Can Saint Chris School get any worse - please read

2197POSTS

11 years ago

Is anyone else as disgusted with this as I am???? Do our kids need to provide blackboards and desks next?? We need a petition............

Dear Parents

Over recent years there has been, as you will be aware, an increasing emphasis on the use of IT in classrooms and for learning in general. Three or four years ago, many schools required all students, above a certain age, to bring a laptop or tablet to school for use in lessons. My view then was that the software and systems available at the time, were not up to the task. I also wanted to wait until the purposes and benefits of such an initiative were clear.

Since then, we have run pilot programmes with a selection of teachers and students and in a range of year groups and subjects. We have built expertise and capability and, in addition, it is now clear to us – and the education world in general – that the proper use if IT can and will enhance the learning of students. In addition, our wireless infrastructure at Saar and Isa Town has reached the point where it can handle multiple, simultaneous student use.

Accordingly, we have made the decision that, from September 2015, the essential equipment for all pupils, from Year 2 to Year 6, will include an iPad. In the Senior School; the essential equipment for all students will include a laptop.

For Parents who have already provided their children with such devices, please ensure these meet the minimum specifications as stated below.
For Parents who will need to purchase new, or wish to take this opportunity to upgrade, the School is in negotiation with local suppliers to provide a discounted price for a standardised "St Chris Package". Thus making this easy to obtain the required specification (further details of this will be communicated in due course).

Years 2 - 6
iPad: Minimum specification – iPad Mini Wi-Fi (or iPad 2, 16GB Wi-Fi, running iOS 8)
iPad: Recommended specification – iPad Mini 2 or Mini 3, 32 GB (or above) running iOS 8

Year 7-13 (Minimum specification)

Windows 7 (SP2) 32 or 64 bit, with Wi-Fi and a battery life of 6 hours or more.
Or
Laptop: Apple Mac OSx 10.9.x, with Wi-Fi and a battery life of 6 hours or more.

Please note: As with all devices the laptop should be adequately protected with Antivirus Software. The School recommends Trend Micro (around £19.99 GBP) or AVG (free).

In addition, an Office Application Suite will be essential. The School has a negotiated that all of our students are entitled to receive Microsoft Office 365 Pro Plus for both Windows, Mac & tablet devices for free!

Please do not hesitate to get in touch with any questions about the required specification.

With the equipment specified, your children will be able to engage in exciting new approaches to learning. In the the Senior School students will have access to the School’s cloud storage so they can easily access their work from anywhere connected to the Internet.

The School has already reviewed policies and procedures to safeguard and accommodate the safe use of devices within school.

Kind regards
Ed Goodwin OBE
(Principal)

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relwell Serial expat

253POSTS

11 years ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEmuEWjHr5c

A short clip, but it is worth watching.

My view is that it won't, for two reasons: 1. Technology is not inherently superior, animations over static graphics, videoed presentations over live lectures etc. and 2. Learning is inherently a social activity, motivated and encouraged by interactions with others.

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Bettyheart Member

17POSTS

11 years ago

Hi Josnuggles,

Apologies as it has been a while as I have been working away. I am appalled. What a world we live in!
This is so wrong on so many levels, not least that a great many families work very hard to meet school fees, they are now expected to find the money for this scheme too. But much more importantly the effect this has on (in my humble belief) reading, writing, social interaction and thought process is is abhorrent.
With you all the way Jo.

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GuestPoster95685 Guest

0POSTS

11 years ago

while I agree that making a blanket requirement for technology at the parents' expense is a negative, the use of common tech in classrooms has been going on since chalk was invented. It's not a sign of the world we are living in any more than the use of overhead projectors was.

I currently work in creating iPad content for education. In fact, most of the twenty years I've been teaching, I've been involved in harnessing technology to bring pedagogically sound materials to teachers and students. And that means I know the difference between simply providing tech and providing tech which can be used to challenge students to learn. There is a huge difference.

I was introduced to BBC B computers and BASIC programming at school when I was 11. While that didn't do anything to improve my ability to learn, what it did do was enable me to start acquiring tech skills at a very young age. Because many of my peers did not do that, I have made a career out of being one step ahead of the field in educational technology. I've also been able to use those tech skills in not only my private life to earn money but also in a couple of sideline jobs I've had along the way. I'm often the one called upon to provide support and use my skills in the workplace. I wouldn't be in the job I love today without having started using tech in the classroom 30 years ago.

In other words, had I not been exposed to tech at a young age and seen its potential, I would not have had anywhere near the same opportunitites in my adult life as I have benefited from. And if that was the case for me in the 1980s, how much more is it the case today when the ability to be fluent in, say, Office software, is a prerequisite for pretty much any decently paid job. The future tech that today's children will have to cope with is beyond the scope of our imagination.

It's a shame though that parents' have to foot the bill for something that a school should provide if it makes a medium mandatory, particularly when it charges very high fees in the first place.

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Josnuggles ViP

2197POSTS

11 years ago

But why should we be forced to buy an Ipad when we already have Samsung tablets? Why should we have to pay for expensive technology that the school demands. What happens if it is damaged or stolen?
In a nutshell, if the school want every student to have their own Ipad or laptop then they should provide them and not FORCE us to buy them

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Ocfemjc Serial expat

324POSTS

11 years ago

Why can they not invest in interactive whiteboards? Wouldn't that be more sensible way to introduce technology into the classroom.
As an educator myself I know that it's good to introduce children to technology but asking each child to have an iPad or laptop I feel is overkill especially when parents have to buy them. Imagine if you have 2-3 kids at the school !!!
I'd definitely be asking why this over the smart boards, which is what most good classrooms have.

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Josnuggles ViP

2197POSTS

11 years ago

That's the thing. Every classroom has smart white boards.
My main concern is that kids will stop learning how to communicate with others and lose their social skills.

Relwell as a teacher l value your comments as I value fchaudari76's

I'm not against technology. My son has the the best but it's a desktop pc and why should I have to buy him a laptop which he will only use in school?

Ocfemjc Serial expat

324POSTS

11 years ago

I'm not a parent but I can see why you are not happy. I wouldn't be. Personally I think it's ridiculous there are many ways to advance a child's technological knowledge without going this far!
Wonder which "clever" person came up with this idea and if St. Chris are getting a cut of the money that their parents will be spending on all these "discounted" devices.
Hmmmm

Ocfemjc Serial expat

324POSTS

11 years ago

#10

relwell wrote:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEmuEWjHr5c

A short clip, but it is worth watching.

My view is that it won't, for two reasons: 1. Technology is not inherently superior, animations over static graphics, videoed presentations over live lectures etc. and 2. Learning is inherently a social activity, motivated and encouraged by interactions with others.

Interesting 👍

Primadonna Jordan Expert

5339POSTS

11 years ago

#11

I would say ask other parents how they feel and if the majority is against all this, I would recommend a petition with signatures. At least to try some changes what already others mentioned: the school has to provide the devices.

What is the commission for the school if they can make " a special offer"? What if you have more then one child on the school? How the devices are going to be used? Why the young children needs a device too?

Fred Indonesia Expert

30581POSTS

11 years ago

#12

I disagree with the requirement for an ipad, mostly because android stuff is a heck of a lot cheaper, and will do the job just as well.
I also dislike the idea of using this before the age of about 10 or 11 - if the kids are too young, there's way to much chance of breakage, loss or whatever.

However, tech is in the classroom and, as long as it's used properly, it's a very good thing.
Imagine the teacher trying to explain movement of the planets with words and the pictures in the textbook; then the same, but with a youtube video on the screen behind him.

One other point. If the school insists on using tech, they must provide power sockets for that tech to charge from - at every desk
In the real world, kids aren't going to charge their laptops every night, and batteries fade with time.
Expecting anything else is gross stupidity.

Fred Indonesia Expert

30581POSTS

11 years ago

#13

fchaudari76 wrote:
Why can they not invest in interactive whiteboards? Wouldn't that be more sensible way to introduce technology into the classroom. .

Not really. I have yet to see anyone use them properly.
A projector and screen is a lot cheaper and works just as well for most lessons.

Fred Indonesia Expert

30581POSTS

11 years ago

#14

relwell wrote:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEmuEWjHr5c

A short clip, but it is worth watching.

My view is that it won't, for two reasons: 1. Technology is not inherently superior, animations over static graphics, videoed presentations over live lectures etc. and 2. Learning is inherently a social activity, motivated and encouraged by interactions with others.

Try...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOmrCi-mh_k

If you aren't moving forwards, you're going backwards.
As for your clip - it shows bad predictions - not the futility of technology.

"The Americans have need of the telephone, but we do not. We have plenty of messenger boys." -- Sir William Preece, chief engineer of the British Post Office.

Josnuggles ViP

2197POSTS

11 years ago

#15

The school are now aware of the parents dislike to this. I have emailed and awaiting a response

Ocfemjc Serial expat

324POSTS

11 years ago

#16

The Mums in Bahrain on facebook have a HUGE (surprise surprise) thread going on this.
Would NOT want to be the principal of St Chris right now !!!

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Fred Indonesia Expert

30581POSTS

11 years ago

#17

It sort of depends on how many people actually object.
If it's a very small but noisy group, the principal will just get a pointless headache.
If it's a larger group, he has a really bad headache.
If the majority don't want it - he has to step back.

A vote is in order.

One other thing comes to mind, what's the price of an ipad when you spend US$10,000 per year on school fees?
http://www.st-chris.net/index/fees/

Ocfemjc Serial expat

324POSTS

11 years ago

#18

Fred that sheep is very bouncy!!!!
Lol @ the fees - yes not cheap but therein is the issue.
No one wants to fork out more than they have to!!!

Josnuggles ViP

2197POSTS

11 years ago

#19

fchaudari76 wrote:
Fred that sheep is very bouncy!!!!
Lol @ the fees - yes not cheap but therein is the issue.
No one wants to fork out more than they have to!!!

Exactly. Especially those with 3 or 4 kids.

Facebook. ........ummmmmmm I might know who started that one

Fred Indonesia Expert

30581POSTS

11 years ago

#20

fchaudari76 wrote:
Fred that sheep is very bouncy!!!!
Lol @ the fees - yes not cheap but therein is the issue.
No one wants to fork out more than they have to!!!

I'm an old chap but my sheep is still as bouncy as they come.
The fees are very expensive, so the school is either very good or a total rip off.
Apart from the cash, the educational value is a major issue.
I know of one school in Indonesia that uses ipads. Sinar mas is seriously expensive as well, but no one complains about the rules - when you see the work the kids produce, you see why.
This is one of many student blogs

http://blogs.swa-jkt.com/swa/10318/

Ocfemjc Serial expat

324POSTS

11 years ago

#21

Josnuggles wrote:
fchaudari76 wrote:
Fred that sheep is very bouncy!!!!
Lol @ the fees - yes not cheap but therein is the issue.
No one wants to fork out more than they have to!!!

Exactly. Especially those with 3 or 4 kids.

Facebook. ........ummmmmmm I might know who started that one

Lol

James ViP

11272POSTS

11 years ago

#22

As an educator with a career spanning over 28 years I am in complete agreement with @suburbansam. The use of technology in the classroom is as old as the classroom itself. We got away from blackboards and chalk ages ago, moved on from there to whiteboards and markers, overhead projectors, audio-visual equipment, etc., etc., etc. The use of computers in school and classes administered on the computer is just a reflection of the world we now live in, a world that our children must be prepared to enter as adults. The problem is not the technology, it's proven itself in action. The problem is the requirement for all students to provide their own computer equipment that must meet specific requirements.

Personally I don't buy into the notion that if students are using iPads or laptops that they're going to lose the ability to speak to each other, they won't be able to communicate. Gosh, they started losing that skill long ago with the advent of cellular phones; it's only gotten worse now that we've all got smartphones. It's not uncommon to see kids texting each other when they're in the same room. We've already slid down that slippery slope long ago and iPads and laptops aren't going to make any difference, for the better or for the worse.

I'm convinced that the interactive whiteboard or projector and screen is really the way to go in this particular case. The cost to the school would be much less than the combined costs of all the parents who must buy the devices required for their children. Much of the equipment the school obviously already has, about the only thing they'd need to acquire would be the whiteboards.

Alternatively, they should be looking for something that can be accessed on any device, be it IOS ,android or Windows, since most children nowadays already have tablets or cellular phones that operate on one of those platforms.

Poor planning on the part of the school as to HOW to implement the program, but not about the need for it in my opinion.

Cheers,
James Expat-blog Experts Team

Josnuggles ViP

2197POSTS

11 years ago

#23

Thank you James. I agree with you that the school has organised this very badly. It's not the fact that they want the kids to use laptops, it's the manner of them telling us we have to purchase them. We spend BD2000 a term for our kids to go there which I think is more than enough money already. I feel the school should have sent a survey to all parents to find out our feelings before ordering us to buy this equipment.

If anyone feels that the school is wrong then please email the head teacher at office.principal@st-chris.net

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Fred Indonesia Expert

30581POSTS

11 years ago

#24

Josnuggles wrote:
If anyone feels that the school is wrong then please email the head teacher at office.principal@st-chris.net

That's really for the parents who disagree with the school's policy.
The rest of us poor mortals can happily express an opinion on a forum, but we have no right to have a go at, or support, the school.

In my opinion, as someone that went to a very interesting conference on the subject (But not a professional), the school have the right idea, but have no clue how to get it right.
Technology has a firm place in education, but (as with all tech) it has to be handled in a reasonable manner, not just to put tech in the classroom.
Frankly, giving an expensive ipad to a 6 year old is daft, but giving the same kid a cheap Android tab that isn't much of a loss when the kid breaks it, isn't too horrible.

https://www.mceducation.sg/technology/m … on-e-books

I watched a very nice demonstration of the above link, and was seriously impressed.
My interest wasn't because they used technology, but because they used tech in a way that the kids will love - and with cheap kit.
I tried a little experiment with my eldest. At 7 years old, she doesn't like reading the text books, but she loves the interactive ebook version.
That's the way to use tech with kids - something they'll actually learn from, but cheap when it breaks.

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