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Should Pads be allowed in Schools? Do you think high school and middle school students should be receiving pads instead of books? Textbooks have been played an instrumental role in society success, ever since school was invented we needed ways to find information and textbooks have always been there. Now with the world moving forward in terms of technology, obviously there are going to be some new inventions. However, the question is do we really need to use the inventions? Why all of a sudden are schools now having the need to replace everything that has helped millions and millions of kids with their education?
Now just to be clear, I am not knocking the pads down or anything I think it is a very useful invention, but it is not needed right now. Let us focus on how pads have affected students who have begun using it and let us talk about how it is not the right time to use it. Now before I start and explain why pads are not a good idea, let us talk about exactly what is the pad and what makes it so great. The pad was released in 2010 and has been a huge success. I am not surprised that it is because the technology was uncanny and was innovative. We had laptops, but the pad was so much lighter and user- roundly.
The pad has everything that a laptop has but has some more additional features like the ISO program which is an apple software, and people have claimed that it works better than a windows. Have no opinion because do not use an pad. With all this technology growing around us, still feel that schools do not need pads because what they are using right now would suffice Have you ever the heard saying “don’t try to fix something that is not broken”, if you said no then the question should be “why should you replace or fix something that is working fine”?
I mean just because genealogy is moving forward that does not mean that everything needs to be replaced. High schools right now are trying to give children pads and replace textbooks. Everyone has a different view point on this situation, but mine is that this is wrong. However, I want to know why we are doing this and where did the need for this come from. I recall when I was in high school, I was perfectly fine with using textbooks. I mean I never thought “man, it would sure be great to have an pads instead”.
The reason why I did not think like that was because it was school, and in school you have to work hard to achieve success (Bash). Success is not just handed over to you, well it might be soon though. Now it is up to the board of education in an area to decide on whether or not pads shall be allowed. The board of education believes that the pad will further enhance the education system, but since when does just looking up your assignment on Google count as enhancing ones education.
Now a lot of people are going to say that they are not going to use it for subjects not related to school. Really, let us talk about then to a little. When I was I high school, the students were always on their phone doing something on Google or Backbone and this is when having phones in lass was not allowed. Another example is my cousin and he currently is attending a high school that offers the pad. He told me that ever since the students have received the pads, students are not focusing and a lot of them are just playing games like Madden 201 3 on their pads.
Sarah Henderson and Jeff Yew wrote an article in 2012 regarding this whole Pad issue and how it is going to affect the kids. They said that even though the pad is very useful and bring a lot of good to school, it also has a lot of negative influences such as kids getting off task and looking up things that do not relate to their tidies. Also a lot of high school students might not take proper care of the equipment and can damage the device. Henderson and Yew also interviewed students and teachers to have their opinions heard.
Some said that they loved the pad and think it’s a great idea to expand, however many others were critical of this and said that the pad distracts the students from the learning experience and also gives the teacher a harder time to have the class listen to her talk. One teacher said she was trying to have her students listen, but they were too busy on their pad, and when she asked what they were doing. One student responded that he was doing math work, and when she went over he was playing a game instead (Henderson, and Yew).
Now imagine, we are giving them a device in which they can freely use Google and pretty much not even pay attention in class. Know, some will say that not every student will like that and while that may be true, how long till they rub off on the next person because you know peer pressure is also a huge thing in high school. What I do not understand is that why are textbooks being replaced because looking up information in a book will help you remember a lot more rather than something on Google. I remember I had to use my textbook a lot and every time I did, I was able to find the information and retain the information.
Some excuses that I heard were that the books were too heavy, well that’s why the schools have lockers and not everything in life can be made to accommodate one person. Now there is an article by the school News, the launch of pad programs in more than 600 U. S. School districts, two-thirds of which began in July 2011. It cites Burlington High School in Massachusetts where each student began the year with new school-issued pads loaded with electronic textbooks and other online resources in lieu of heavy textbooks. This means that the start has already and it seems as if it is going to keep on spreading unless something is done about.
The article also said that college campuses are thinking about doing it too since high schools across the nation doing it. It says that each year the students get a new pad and each pad costs roughly $700 dollars and obviously when getting something as expensive as pad is then a warranty is needed too. So that would cost the school additional money and on tip of that the school will probably have to buy APS that will aid in the students learning experience which will raise the price quite significantly. By the sounds of it, it seems as though there pad cost a lot more than a textbook.
To prove my point furthermore, on why pads in school are a bad idea. Yahoo news reported a problem that occurred at the Los Angels Unified School District. Apparently, the students were able to break through the firewall protection setup and were able to access websites that were not permitted by the schools. Students began going on Backbone, and Youth and were neglecting their assignment (Owens). Hundreds of students were able to crack the firewall security, and one high school was even stripped of their tights to use the pad anymore.
However, one teacher reported saying that many students still have it. The Board of education in Los Angels have said that they caught many students going on websites that would not enhance their education and they are now working with apple to a solution in a way that will ensure that the students are learning. An interesting note to be made, the students were asked what made them do what they did, and the response was that they were tired of being restricted from websites like social media or music streaming and so they broke through the firewall.
I know I said a lot of things regarding the pad issue, but this makes my case stronger n the fact that if schools can’t even have the proper security Setup, then how can they ensure that the kids are learning and not just goofing off with the devices; and the fact that the students will not try again or do something else because of the restriction that will be put back on (Owens). On contrary to what have been saying, pads can be useful in schools. The world is constantly moving forward and just because of some students who will misuse the device cannot be accounted for everyone.
We are in the 21st century, technology is taking over and with that the schools also must evolve. If the board of education allows pads in school then it will reduce the time the time it took to teach a lesson, and it also gives the children a chance to get rid of textbooks. Another idea that might persuade the school board is that they can save money. Since they are not buying textbooks, that reduces the cost of having to buy all the new editions and the only cost would be to have pads which would pretty much be a onetime money spending investment (Siegel).
Siegel was wrong when he said that the pad would be a one-time spending investment, since it was disproved earlier. With the schools now raying to get pads, it should be easier for students to access information because let’s be honest, the teacher will not know everything and whatever she cannot answer, the students can look it up online and find the answer. James Bash and colleagues had been researching over this debate on whether or not should schools allow pads.
Now they conducted this experiment in which three participants engaged in independent sweaters either by completing problems on a worksheet or completing problems presented on time. Based on visual analyses, students solved more math problems correctly in less time and demonstrated higher levels of active engagement in the pad condition as compared to the worksheet condition (Bash et al. ). After the experiment was conducted they interviewed the teacher and the three and all three unanimously said that the pad is a lot more useful than a textbook.
Overall, having pads in schools is a two way street. There are pros and a cons and people will use it to however they want it to. I still think having pads in schools is a bad idea because it initiates laziness and students will not care. The Board of education says that they are saving money, but in reality they will be using more money cause they have to pay for each pad, and with that the APS and warranty will be essential. Also, the board of education would also need to update the software whenever a new version comes out which also costs money.
In Los Angels, students have already lost their rights to the pads for breaking through the firewall security and going of Backbone and You Tube. However, I could be wrong and the pads actually improves our education and students have an easier time accessing new information. I mean based on the experiment done by Bash and his colleagues, the pad enhances the earning ability of students when compared to doing work on worksheets. The students responded better to their pads and its learning style rather than the work that was On the worksheet.
Even teachers have said that they liked the pad because students were more involved and it helped them learn faster. It all depends on how everyone thinks, there is no right or wrong answer. Also to be clear, I am not saying that pads should never be allowed but right now is not the right time.