Schools across the U.S. are starting to rethink the abundance of digital devices in classrooms. After pouring billions of dollars into laptops, tablets and learning apps, a growing number of schools say it is time to scale back.
I bet people down voting me are the sales reps that sell/lease thousands of iPads and Chromebooks to districts along with software licenses and contracts to supple the personnel to support that hardware.
As someone with troubles writing, screw you, having a computer in class would have made my whole education an order of magnitude less shitty.
I’m downvoting you for your dumbass take, not for being an apple or google rep. (mostly the part about pens and papers, I agree on the part that big tech need to get bent too, and that no money should go in their pockets and probably should go somewhere else)
If your writting was part of a disablity, (and you didnt fall through the cracks) you’d get an 504 or IEP for accommadation.
If you were just bad at it, well join the club, my handwritting has always been terrible and I was forced to work at it until I improved it so it is at least legible. You learn skills at school. Writting to communicate, is one of those skills and it takes practice.
your writting will never get better if you dont practice it.
Well, I doubt the french ministry of education call them IEP or 504 (not everyone lives in the US, shocker), and anyway it simply doesn’t help if you are diagnosed loooong after the fact.
I’m sure spending close to two decades at school with nothing but pens and paper count as practice, right? Welp too bad it did nothing, my writing still sucked at uni.
My mum gave me her old slide-rule that she’d used as a kid. Kinda mechanical calculator, very early computing tech. She told me that there was debate about whether kids should be allowed to use them in school or just calculate manually. She said they were taught to do it manually then when they could do that they were taught slide rule, because many jobs would expect people to have slide rule skills.
When I was little, calculators still had kinda bulbs for each digit, then LCD screens came along and they suddenly got small and more powerful. There was the same controversy about whether we should be allowed to use them in class. We were taught how to do algebra n shit with paper and pencil, but also how to use the calculator.
This has worked for the past couple of generations of tech, I don’t see why this one should be handled any differently. Kids should learn Pythagoras and algebra n stuff, how to do it themselves. Then they should be taught how to do it using a computer, and all the other stuff you can do with the computer.
Honestly, computer lessons in schools need to step up, at least in my country. Back in the 80s we were taught on 32k ram BBC B computers - we only had to learn to code a bit of basic, but those of us who wanted to dig deeper could learn assembly, start fucking with registers n stuff, learning binary and hex. Gave me a very basic understanding of how a computer actually worked.
I’m told that in my country, kids these days are taught how to use office. And that’s about all. Fuckin shame and a missed opportunity for those children who are drawn to tech and want to dig deep.
So yeah, I’m just saying we gotta teach them to do math on paper, really understand it - and then we gotta teach them the tech.
One class seems too few. 75% of jobs in the US use computers regularly.
Even the plumber shows up with a tablet and such.
On top of that, what ever was the point in making us write the essay twice, rough draft, the final… and have to rewrite the whole damn thing if we made a mistake. When it comes to writing, computers are where it is done.
Math… yeah, pencil and paper, calculator for the high level stuff.
History/social studies… videos and articles are just easier to distribute via computer. Though initial presentation with follow up commentary is ideal.
I think computers are overused in school, but 1 class is too far in the other direction.
Pay teachers more, free breakfast and lunch for every child. These two things are the only things that you can just throw money at to improve outcomes that can be replicated everywhere.
As a generalization, they don’t need more money for textbooks, they don’t need more tech, they don’t need building upgrades, they don’t need whatever the latest software scam is, etc.
If only… oregon pays teachers well, and does free breakfast and lunch. But the results don’t line up. There is more to it. To me it looks like the administration is often pretty terrible. But my sample size for that is small.
Yep, another thing that throwing money could solve. Imagine how much more attention students could get if classrooms maxed out at like 15. There’s a reason expensive private schools advertise small classes.
I think writing by hand is overrated. Said as a person who wrote non stop as a kid, whole little novels by hand. Much hand cramps. Much pain. Now carpal tunnel . Grew up pre internet. It wasn’t from computers.
I can write the same shit on a laptop, and without smearing shit because I’m left handed.
I saw somewhere that general tech in schools makes students worse overall by 2/3 of a standard deviation. A class on it is an great approach, and the constant live experimentation on our youth education needs to stop. The pain of learning isn’t optional, I say.
A proper typing and general computer useage class. With optional digital arts and coding classes. That way kids can learn to use a computer and have chances to actually put that general knowledge to the test and then expand on the skill.
Heaven knows my digital art class in high school actually taught me loads of things about how to use computers efficiently, manage back ups and storage, and other skills. It wasn’t JUST learn how to use Photoshop.
There are areas that can be improved to reduce waste tho. Providing e-reader for example instead of a full blown tablet to reduce book waste is I think would help. Plus students don’t have to lug around their textbook AND workbook at the same time. Like legit, tech can be helpful IF they are implemented TO ACTUALLY HELP and not to sell something
There should be 1 class for computer and tech. The rest of school can be done with pencil, paper, and a ruler.
Districts should stop playing the marketing game and spend money repairing buildings, buying up to date textbooks, and fucking paying teachers more.
I wholly agree. Bring Computer Labs back, ditch the chrombooks. Let kids actually learn to write and nottake, and fucking pay our trachers more.
I bet people down voting me are the sales reps that sell/lease thousands of iPads and Chromebooks to districts along with software licenses and contracts to supple the personnel to support that hardware.
As someone with troubles writing, screw you, having a computer in class would have made my whole education an order of magnitude less shitty. I’m downvoting you for your dumbass take, not for being an apple or google rep. (mostly the part about pens and papers, I agree on the part that big tech need to get bent too, and that no money should go in their pockets and probably should go somewhere else)
If your writting was part of a disablity, (and you didnt fall through the cracks) you’d get an 504 or IEP for accommadation.
If you were just bad at it, well join the club, my handwritting has always been terrible and I was forced to work at it until I improved it so it is at least legible. You learn skills at school. Writting to communicate, is one of those skills and it takes practice.
your writting will never get better if you dont practice it.
Well, I doubt the french ministry of education call them IEP or 504 (not everyone lives in the US, shocker), and anyway it simply doesn’t help if you are diagnosed loooong after the fact.
I’m sure spending close to two decades at school with nothing but pens and paper count as practice, right? Welp too bad it did nothing, my writing still sucked at uni.
My mum gave me her old slide-rule that she’d used as a kid. Kinda mechanical calculator, very early computing tech. She told me that there was debate about whether kids should be allowed to use them in school or just calculate manually. She said they were taught to do it manually then when they could do that they were taught slide rule, because many jobs would expect people to have slide rule skills.
When I was little, calculators still had kinda bulbs for each digit, then LCD screens came along and they suddenly got small and more powerful. There was the same controversy about whether we should be allowed to use them in class. We were taught how to do algebra n shit with paper and pencil, but also how to use the calculator.
This has worked for the past couple of generations of tech, I don’t see why this one should be handled any differently. Kids should learn Pythagoras and algebra n stuff, how to do it themselves. Then they should be taught how to do it using a computer, and all the other stuff you can do with the computer.
Honestly, computer lessons in schools need to step up, at least in my country. Back in the 80s we were taught on 32k ram BBC B computers - we only had to learn to code a bit of basic, but those of us who wanted to dig deeper could learn assembly, start fucking with registers n stuff, learning binary and hex. Gave me a very basic understanding of how a computer actually worked.
I’m told that in my country, kids these days are taught how to use office. And that’s about all. Fuckin shame and a missed opportunity for those children who are drawn to tech and want to dig deep.
So yeah, I’m just saying we gotta teach them to do math on paper, really understand it - and then we gotta teach them the tech.
One class seems too few. 75% of jobs in the US use computers regularly. Even the plumber shows up with a tablet and such. On top of that, what ever was the point in making us write the essay twice, rough draft, the final… and have to rewrite the whole damn thing if we made a mistake. When it comes to writing, computers are where it is done.
Math… yeah, pencil and paper, calculator for the high level stuff. History/social studies… videos and articles are just easier to distribute via computer. Though initial presentation with follow up commentary is ideal. I think computers are overused in school, but 1 class is too far in the other direction.
Some classes can/should be done in pencil. Math for one is good.
I’d prefer a writing class in pencil as well. Everyones handwriting is going to hell.
Pay teachers more, free breakfast and lunch for every child. These two things are the only things that you can just throw money at to improve outcomes that can be replicated everywhere.
As a generalization, they don’t need more money for textbooks, they don’t need more tech, they don’t need building upgrades, they don’t need whatever the latest software scam is, etc.
If only… oregon pays teachers well, and does free breakfast and lunch. But the results don’t line up. There is more to it. To me it looks like the administration is often pretty terrible. But my sample size for that is small.
is 45,000 a year good for a job that requires a masters?
Now imagine how bad the results would be without it…
Teacher to student ratios?
Yep, another thing that throwing money could solve. Imagine how much more attention students could get if classrooms maxed out at like 15. There’s a reason expensive private schools advertise small classes.
I think writing by hand is overrated. Said as a person who wrote non stop as a kid, whole little novels by hand. Much hand cramps. Much pain. Now carpal tunnel . Grew up pre internet. It wasn’t from computers.
I can write the same shit on a laptop, and without smearing shit because I’m left handed.
Ok, but you need a laptop instead of a scrap of paper and a random pen. In many cases, it’s just overkill.
I saw somewhere that general tech in schools makes students worse overall by 2/3 of a standard deviation. A class on it is an great approach, and the constant live experimentation on our youth education needs to stop. The pain of learning isn’t optional, I say.
A proper typing and general computer useage class. With optional digital arts and coding classes. That way kids can learn to use a computer and have chances to actually put that general knowledge to the test and then expand on the skill.
Heaven knows my digital art class in high school actually taught me loads of things about how to use computers efficiently, manage back ups and storage, and other skills. It wasn’t JUST learn how to use Photoshop.
There are areas that can be improved to reduce waste tho. Providing e-reader for example instead of a full blown tablet to reduce book waste is I think would help. Plus students don’t have to lug around their textbook AND workbook at the same time. Like legit, tech can be helpful IF they are implemented TO ACTUALLY HELP and not to sell something