Jamestown elementary school - they use iPads for 40 min a day at kindergarten classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Jamestown is our assigned school and I think it's terrible and sad to have kindergartners on Ipads during school hours. They can do that at home. There are so many better uses of time at school in my opinion.

Unless you have some degree in educational pedagogy, your opinion isn't valid.

Sorry, that's not how opinions work.

+1. As an aside, I'm a teacher with a pair of master's degrees and fully agree with PP.

You may need some continuing education. Screens are an integral part of our lives and knowledge and learning. Understanding how to use an iPad as a tool is critical -- if you're so afraid of the technology, you may be out-dated in your efficacy.

In second grade, my child was wrote books and produced movies with her peers using an iPad. They certainly had interaction. They learned coding and wrote games that they took turns testing for each other. It was very collaborative. They did multimedia projects in science that involved writing, video, pictures, and graphics.

All of this at Jamestown, btw.

LOL. iPads and associated apps are designed to require zero tech savvy. I think there is a place for them in schools in limited, well thought-out applications, but certainly no one will be falling behind if they don't use an iPad in Kindergarten.

-STEM person

This!

What kid (or adult, for that matter) can't pick up an iPad and figure out what to do with it? Or, if not, how long does it take to show them. It's made to be intuitive. That's not real 'coding'. Kids in K-3 would be better served actually WRITING books and drawing pictures on paper.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My biggest issue with technology in the younger grades is that I believe kids should learn more interacting with each other and not on tablets. Games can be very addicting with the rewards and adrenaline from trying to reach a certain goal. Why not have the kids read to a buddy. Or talk to each other about math? Do the teachers actually have a curriculum to incorporate technology or are they just introducing random math games & reading apps? Kids are so easily bored nowadays and require technology to fill the void. Let them sit and be bored. Great ideas come from being bored. It amazing what type of imaginative play kids come up with when they are not on an ipad or video game. I would rather the teachers traded the ipad time for outdoor recess.

This! Absolutely. The kids still love playing games in K-3. I'd much rather they have time to play Jenga or read with their friends. With the Chrimebooks, the kids are all isolated at their desks with their faces glued to a screen. They have the rest of their lives to do that. Let them go without screens.

At our ES, the Chrimebooks are used for either reading books on Epic or random math games. Kids are allowed to choose their games. Sometimes the games are related to what they are doing in class, but sometimes they are just random games.

Sounds like your ES has better controls than our MS because it has not been a good experience on our end.

I'm the PP you responded to. Sorry, I wasn't totally clear. Actually our ES has terrible controls. They are non-existent. Kids are messaging each other on their Chromebooks - which doesn't bother me a ton, because it seems like when we used to pass notes in class. But, the access to unfiltered websites definitely bothers me!

Kids in 4th and 5th grade are absolutely searching for inappropriate material online, and it's impossible for the teacher to monitor all the screens.

I can see allowing Computer Lab once a week for K-3, but Chromebooks in 2nd grade are completely NOT necessary. Plus, MCPS already has budget issues. An increase in the number of Chromebooks would seem to mean that they'll need to hire more staff for tech support, which takes away money from hiring more teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My biggest issue with technology in the younger grades is that I believe kids should learn more interacting with each other and not on tablets. Games can be very addicting with the rewards and adrenaline from trying to reach a certain goal. Why not have the kids read to a buddy. Or talk to each other about math? Do the teachers actually have a curriculum to incorporate technology or are they just introducing random math games & reading apps? Kids are so easily bored nowadays and require technology to fill the void. Let them sit and be bored. Great ideas come from being bored. It amazing what type of imaginative play kids come up with when they are not on an ipad or video game. I would rather the teachers traded the ipad time for outdoor recess.

This! Absolutely. The kids still love playing games in K-3. I'd much rather they have time to play Jenga or read with their friends. With the Chrimebooks, the kids are all isolated at their desks with their faces glued to a screen. They have the rest of their lives to do that. Let them go without screens.

At our ES, the Chrimebooks are used for either reading books on Epic or random math games. Kids are allowed to choose their games. Sometimes the games are related to what they are doing in class, but sometimes they are just random games.

Sounds like your ES has better controls than our MS because it has not been a good experience on our end.

I'm the PP you responded to. Sorry, I wasn't totally clear. Actually our ES has terrible controls. They are non-existent. Kids are messaging each other on their Chromebooks - which doesn't bother me a ton, because it seems like when we used to pass notes in class. But, the access to unfiltered websites definitely bothers me!

Kids in 4th and 5th grade are absolutely searching for inappropriate material online, and it's impossible for the teacher to monitor all the screens.

I can see allowing Computer Lab once a week for K-3, but Chromebooks in 2nd grade are completely NOT necessary. Plus, MCPS already has budget issues. An increase in the number of Chromebooks would seem to mean that they'll need to hire more staff for tech support, which takes away money from hiring more teachers.

Well that burst my bubble. I was hoping that there was a utopian experience happening somewhere so that we could push, pull and prod Alexandria into copying it. Chrome Books for MS has been a disaster for us but the school system refuses to yield their position because they don't want to lose face. There are a lot of egos in the way. The stories my child tells me about the porn and violent videos and disgusting song lyrics that kids are downloading every day in her MS are appalling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Jamestown is our assigned school and I think it's terrible and sad to have kindergartners on Ipads during school hours. They can do that at home. There are so many better uses of time at school in my opinion.

Unless you have some degree in educational pedagogy, your opinion isn't valid.

Sorry, that's not how opinions work.

+1. As an aside, I'm a teacher with a pair of master's degrees and fully agree with PP.

You may need some continuing education. Screens are an integral part of our lives and knowledge and learning. Understanding how to use an iPad as a tool is critical -- if you're so afraid of the technology, you may be out-dated in your efficacy.

In second grade, my child was wrote books and produced movies with her peers using an iPad. They certainly had interaction. They learned coding and wrote games that they took turns testing for each other. It was very collaborative. They did multimedia projects in science that involved writing, video, pictures, and graphics.

All of this at Jamestown, btw.

LOL. iPads and associated apps are designed to require zero tech savvy. I think there is a place for them in schools in limited, well thought-out applications, but certainly no one will be falling behind if they don't use an iPad in Kindergarten.

-STEM person

This!

What kid (or adult, for that matter) can't pick up an iPad and figure out what to do with it? Or, if not, how long does it take to show them. It's made to be intuitive. That's not real 'coding'. Kids in K-3 would be better served actually WRITING books and drawing pictures on paper.

Exactly. I didn't get an iPad till I was 35 (because they didn't exist till then) and yet somehow, magically, despite not having started in kindergarten, I caught on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Jamestown is our assigned school and I think it's terrible and sad to have kindergartners on Ipads during school hours. They can do that at home. There are so many better uses of time at school in my opinion.

Unless you have some degree in educational pedagogy, your opinion isn't valid.

Sorry, that's not how opinions work.

+1. As an aside, I'm a teacher with a pair of master's degrees and fully agree with PP.

You may need some continuing education. Screens are an integral part of our lives and knowledge and learning. Understanding how to use an iPad as a tool is critical -- if you're so afraid of the technology, you may be out-dated in your efficacy.

In second grade, my child was wrote books and produced movies with her peers using an iPad. They certainly had interaction. They learned coding and wrote games that they took turns testing for each other. It was very collaborative. They did multimedia projects in science that involved writing, video, pictures, and graphics.

All of this at Jamestown, btw.

LOL. iPads and associated apps are designed to require zero tech savvy. I think there is a place for them in schools in limited, well thought-out applications, but certainly no one will be falling behind if they don't use an iPad in Kindergarten.

-STEM person

You're a STEM person, so I guess I'm not surprised by your binary thinking. I will let that go.

I didn't say they made her tech savvy, did I? Show me where I said that. I said the iPad was an incredible tool that enhanced other learning experiences. She made a film. She wrote a book. She did multimedia projects. Yeah, she did some coding, but I realize that's rudimentary.

Could she have written the book by hand? Sure. But, it's not like that's inherently virtuous. In this case, writing the book on the screen then turned into presenting the book to parents and peers at book fair. The stream project involved photographs and video of flora that augmented her written descriptions.

It's a TOOL. I use my device all the time at work -- presentations, photographs of white boards, animated videos (I'm in marketing and communications).

This isn't about being "tech savvy" in a STEM sense. Sheesh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Jamestown is our assigned school and I think it's terrible and sad to have kindergartners on Ipads during school hours. They can do that at home. There are so many better uses of time at school in my opinion.

Unless you have some degree in educational pedagogy, your opinion isn't valid.

Sorry, that's not how opinions work.

+1. As an aside, I'm a teacher with a pair of master's degrees and fully agree with PP.

You may need some continuing education. Screens are an integral part of our lives and knowledge and learning. Understanding how to use an iPad as a tool is critical -- if you're so afraid of the technology, you may be out-dated in your efficacy.

In second grade, my child was wrote books and produced movies with her peers using an iPad. They certainly had interaction. They learned coding and wrote games that they took turns testing for each other. It was very collaborative. They did multimedia projects in science that involved writing, video, pictures, and graphics.

All of this at Jamestown, btw.

LOL. iPads and associated apps are designed to require zero tech savvy. I think there is a place for them in schools in limited, well thought-out applications, but certainly no one will be falling behind if they don't use an iPad in Kindergarten.

-STEM person

You're a STEM person, so I guess I'm not surprised by your binary thinking. I will let that go.

I didn't say they made her tech savvy, did I? Show me where I said that. I said the iPad was an incredible tool that enhanced other learning experiences. She made a film. She wrote a book. She did multimedia projects. Yeah, she did some coding, but I realize that's rudimentary.

Could she have written the book by hand? Sure. But, it's not like that's inherently virtuous. In this case, writing the book on the screen then turned into presenting the book to parents and peers at book fair. The stream project involved photographs and video of flora that augmented her written descriptions.

It's a TOOL. I use my device all the time at work -- presentations, photographs of white boards, animated videos (I'm in marketing and communications).

This isn't about being "tech savvy" in a STEM sense. Sheesh.

Binary thinker. Did that pop up recently on your word-of-the-day calendar? Seems like you really like that expression.

As I said in my post, I agree that it can be a useful tool in the right circumstances, but I disagree that it's "critical" for Kindergarteners to understand how to use an iPad. Referring to your comment bolded above. There is plenty of time to learn how to use it as a tool (plus, frankly, it's really not that hard to pick up). In Kindergarten, there are many, many other more valuable skills that the children should be learning.

Even Steve Jobs agreed:
https://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/09/11/fashion/steve-jobs-apple-was-a-low-tech-parent.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My biggest issue with technology in the younger grades is that I believe kids should learn more interacting with each other and not on tablets. Games can be very addicting with the rewards and adrenaline from trying to reach a certain goal. Why not have the kids read to a buddy. Or talk to each other about math? Do the teachers actually have a curriculum to incorporate technology or are they just introducing random math games & reading apps? Kids are so easily bored nowadays and require technology to fill the void. Let them sit and be bored. Great ideas come from being bored. It amazing what type of imaginative play kids come up with when they are not on an ipad or video game. I would rather the teachers traded the ipad time for outdoor recess.

This! Absolutely. The kids still love playing games in K-3. I'd much rather they have time to play Jenga or read with their friends. With the Chrimebooks, the kids are all isolated at their desks with their faces glued to a screen. They have the rest of their lives to do that. Let them go without screens.

At our ES, the Chrimebooks are used for either reading books on Epic or random math games. Kids are allowed to choose their games. Sometimes the games are related to what they are doing in class, but sometimes they are just random games.

Sounds like your ES has better controls than our MS because it has not been a good experience on our end.

I'm the PP you responded to. Sorry, I wasn't totally clear. Actually our ES has terrible controls. They are non-existent. Kids are messaging each other on their Chromebooks - which doesn't bother me a ton, because it seems like when we used to pass notes in class. But, the access to unfiltered websites definitely bothers me!

Kids in 4th and 5th grade are absolutely searching for inappropriate material online, and it's impossible for the teacher to monitor all the screens.

I can see allowing Computer Lab once a week for K-3, but Chromebooks in 2nd grade are completely NOT necessary. Plus, MCPS already has budget issues. An increase in the number of Chromebooks would seem to mean that they'll need to hire more staff for tech support, which takes away money from hiring more teachers.

Well that burst my bubble. I was hoping that there was a utopian experience happening somewhere so that we could push, pull and prod Alexandria into copying it. Chrome Books for MS has been a disaster for us but the school system refuses to yield their position because they don't want to lose face. There are a lot of egos in the way. The stories my child tells me about the porn and violent videos and disgusting song lyrics that kids are downloading every day in her MS are appalling.

Unfortunately this has been our exact experience in our MCPS MS. Sounds like a universal issue.

Though if there is anyone whose MS seems to handle this better, I'd love to hear from them. I can tolerate the nudity, but the violent content bothers me most of all. Shouldn't be an issue at all, but absolutely should not be something that the kids can pull up on the school sponsored Chromebooks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids get a lot of iPad time at our FCPS ES. I don't like it, but I don't dislike it enough to complain.

Our FCPS ES has no iPads. The student:computer ratio is 3:1, so screen time is limited due to scarcity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Jamestown is our assigned school and I think it's terrible and sad to have kindergartners on Ipads during school hours. They can do that at home. There are so many better uses of time at school in my opinion.

Unless you have some degree in educational pedagogy, your opinion isn't valid.

Sorry, that's not how opinions work.

+1. As an aside, I'm a teacher with a pair of master's degrees and fully agree with PP.

You may need some continuing education. Screens are an integral part of our lives and knowledge and learning. Understanding how to use an iPad as a tool is critical -- if you're so afraid of the technology, you may be out-dated in your efficacy.

In second grade, my child was wrote books and produced movies with her peers using an iPad. They certainly had interaction. They learned coding and wrote games that they took turns testing for each other. It was very collaborative. They did multimedia projects in science that involved writing, video, pictures, and graphics.

All of this at Jamestown, btw.

LOL. iPads and associated apps are designed to require zero tech savvy. I think there is a place for them in schools in limited, well thought-out applications, but certainly no one will be falling behind if they don't use an iPad in Kindergarten.

-STEM person

You're a STEM person, so I guess I'm not surprised by your binary thinking. I will let that go.

I didn't say they made her tech savvy, did I? Show me where I said that. I said the iPad was an incredible tool that enhanced other learning experiences. She made a film. She wrote a book. She did multimedia projects. Yeah, she did some coding, but I realize that's rudimentary.

Could she have written the book by hand? Sure. But, it's not like that's inherently virtuous. In this case, writing the book on the screen then turned into presenting the book to parents and peers at book fair. The stream project involved photographs and video of flora that augmented her written descriptions.

It's a TOOL. I use my device all the time at work -- presentations, photographs of white boards, animated videos (I'm in marketing and communications).

This isn't about being "tech savvy" in a STEM sense. Sheesh.

Binary thinker. Did that pop up recently on your word-of-the-day calendar? Seems like you really like that expression.

As I said in my post, I agree that it can be a useful tool in the right circumstances, but I disagree that it's "critical" for Kindergarteners to understand how to use an iPad. Referring to your comment bolded above. There is plenty of time to learn how to use it as a tool (plus, frankly, it's really not that hard to pick up). In Kindergarten, there are many, many other more valuable skills that the children should be learning.

Even Steve Jobs agreed:
https://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/09/11/fashion/steve-jobs-apple-was-a-low-tech-parent.html

And yet, Apple keeps giving Jamestown awards for its integration of technology into the classroom. How about that?

And, yes, you seem very binary. That's OK -- kind of goes with the territory for coders/STEM people. You stick to creating the devices and we creative types will create the content with them.

That's the new world we live in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Jamestown is our assigned school and I think it's terrible and sad to have kindergartners on Ipads during school hours. They can do that at home. There are so many better uses of time at school in my opinion.

Unless you have some degree in educational pedagogy, your opinion isn't valid.

Sorry, that's not how opinions work.

+1. As an aside, I'm a teacher with a pair of master's degrees and fully agree with PP.

You may need some continuing education. Screens are an integral part of our lives and knowledge and learning. Understanding how to use an iPad as a tool is critical -- if you're so afraid of the technology, you may be out-dated in your efficacy.

In second grade, my child was wrote books and produced movies with her peers using an iPad. They certainly had interaction. They learned coding and wrote games that they took turns testing for each other. It was very collaborative. They did multimedia projects in science that involved writing, video, pictures, and graphics.

All of this at Jamestown, btw.

LOL. iPads and associated apps are designed to require zero tech savvy. I think there is a place for them in schools in limited, well thought-out applications, but certainly no one will be falling behind if they don't use an iPad in Kindergarten.

-STEM person

This!

What kid (or adult, for that matter) can't pick up an iPad and figure out what to do with it? Or, if not, how long does it take to show them. It's made to be intuitive. That's not real 'coding'. Kids in K-3 would be better served actually WRITING books and drawing pictures on paper.

+1 iPads in kindergarten are just a way to kill time. Kids aren't learning anything on them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Jamestown is our assigned school and I think it's terrible and sad to have kindergartners on Ipads during school hours. They can do that at home. There are so many better uses of time at school in my opinion.

Unless you have some degree in educational pedagogy, your opinion isn't valid.

Sorry, that's not how opinions work.

+1. As an aside, I'm a teacher with a pair of master's degrees and fully agree with PP.

You may need some continuing education. Screens are an integral part of our lives and knowledge and learning. Understanding how to use an iPad as a tool is critical -- if you're so afraid of the technology, you may be out-dated in your efficacy.

In second grade, my child was wrote books and produced movies with her peers using an iPad. They certainly had interaction. They learned coding and wrote games that they took turns testing for each other. It was very collaborative. They did multimedia projects in science that involved writing, video, pictures, and graphics.

All of this at Jamestown, btw.

LOL. iPads and associated apps are designed to require zero tech savvy. I think there is a place for them in schools in limited, well thought-out applications, but certainly no one will be falling behind if they don't use an iPad in Kindergarten.

-STEM person

You're a STEM person, so I guess I'm not surprised by your binary thinking. I will let that go.

I didn't say they made her tech savvy, did I? Show me where I said that. I said the iPad was an incredible tool that enhanced other learning experiences. She made a film. She wrote a book. She did multimedia projects. Yeah, she did some coding, but I realize that's rudimentary.

Could she have written the book by hand? Sure. But, it's not like that's inherently virtuous. In this case, writing the book on the screen then turned into presenting the book to parents and peers at book fair. The stream project involved photographs and video of flora that augmented her written descriptions.

It's a TOOL. I use my device all the time at work -- presentations, photographs of white boards, animated videos (I'm in marketing and communications).

This isn't about being "tech savvy" in a STEM sense. Sheesh.

Binary thinker. Did that pop up recently on your word-of-the-day calendar? Seems like you really like that expression.

As I said in my post, I agree that it can be a useful tool in the right circumstances, but I disagree that it's "critical" for Kindergarteners to understand how to use an iPad. Referring to your comment bolded above. There is plenty of time to learn how to use it as a tool (plus, frankly, it's really not that hard to pick up). In Kindergarten, there are many, many other more valuable skills that the children should be learning.

Even Steve Jobs agreed:
https://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/09/11/fashion/steve-jobs-apple-was-a-low-tech-parent.html

And yet, Apple keeps giving Jamestown awards for its integration of technology into the classroom. How about that?

And, yes, you seem very binary. That's OK -- kind of goes with the territory for coders/STEM people. You stick to creating the devices and we creative types will create the content with them.

That's the new world we live in.

I'm not the PP you are responding to, but are you really THAT naive??

Apple is a huge corporation that doesn't give a rat's ass about your kids. Apple cares about making money and getting its products everywhere and anywhere it can. Apple cares about its shareholders way more than it cares about your kids. They give these awards to encourage more school systems to use their products. It's basic marketing and good business strategy. How about that?

There is minimal benefit (or no benefit, arguably) to your kid, but a huge amount of benefit to Apple. They get the next generation of kids hooked on their products. Their parents buy Apple products because the kids are using them in school.

[Anonymous]

Oh, the hypocracy. Families let their kids use devices at home, on car trips, in the malls, at restaurants, at the pediatrician, while they shop in the grocery store, etc. and then complain when they are used in school.

Our family doesn't have an iPad, we dont have video games, we don't let our kids play on our phones IN PART because we know that they spend time on screens in school (and they would in ANY SCHOOL.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Jamestown is our assigned school and I think it's terrible and sad to have kindergartners on Ipads during school hours. They can do that at home. There are so many better uses of time at school in my opinion.

Unless you have some degree in educational pedagogy, your opinion isn't valid.

Sorry, that's not how opinions work.

+1. As an aside, I'm a teacher with a pair of master's degrees and fully agree with PP.

You may need some continuing education. Screens are an integral part of our lives and knowledge and learning. Understanding how to use an iPad as a tool is critical -- if you're so afraid of the technology, you may be out-dated in your efficacy.

In second grade, my child was wrote books and produced movies with her peers using an iPad. They certainly had interaction. They learned coding and wrote games that they took turns testing for each other. It was very collaborative. They did multimedia projects in science that involved writing, video, pictures, and graphics.

All of this at Jamestown, btw.

LOL. iPads and associated apps are designed to require zero tech savvy. I think there is a place for them in schools in limited, well thought-out applications, but certainly no one will be falling behind if they don't use an iPad in Kindergarten.

-STEM person

You're a STEM person, so I guess I'm not surprised by your binary thinking. I will let that go.

I didn't say they made her tech savvy, did I? Show me where I said that. I said the iPad was an incredible tool that enhanced other learning experiences. She made a film. She wrote a book. She did multimedia projects. Yeah, she did some coding, but I realize that's rudimentary.

Could she have written the book by hand? Sure. But, it's not like that's inherently virtuous. In this case, writing the book on the screen then turned into presenting the book to parents and peers at book fair. The stream project involved photographs and video of flora that augmented her written descriptions.

It's a TOOL. I use my device all the time at work -- presentations, photographs of white boards, animated videos (I'm in marketing and communications).

This isn't about being "tech savvy" in a STEM sense. Sheesh.

Binary thinker. Did that pop up recently on your word-of-the-day calendar? Seems like you really like that expression.

As I said in my post, I agree that it can be a useful tool in the right circumstances, but I disagree that it's "critical" for Kindergarteners to understand how to use an iPad. Referring to your comment bolded above. There is plenty of time to learn how to use it as a tool (plus, frankly, it's really not that hard to pick up). In Kindergarten, there are many, many other more valuable skills that the children should be learning.

Even Steve Jobs agreed:
https://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/09/11/fashion/steve-jobs-apple-was-a-low-tech-parent.html

And yet, Apple keeps giving Jamestown awards for its integration of technology into the classroom. How about that?

And, yes, you seem very binary. That's OK -- kind of goes with the territory for coders/STEM people. You stick to creating the devices and we creative types will create the content with them.

That's the new world we live in.

I'm not the PP you are responding to, but are you really THAT naive??

Apple is a huge corporation that doesn't give a rat's ass about your kids. Apple cares about making money and getting its products everywhere and anywhere it can. Apple cares about its shareholders way more than it cares about your kids. They give these awards to encourage more school systems to use their products. It's basic marketing and good business strategy. How about that?

There is minimal benefit (or no benefit, arguably) to your kid, but a huge amount of benefit to Apple. They get the next generation of kids hooked on their products. Their parents buy Apple products because the kids are using them in school.

Actually, Apple (and many other tech companies) also care about the talent pipeline. So, no, I'm not naive. But you sure are cynical.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh, the hypocracy. Families let their kids use devices at home, on car trips, in the malls, at restaurants, at the pediatrician, while they shop in the grocery store, etc. and then complain when they are used in school.

Our family doesn't have an iPad, we dont have video games, we don't let our kids play on our phones IN PART because we know that they spend time on screens in school (and they would in ANY SCHOOL.)

First, it's "hypocrisy." Second, I seriously doubt the people complaining about iPads in school allow their kids to use devices the way you suggest. In my experience, the anti-tech brigade tend to be Luddites through and through.

[Anonymous]

Who here remembers the days of getting to go to the computer lab on Fridays to play the Oregon Trail?

The games they're playing and much more educational than what I ever played in ES, that's for sure.

We don't limit screen time as I find limiting things makes them automatically desired for being forbidden. Neither kid is obsessed with their devices, either. We teach balance and responsibility instead. My DS had a friend that only asked to come play so he could play games at our house after his screen time at home was up. He was allowed 1 hour of screen time/video games when at a friend's house and his mom made sure it was strictly enforced. But I had no trouble enforcing it because as soon as the hour was up, he was gone. On to the next house to play for another hour. This went on for a few weeks before I finally told his mom what he was doing and that if he wanted to play with my son, he needed to actually play with him, not just use him for 60 more minutes of video games. Redic.