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Joined: Mar 2008
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x
Last edited by master of none; 02/03/14 09:17 AM.
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Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 3,363
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Joined: Sep 2011
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Is there a way for you to provide feedback outside the survey? Any chance you could join together with other parents who share the same concerns to give feedback as a group? I think the things you've mentioned are important info to give back to the schools, whether or not it impacts the results of this survey. As a parent at a school that is successfully using iPads in the classroom, there are a few things you've mentioned that - if addressed - could be handled. For instance, the child who is playing games during class (or at home or wherever). If the iPads are issued by the school, why is a student allowed to download *anything* to the iPad (this would, I think, be handled by the school AT administrator). If the iPad is provided by parents, the parents can set the password to something the student doesn't know, and control what's loaded on the iPad that way. All the other questions are centered around whether child has access to internet at home, what other devices child can access at home, whether parent is comfortable with "technology". Since when is ipad the definition of technology? Looking at these questions from the outside (as in, I'm not a parent in the district concerned about what's going on with the implementation plan).... I see these questions maybe as important to the department-of-whoever-proposed the iPads as providing some crucial info re whether or not the iPads can be successfully implemented. If the students are expected to do online research at home, they'll need internet connections at home, or the school will need to provide access possibly after school for homework. If a parent isn't comfortable with technology, that might be a barrier to the student using the iPad at home for homework. I don't see these questions as assuming the iPad is *the* "it" for technology, but rather questions that are asked to see if the implementation of this particular device is facing any potential roadblocks. Re changing the nature of what is taught - I do think that the iPads does change the nature of what is taught in some ways (in others, not so much)... but *how* it changes it doesn't have to be negative, you just have to (as a school district) put thought into how the iPads are used. Our ds' school uses network connectivity as a port to research - that's changing the *how* research is done but it's opening up avenues of learning, not limiting. There are other examples I could mention too, but I don't want to ramble on - the key is that technology (iPad or whatever it is) is only going to be as successful as the plan that was put in place to use it. It sounds like the implementation at your district is not working well, and it's also draining $ from textbook purchases which are needed. Those are things the school district needs to hear - I hope you're able to find a way to give your feedback, and I hope that enough parents are concerned to raise their voices together. Good luck! polarbear ps - Was the question about "does the iPad make learning more interesting" really worded that way? That would annoy me. The iPad is a tool, not a teacher. Learning becomes interesting when a teacher is inspired, creative, motivated and when barriers to learning don't exist in the classroom. The iPad can't be responsible to make learning "more interesting" and it can't be an excuse either if things aren't working in the classroom. It's just a tool, just like graph paper is a tool. Granted, it's more fun than graph paper. But kids could sit around the classroom making airplanes with their graph paper all day if they were completely checked out on the lesson being taught. OK, I'm rambling now! And probably not making much sense 
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Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 2,035
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I would find those questions really annoying. How about "Is the iPad better than your teacher?". I am sure ipads can be used well but educators (or maybe their bosses) seem very keen to latch on to the latest, newest, shiniest and use it without much thought.
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Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 5,277 Likes: 13
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... the questions they ask can only lead to a positive view of ipads in the classroom. Yet, I personally think there are many problems with the implementation of the program... this pilot is going to get positive reviews all around because they asked the WRONG questions. GRRRRR. Unfortunately this is common and often intentional. These types of surveys seem like censorship, accepting only the feedback which supports their foregone conclusion and effectively precluding any dissenting responses, impact statements, or constructive criticism. I agree with polarbear that your insights are things which the district needs to hear, I also hope you find a way to present your concerns, and hope you can find strength in numbers for bringing concerns forward.
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Joined: May 2009
Posts: 647
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Joined: May 2009
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I've been the "survey queen" (meaning that I get the job of inputting the survey the school wants to do into something like SurveyMonkey) for two schools now, and it is *very* difficult to get the school personnel to understand that they need to:
(1) ask questions that they don't already know the answers to
(2) ask only *one* question per item
(3) ask questions in such a way that allows for specific negative feedback
Getting them to understand that we already knew the good points of the school and that the purpose of the survey was to uncover what needed changing was like pulling teeth.
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Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 2,035
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I honestly think they provide short cuts to learning and give teachers a distraction--let's see what we can do on the ipad rather than this is the lesson I need to teach, let's see how to best do that.
So, for that reason, I'm personally not liking the ipad, but that's just my bias.
However, there are safety concerns too. And yes, my innocent little dd and her friends are able to bypass security on it. Not to download apps or go where they shouldn't go, but to change grades and comments that the teachers give on google docs. I doubt the changes are in the "system", but the little perfectionists can make the comments read what they want them to read, and give themselves an A. I HOPE the teacher is able to see this if they care to look.
My second concern is about the messaging that goes on. The kids in a certain proximity can pop messages onto other kid's ipads. Like "you're a dork". My son figured out how to block it, so it can be done, but isn't generally. When we brought this up at a parent meeting, the teachers said that parents are responsible for the behavior of their kids. IOW, the teachers will not be monitoring this activity.
And of course the compulsive gaming--these are games that came with the ipad, not games that were downloaded. The ipads are synced regularly and apps are removed at that time. It needs to be written into IEPs and 504s that their ipads will be specially outfitted with filters and monitors or SOMETHING. It was always my understanding that during school hours the children's behavoir was the teachers responsibility.
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Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 2,856
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I suspect that the survey was designed to produce positive results because that's what the administrators who designed it desired. Case in point: Months after the LAUSD implementation was demonstrated to be a disaster, 36% of teachers strongly favored continuing the rollout... 90% of school administrators felt the same: storyAs polarbear so aptly put it: the key is that technology (iPad or whatever it is) is only going to be as successful as the plan that was put in place to use it. And LA's is a case-study in how to do it wrong. Although, I'd add a caveat that one of the most important aspects of "the plan" is the consideration of whether the technology is the right fit in the first place.
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Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 2,641 Likes: 3
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Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 2,641 Likes: 3 |
Now I'm wondering if political surveys are similarly stacked. My whole world is crumbling like a house of cards. I have on occasion donated to one of the two main political parties in the U.S., and I think the surveys it sends are laughably biased, even though I generally agree with the policies of the party. I assume the other party does the same thing.
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Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 2,856
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Now I'm wondering if political surveys are similarly stacked. My whole world is crumbling like a house of cards. Wonder no more. The tradition of the push-poll in American politics is well-established.
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