school computers

Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2003 1:50 pm

alright, so you all can understand what it's like for me down here in pg county, i wish to conduct this test. i am typing from my computer at wrk, in my classroom/. there are a few problems right now with the computer....

1. the techhouse website desn't fit on the screen because of some fucky stupid problem
2. the librarian who is in control of the lab computers and such has no idea how to use the airort hub.
3. if any of my letters are issing, its because the keyboard doesn't always respond since teh kids have screwed with it that muc
4. in all other humorus news, we found an orgnial mac latop in the back storage area and i tried unsuccessfully to open it and play with it. but i might ask dr williams if i can have it since it does her no good. that would make me happy

oh, did i forget to mention, i don't trust y students around th coputer? these computers can allow you to go to porn sites. and i think thats just fantastc with hormone driving little rats. i mean children.

Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2003 2:01 pm

I think computers in schools are a bad idea, anyway. it serves as more of a distraction than anything else.

Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2003 2:06 pm

Apple just did a pilot program where they provided a computer for every child in the classroom from grades k-12. After a year in progress the average standardized test score for each student is up nearly 35%..... Sounds like a pretty good reason to have computers in schools to me.

Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2003 2:20 pm

I concur. Just have better supervision around computers.

Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2003 2:41 pm

Well yeah, it's an apple. can'd do anything dangerous with an apple Wink

Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2003 2:49 pm

gabesilver wrote:

Apple just did a pilot program where they provided a computer for every child in the classroom from grades k-12. After a year in progress the average standardized test score for each student is up nearly 35%..... Sounds like a pretty good reason to have computers in schools to me.

All that means is that they hacked the teachers' accounts and got hold of the tests. Mr. Green

Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2003 3:28 pm

Brian, you're making a crucial mistake -- you must think that all students are going to use computers like you did when you were in school. Not everyone is going to fuck around. If we're going to rob children of computers, we might as well take away their textbooks and calculators too.

Anyway, on a lighter side of things, in Cape Henlopen High School, you can get detention for referring to them as "mouse balls." They're "mouse rollers" or else.

Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2003 4:13 pm

I'm not the only one who thinks this way and I know a few education people who agree with me. It obviously depends on the environment and the programs used. Unfortunately, a lot of the time you get instructors that know less about how to use the machine than the students. I think they're only useful in high school where you're actually taking classes on the computers like typing/publishing, etc.

Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2003 4:18 pm

putting computers in schools was and is a really stupid idea. we dont pay teachers enough to get good quallity teachers let alone sys admins Razz

there is also a tendancy for people to think that a computer is an educational silver bullet. this is not the case. most so called educational software is ultra expensive crap. textbooks are tools that most teachers can understand and use effectively, that and they cost a lot less than a computer Razz

Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2003 4:40 pm

A computer is a lot like any other machine -- you either use it properly or you don't. Anyway, I know that I could make a lot out of computers in a classroom, just because I rule at computers, explaining how things work, and keeping a crowd's attention.

If only teaching didn't pay 50% of my salary, right?

Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2003 4:48 pm

Computers in schools are useful tools when used correctly, like anything else. When not used correctly, they can be bad, however I could just as easily stab a kid with a pencil.

Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2003 4:53 pm

man, when i was in elementary school we had those apple computers with green pixels the size of my hand. pictures had a resolution of about 10 x 10. those fuckin ruled, but were pretty useless. and I think i did just fine without computers. let them have them at home, but at school your focus should be on learning the basics.

Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2003 5:36 pm

Yeah, in my computer classes back in high school I barely recall a day where we weren't playing Unreal Tournament or Starcraft instead of doing our work.

Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2003 5:41 pm

I was on the DOS machines, so we made a spread sheet for playing Battleship and played that when we were done our work. And occasionally snuck in a game of Scorched Earth, the mother of all games.

Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2003 6:55 pm

most of my kids don't know how to use the computer...