Re: [edu-eu] Open tablet --- Edu-EU Digest, Vol 46, Issue 1

[Rikard Fröberg]

On Thu, 2012-03-01 at 12:53 +0100, Daniel Rohde-Kage wrote:
> Hello to all of you,
> 
Hi,
> the fundamental discussion about tablets in schools has to be made.
> But I try to hide my displeasure over remarks here, ignoring the
> multimedial possibilities of digital systems like tablet-pcs. I don't
> understand the educational sense of hacking a digital camera, a gps, a
> hi-end-speaker-system, a screen, a gyrometer, a keyboard, a
> microphone, a surface for painting, a video camera, a computer, a
> system with thousands of useful software for creating contents.... But
> I do have hundreds of didactical ideas what to do with all these
> features of a tablet.
> 
For what it's worth, there is an ongoing debate in Sweden over schools
adopting tablets for the first year students.

The minister of education made a few statements on how silly it is to
think that tablets or computers "could replace pen and paper" for
learning the kids to read and write.

Many from the schools involved have replied and defended the use of
tablets as being a complement and interesting new technology with
possibilities to also assist in learning to write, read and spell etc,
but mostly that the idea certainly is not to abandon pen and paper
anytime soon.

In the case concerned, unfortunately the tablets are from Apple. But I
agree with the teachers that there is nothing dangerous about
introducing ICT at an early point in the school system (me too would
oppose ditching pen and paper of course).

For the interested, here are some articles on the topic (Swedish
sources):

http://ur1.ca/8h21k Debate article in the largest daily paper DN

Paper for educators on the Minister's rage against the machine:
http://ur1.ca/8h23j 

http://www.skolvarlden.se/artiklar/bj%C3%
B6rklund-rasar-mot-projekt-i-sollentuna


http://www.ett-till-ett.se/index.php/it-i-skolan Apple-financed
something wanting to sell pupil computers (macs) to schools

http://ur1.ca/8h22l (transl)

[...]

Best regards
Rikard

-- 
Rikard Fröberg, Projektledare
Föreningen fri kultur & programvara (FFKP) http://ffkp.se/
+46 31 780 21 66 | +46 7 39 15 59 23 (mobil)
http://fscons.org/ | http://evenemangforalla.se