No one is suggesting that iPads shouldn't be available for K-2, only that they don't need to be 1:1 based on the amount of use. How many hours of Deambox and Lexia are you proposing? |
I'm not opposed to having a policy stating how much device maximum time per grade (or clusters of grades) should be deemed sufficient. Ed Tech should get on that instead of banning them entirely in K-2. I think it would be awfully complicated to coordinate testing when not every child has access to an iPad at the same time. At our school, my understanding is that iPad time is used so that teachers can do small group instruction while the rest of the class has Lexia time. Signing in and signing out kids may take too much time as well, particularly in the younger grades where not everyone remembers their lunch ID and passwords. Clever has its limits too. |
|
EXACTLY!!!!! They sure were before, now suddenly all the iPad time is so great. |
Sick of this unfounded argument. It's the rationale APS uses but it pointless when students don't have homework and everything is done during the school day anyway. |
Except APS makes them such by relying on the technology for everything not actually doing much, if any, of that other stuff (ie penmanship and reading physical books). |
First problem is that they are not sitting around unused for the vast majority of the time, or are sitting around less and less each year. Secondly, them being overused would be equally good reason to not buy them - because they shouldn't be so dependent on them for teaching. |
What APS are you all in? My kids both read a lot of physical books, work on penmanship, etc. Also, for what it's worth, the math app Reflex on the ipads genuinely helps for memorizing math facts, which used to be a pretty painful process when it was just flashcards and multiplication tables. |
Lexia has its role; but APS is relying on it far beyond its basic useful role (identifying the student's mastery levels and areas needing more instruction). They are requiring "x" amount of time on it for the sake of requiring "x" amount of time on it, and also relying on it to provide instruction and skills practice. It's ludicrous. |
Wholeheartedly agree. Though I'm not convinced it's necessary in 5th grade. They can write essays on paper. |
How on Earth did K-2ers ever learn before computer games? Oh, right....teachers led them in non-computer learning games. Hmm... |
Who is saying to ban them? A shared set would be fine for most use in K-2. And don't send them home for most of elementary. The biggest problems happen on bus rides and at home. They don't come back or get broken. Parents get notes to pay but no one enforces. APS should come clean about how many ipads it's replacing each year. |
They don't need 1:1 devices to conduct assessments online or to give game-learning students access to Lexia and Dreambox. Class sets are sufficient. Even class sets in numbers fewer than the number of students in the classroom since, apparently, students are only using iPads for differentiation while teachers work with other students. |
I have no issue with things like math facts practice on computers. Our school did not spend time teaching penmanship - it was self-taught and then its use was never enforced, and then not needed because everything ultimately gets done on the iPad by middle school. I would say we're all in the APS you haven't gotten to yet or apparently just not in the special part of APS you're privileged to be in. |
Amen. This is exactly what my kids are experiencing right now. |