school where a teacher was working with a group of 4 or 5 Year1/2 children doing their version of a Gruffalo story (we had Truffalo,Smellao,Blobalo etc) using stop-go animation.

 

Even the teachers who couldn't spell IT were able to lead their groups in producing 2 or more scenes and importing them into IMovie to add in a narration with 30 mins training.

 

That's how software should work

 

Simon

[SYNACK]

I agree that you are right and software should be easy to use but I also put the question to you. Would the teachers have even tried if it did not have an Apple logo on it, I have seen all sorts of decent tech die because of users simply not even bothering to try.

[SimpleSi]

Would the teachers have even tried if it did not have an Apple logo on it

Well I'd have to say yes - like I say - some of the teachers couldn't spell IT and wouldn't know an apple from an orange and normally only use Smart Notebook and Word.

 

They just volunteered to help out on the day and the ease of use of the software/hardware just took away the techy side of things and let them get on and help the kids learn

 

Now, the lead teacher is a fanbois (own Mac/IPhone/Ipad) so that's why he's bought them

 

I use my own modified version of a prog called Helium Frog (modded to work better on 1024x600 netbook displays and to output Huffyuv coded avi's instead of MJPEG - fed into MS Movie Maker to add in a narration.

 

I can teach/help a teacher teach a class using this setup but its about a factor of 5 to 10 more technical to use than the IMotion/IMovie combo on the IPad and therefore is far less attractive to a teacher to attempt to go it alone themselves.

 

I'm just saying the IMotion/Imovie combo on an IPad is value for money (basically £8 software that can't be beaten for ease of use/quality of results )

 

Si

Its useless for accessing online elearning BTW

[mthomas08]

I agree that you are right and software should be easy to use but I also put the question to you. Would the teachers have even tried if it did not have an Apple logo on it, I have seen all sorts of decent tech die because of users simply not even bothering to try.

 

I must say I would agree, it has occured here where a resource has not been used but because it was made to look much more fancier it then magically got used. IPads are the a great gismo and also can look like a fancy toy, it is really that combo that has made them work so well.

[MK-2]

just remember, as the advert says, to a teacher, its the future....

[SYNACK]

just remember, as the advert says, to a teacher, its the future....

 

To most teachers everything is the future , its what happens when you steadfastly refuse to keep learning after teachers training collage.

 

Disclaimer: small proportion but enough to make it a valid statment.

[mattx]

Just come in from helping out at a North-West Gifted and Talented event at my wife's school where a teacher was working with a group of 4 or 5 Year1/2 children doing their version of a Gruffalo story (we had Truffalo,Smellao,Blobalo etc) using stop-go animation.

 

Even the teachers who couldn't spell IT were able to lead their groups in producing 2 or more scenes and importing them into IMovie to add in a narration with 30 mins training.

 

That's how software should work

 

Simon

 

I would have given them some A4 and some colouring pencils - much more creativity in my opinion. I do feel the complete lack of interaction with objects [ paper / pens ] is [ perhaps ] going to really effect the adults of the future. A real shame as I bet there are many many kids who have such abilities which are not being nurtured correctly. My opinion etc......

 

[ God I'm so glad I don't work in education anymore !! I can now really vent my views of how I think computers have no place in schools unless it's really benefiting kids who have learning difficulties. ]

Edited June 20, 2011 by mattx

[SimpleSi]

I would have given them some A4 and some colouring pencils - much more creativity in my opinion.

I ws just giving the IT bit of it

 

They spent the morning inventing their own monster, drawing it on a piece of A1 and then storyboarding it and finally drawing it on a piece of card, sticking a paper clip on the back and bluetack on the feet

 

They did the IT bit in the afternoon

 

The whole day made working in education worthwhile and you would have really enjoyed it

 

Si

 

Si

[mattx]

I ws just giving the IT bit of it

 

They spent the morning inventing their own monster, drawing it on a piece of A1 and then storyboarding it and finally drawing it on a piece of card, sticking a paper clip on the back and bluetack on the feet

 

They did the IT bit in the afternoon

 

The whole day made working in education worthwhile and you would have really enjoyed it

 

Si

 

Si

 

I don't think I would have enjoyed it Si to be honest - 7 years of experience of watching money getting wasted in technology really taught me a thing or two - I'm glad I did it as it opened my eyes to how [ again my opinion ] teaching and teachers really have forgotten the basics of actually getting good out of someone. There are some great teachers out there - and hardly any of them use technology - they use their influence, their character, their passion in getting something good and positive out of the children.

 

Touch, smell, seeing, experiencing, getting dirty, getting hurt, getting scared, getting excited, getting warn out, or even the simplest action of having a hand mess your hair up or sticking a thumbs up in front of your face whilst huge eyes glare at you in praise to me speaks much more in making a child more positive, more responsive and more appreciative of learning than any laptop, ipad, pc or what ever technology.

Schools up and down the country have got rid of libraries, D&T / Art / Metal work rooms, kitchens etc just to fit a load of dumb, un-passioned, worthless bits of plastic in a room. Why ? To impress the school governors and parents. Schools have now had computers for what ? 15 / 20 years now. I don't see any significant break through in the way these have benefited kids apart from 'helping them with their homework.'

They do have their place, at college, 5/6th forms but keep them out of primary schools and early years at secondary - kids are exposed to technology enough at home and 9 times out of 10 end up teaching themselves how to do something. Why not ACTUALLY teach them something, you know like Art, metal and wood work skills and some cooking !! Yum Yum - who remembers making Apple Crumble ??!!

[penfold]

@mattx - thing is, that technology shouldn't necessarily replace these things. In my opinion they are a tool to be used to aid the teaching in schools. They should not replace anything. At a basic level they *should have helped things like english essays where you didn't have to constantly re-write them to change a few paragraphs or in my case because the teacher lost 4 of my assignments that went towards my grades. They should allow the student to concentrate on the subject rather than the time consuming boring bits of copying the same information over and over to get to the final draft. I know this isn't primary related, but you get my point.

 

But you're right, they have also provided an easy cop out for those teachers who do not stimulate the kids there and it is easier to put them on a computer and let them do things without having to teach. But then I see it as a teacher problem rather than a technology one. I remember when I was taught to use a calculator in maths. We were taught how to do sums on paper and then on a calculator with the importance on being able to check that a calculator was right. This is how I think tecnology should be used, in addition to basic skills being taught, so I find it dissapionting to hear that schools are getting rid of art rooms, kitchens etc to be replaced by computers.

 

In Simons OP it seems to me that they have got pretty much what most of us think, that computers should "just work" and the subject is the actual lesson and the tech side of it is just how they have implemented it.