This article highlights the debate around the amount of time youngsters spend in front of a screens, such as tablets and computers. This is based on research done by the American Academy of Pediatrics. The article starts:
Parents increasingly rely on tablet computers, such as iPads, to educate and entertain children but experts warn an overload could stunt a baby's brain development.
To read the article in full, click here.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Hindi introduced in a New Zealand school
This article highlights the change in the make up of New Zealand schools, with the introduction of languages, such as Mandarin and Hindi. However, French remains the language that is the most popular being taught in New Zealand secondary schools. The article starts:
A community movement to have Hindi taught in schools has highlighted the changing voice of Kiwis.
Auckland's Papatoetoe High School announced this month it would become the first school in the country to offer Hindi as part of the curriculum.
To read the article in full, click here.
A community movement to have Hindi taught in schools has highlighted the changing voice of Kiwis.
Auckland's Papatoetoe High School announced this month it would become the first school in the country to offer Hindi as part of the curriculum.
To read the article in full, click here.
Saturday, October 29, 2011
A view on compulsary iPads in one New Zealand school
Here's an article that highlights parents' views who feel they are being bullied into having to purchase iPads for their Year 9 children in one New Zealand school. One question that a parent asks is 'why iPads?'. The article starts:
'A parent of a pupil at Orewa College says Christmas will have to be cancelled in her household if the school continues to push forward with plans to make expensive tablet devices compulsory for junior pupils'.
To read the article in full, click here.
'A parent of a pupil at Orewa College says Christmas will have to be cancelled in her household if the school continues to push forward with plans to make expensive tablet devices compulsory for junior pupils'.
To read the article in full, click here.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Teachers cheating on student tests
This is an interesting article that highlights the risks of high stakes testing, ranking schools and performance pay. The article starts:
'More than 150 teachers and administrators from 44 public schools across Atlanta were caught changing answers on standardized tests used to judge student performance and rank schools, according to a state report'.
To read the article in full, click here.
'More than 150 teachers and administrators from 44 public schools across Atlanta were caught changing answers on standardized tests used to judge student performance and rank schools, according to a state report'.
To read the article in full, click here.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
How to learn Te Reo Maori online
This is such a great resource for learning Maori it needs to be shared. Check out Toku Reo the best online language learning programme that I have come across for any language; and best of all, it's free!
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Schools with no computers
At one end of the scale we have, as highlighted in my last post, the likes of Steve Jobs wanting to have textbooks on iPads. At the other end we have schools that have no computers whatsoever. Both provide compelling arguments to support their cases.
To read about schools that have no computers, check out this enlightening article from today's New York Times.
To read about schools that have no computers, check out this enlightening article from today's New York Times.
Steve Jobs' plans for school textbooks
This article from The New York Times brings to light Steve Jobs' plans for school tectbooks. I think a lot of us were suspecting this anyway.
Mr. Jobs’s biographer Walter Isaacson says in the book that Mr. Jobs viewed textbooks as the next business he wanted to transform. His idea, according to Mr. Isaacson, was to hire textbook writers to create digital versions of their books for the iPad.
He held meetings with major publishers about partnering with Apple, the book says. If textbooks were given away free on iPads he thought the publishers could get around the state certification of textbooks. Mr. Isaacson said Mr. Jobs believed that states would struggle with a weak economy for at least a decade. “We can give them an opportunity to circumvent that whole process and save money,” he told Mr. Isaacson.
In one other hint about the company’s plans, Mr. Isaacson describes the board meeting in August when Mr. Jobs resigned as chief executive officer, during which Scott Forstall and Phil Schiller, two Apple executives, joined the group to show off prototypes of future products. According to Mr. Isaacson, Mr. Jobs peppered the executives with questions about the data capacity of fourth-generation cellular networks, known as 4G, and what features should be in future phones. Apple hasn’t yet released an iPhone for 4G networks.
Hints of Apple Plans in Jobs Book
By DAMON DARLIN and NICK WINGFIELDAlessandra Montalto/The New York Times“Steve Jobs” by Walter Isaacson will be published on Monday. Steven P. Jobs, Apple’s former chief executive, was notoriously secretive about the company’s plans when he was running the company. But in a new biography, the late Apple executive offered a couple of tantalizing clues about technologies and businesses the company was exploring.
Mr. Jobs’s biographer Walter Isaacson says in the book that Mr. Jobs viewed textbooks as the next business he wanted to transform. His idea, according to Mr. Isaacson, was to hire textbook writers to create digital versions of their books for the iPad.
He held meetings with major publishers about partnering with Apple, the book says. If textbooks were given away free on iPads he thought the publishers could get around the state certification of textbooks. Mr. Isaacson said Mr. Jobs believed that states would struggle with a weak economy for at least a decade. “We can give them an opportunity to circumvent that whole process and save money,” he told Mr. Isaacson.
In one other hint about the company’s plans, Mr. Isaacson describes the board meeting in August when Mr. Jobs resigned as chief executive officer, during which Scott Forstall and Phil Schiller, two Apple executives, joined the group to show off prototypes of future products. According to Mr. Isaacson, Mr. Jobs peppered the executives with questions about the data capacity of fourth-generation cellular networks, known as 4G, and what features should be in future phones. Apple hasn’t yet released an iPhone for 4G networks.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)