[LINK] Apple iPads for Victorian School Students

[stephen at melbpc.org.au]

Tom writes,

> Ivan Trundle wrote (in reply to Fred Pilcher): 
> > A pity that an average school day isn't 5 hours long (not quite).  
> The students could decide themselves which parts of the course 
> they need face to face help with. I believe this approach could be 
> extended to secondary and primary education as well and will be the
> real digital education revolution.


Yes, it would be. However, one of the real (and un-spoken) benefits of
schooling is that parents get to hand-over their kids to a (relatively)
safe environment for a significant time while they have another life of
their own ... you know .. earning money and all that other stuff. Hence
imho such places to send kids, eg schools, will always exist, DER or no.

Meanwhile, regarding iPads, here's another 'ICT-appliance' perspective,
with apps which may not be possible (or easy eg touchscreen) with a PC:

--
Greetings colleagues,

I've only had my iPad for a few days, but already I am using it more than
my PC for work and play.

As a musician, and former secondary school music teacher, I am
particularly interested in the range of music apps available. Using the 
apps that cost a dollar or two I can play keyboard, guitar, etc. I can 
compose and notate, I can read and transpose sheet music, I can create my 
own backing tracks, I can sample sounds and play with their wave forms. I 
can create re-mixes.

I can make funky beats, I can learn to play the flute (guitar, keyboard,
trombone etc), I can play duets with others logged on in cyberspace, I can
work through an ear training program, I can learn music theory. This is 
just the tip of the iceberg.

It is only a matter of time before we embrace the iPad (or equivalent) in
schools. As a tool it is easy, intuitive, and FUN!

Best, M..

Dr M..
Lecturer
School of Education, 
Queensland University of Technology
--

Cheers,
Stephen