School dumps iPads, returns to paper textbooks

Karlysymon

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"News articles about tech-insiders like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates choosing low-tech lifestyles and schools for their children proliferate the World Wide Web they helped to mainstream. Just this past week, Entrepreuner.com ran an article about the tech moguls choices of schooling. Business Insider followed suit and ran an article about the desire of those “in-the-know” to choose low-tech schooling for their own offspring. In that article, Sherry Turkle, a psychologist and research at MIT said the trend of schools to use devices to create “personalized” lessons plans for children is “Too much. Too much. Too much.” She emphasizes that kids need to work together face-to-face. "
 

DavidSon

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@Karlysymon if you hadn't seen it Naomi Klein wrote a great piece in May about technologies, under the guise of a pandemic, being rushed ahead at the behest of moguls like Eric Schmidt. Distance learning is a central part of their vision for smart cities: https://theintercept.com/2020/05/08/andrew-cuomo-eric-schmidt-coronavirus-tech-shock-doctrine/

Referring to the entry you posted, "On the Wildness of Children" it's crazy to go from the mindset of questioning the value of classrooms to now having to defend them against young people being monitored and taught by AI! I'll have to find it but there was an informative article showing that the data from computer classrooms is being sold to 3rd parties for all types of purposes.

I liked this criticism of distance learning in the article:

Upon learning of New York state’s new partnership with the Gates Foundation, Andy Pallotta, president of New York State United Teachers, was quick to react: “If we want to reimagine education, let’s start with addressing the need for social workers, mental health counselors, school nurses, enriching arts courses, advanced courses and smaller class sizes in school districts across the state,” he said. A coalition of parents’ groups also pointed out that if they had indeed been living an “experiment in remote learning” (as Schmidt put it), then the results were deeply worrying: “Since the schools were shut down in mid-March, our understanding of the profound deficiencies of screen-based instruction has only grown.”
 

justjess

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@Karlysymon if you hadn't seen it Naomi Klein wrote a great piece in May about technologies, under the guise of a pandemic, being rushed ahead at the behest of moguls like Eric Schmidt. Distance learning is a central part of their vision for smart cities: https://theintercept.com/2020/05/08/andrew-cuomo-eric-schmidt-coronavirus-tech-shock-doctrine/

Referring to the entry you posted, "On the Wildness of Children" it's crazy to go from the mindset of questioning the value of classrooms to now having to defend them against young people being monitored and taught by AI! I'll have to find it but there was an informative article showing that the data from computer classrooms is being sold to 3rd parties for all types of purposes.

I liked this criticism of distance learning in the article:

Upon learning of New York state’s new partnership with the Gates Foundation, Andy Pallotta, president of New York State United Teachers, was quick to react: “If we want to reimagine education, let’s start with addressing the need for social workers, mental health counselors, school nurses, enriching arts courses, advanced courses and smaller class sizes in school districts across the state,” he said. A coalition of parents’ groups also pointed out that if they had indeed been living an “experiment in remote learning” (as Schmidt put it), then the results were deeply worrying: “Since the schools were shut down in mid-March, our understanding of the profound deficiencies of screen-based instruction has only grown.”
When Cuomo announced that partnership months ago I stopped watching his daily briefings. I also posted about it here. No one even commented. This is extremely concerning. Distance learning is truly only suitable for neurotypical students who have a great deal of self motivation or a stay at home parent with nerves of steel. This is not a good direction for education and I wish I saw more people up in arms about this... we have a million problems in the educational system but in person learning isn’t one of them.
 

Kung Fu

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When Cuomo announced that partnership months ago I stopped watching his daily briefings. I also posted about it here. No one even commented. This is extremely concerning. Distance learning is truly only suitable for neurotypical students who have a great deal of self motivation or a stay at home parent with nerves of steel. This is not a good direction for education and I wish I saw more people up in arms about this... we have a million problems in the educational system but in person learning isn’t one of them.
Looks like the dumbing down of society wasn't such a conspiracy.
 

Karlysymon

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@Karlysymon if you hadn't seen it Naomi Klein wrote a great piece in May about technologies, under the guise of a pandemic, being rushed ahead at the behest of moguls like Eric Schmidt. Distance learning is a central part of their vision for smart cities: https://theintercept.com/2020/05/08/andrew-cuomo-eric-schmidt-coronavirus-tech-shock-doctrine/

Referring to the entry you posted, "On the Wildness of Children" it's crazy to go from the mindset of questioning the value of classrooms to now having to defend them against young people being monitored and taught by AI! I'll have to find it but there was an informative article showing that the data from computer classrooms is being sold to 3rd parties for all types of purposes.

I liked this criticism of distance learning in the article:

Upon learning of New York state’s new partnership with the Gates Foundation, Andy Pallotta, president of New York State United Teachers, was quick to react: “If we want to reimagine education, let’s start with addressing the need for social workers, mental health counselors, school nurses, enriching arts courses, advanced courses and smaller class sizes in school districts across the state,” he said. A coalition of parents’ groups also pointed out that if they had indeed been living an “experiment in remote learning” (as Schmidt put it), then the results were deeply worrying: “Since the schools were shut down in mid-March, our understanding of the profound deficiencies of screen-based instruction has only grown.”
Thanks. I hadn't read it but i recall A.J posted it in the COVID thread awhile back. Now that you've brought it up, i'll get on it.
So true about now defending the much derided educational system from AI ! :)
Looks like the dumbing down of society wasn't such a conspiracy.
Indeed!!!
When Cuomo announced that partnership months ago I stopped watching his daily briefings. I also posted about it here. No one even commented. This is extremely concerning. Distance learning is truly only suitable for neurotypical students who have a great deal of self motivation or a stay at home parent with nerves of steel. This is not a good direction for education and I wish I saw more people up in arms about this... we have a million problems in the educational system but in person learning isn’t one of them.
Yeah, i remember your post. I hadn't seen the news on the partnership so i got it from your post. That thread is long buried now.
 
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Maes17

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I’m on the fence about this. Maybe if ipads were rigged for research or book use only. I’m all for state of the art advancement, carrying less resources etc.


But....books, etc are all a major developmental role in building up healthy motor skills.
Writing, manual input when it comes to problem solving, critical thinking etc
 

Maes17

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When Cuomo announced that partnership months ago I stopped watching his daily briefings. I also posted about it here. No one even commented. This is extremely concerning. Distance learning is truly only suitable for neurotypical students who have a great deal of self motivation or a stay at home parent with nerves of steel. This is not a good direction for education and I wish I saw more people up in arms about this... we have a million problems in the educational system but in person learning isn’t one of them.
We have nerves of steel and I’d say my son does have a self discipline/motivation to him.

But he does miss that classroom setting.
 

TempestOfTempo

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Remote learning led eventually by AI is also much easier to centralize the message. All schools across the nation spreading the same singular message.

Propaganda. Indoctrination.
They really think they are able to pull off 1984 smh... aint going to happen, even if the world burns to the ground.
 
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My dad and I were just discussing this the other night. I know this has been in the making prior to covid, and as the saying goes, "Don't let a good crisis go to waste". There are many problems with remote learning, but generally speaking there are four main ones I don't think this incompetent government are even considering, which are, in order for remote learning to be successful, a parent/guardian would need:
  • a computer
  • funds for an ISP
  • funds for electricity running the computer
  • depending on the age, someone at home to oversee their courses
Clearly, this government hasn't taken the above into consideration and is probably looking at the contracts they can offer companies through this myopic proposal. Or maybe they have and just don't care, which could be a real possibility given their track record. I think this is their way of attempting to demolish the public education system and privatize it.
 

Karlysymon

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My dad and I were just discussing this the other night. I know this has been in the making prior to covid, and as the saying goes, "Don't let a good crisis go to waste". There are many problems with remote learning, but generally speaking there are four main ones I don't think this incompetent government are even considering, which are, in order for remote learning to be successful, a parent/guardian would need:
  • a computer
  • funds for an ISP
  • funds for electricity running the computer
  • depending on the age, someone at home to oversee their courses
Clearly, this government hasn't taken the above into consideration and is probably looking at the contracts they can offer companies through this myopic proposal. Or maybe they have and just don't care, which could be a real possibility given their track record. I think this is their way of attempting to demolish the public education system and privatize it.
Since you "liked" Davidson's post above (#44) then i guess you read Naomi Klein's article therein. I would hazard that the Ontario gov't is taking orders from the same people that Cuomo is also taking orders from.
 
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Since you "liked" Davidson's post above (#44) then i guess you read Naomi Klein's article therein. I would hazard that the Ontario gov't is taking orders from the same people that Cuomo is also taking orders from.
More than likely. The article was written last May during the covid and I've known about the remote learning in our public education sector back in the fall of '19. What's interesting at that time, many teachers, parents and teachers were against it. Here is it, almost a year and a ½ later, and it's being (possibly) forced on the province. However, when you take a look at WEF's partners, you'll see this:

I'm guessing the families that can't afford technology or the use of it are even aware of this.
 

justjess

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More than likely. The article was written last May during the covid and I've known about the remote learning in our public education sector back in the fall of '19. What's interesting at that time, many teachers, parents and teachers were against it. Here is it, almost a year and a ½ later, and it's being (possibly) forced on the province. However, when you take a look at WEF's partners, you'll see this:

I'm guessing the families that can't afford technology or the use of it are even aware of this.
In all fairness my son has been in cyber school for a couple years now. They provide the computer and give me a stipend towards my internet service even though I didn’t ask for it and don’t need it. There are some children for whom virtual learning can be better then in person. It depends on the child and should be a personal individual decision.
 
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In all fairness my son has been in cyber school for a couple years now. They provide the computer and give me a stipend towards my internet service even though I didn’t ask for it and don’t need it. There are some children for whom virtual learning can be better then in person. It depends on the child and should be a personal individual decision.
Agreed. However, when a survey is conducted and the results of the three parties participating in it, are NOT in favour of remote learning, one would think it would the opportunity to go back to the table and re-strategize or think of other options.

The education for the children in this province has been one complete colossal disaster. If I were a parent, I would be at parent/teacher meetings or participate in the monthly Board meetings asking them how they're going to make up for all that their children have lost.
 
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