iPad use

[mcallen isd]

I think many of our students have been using the iPads for the wrong reasons while in school & also at home.  I think it is a great educational tool, but feel there are many issues that have not been addressed to date.  I do not feel facebook is an app that should be allowed.  This tool can be useful, but the cons outweigh the pros.  As an example, many acts of cyber bullying are done this way.  Also, students are not learning how to be social & communicate face to face with their peers/teachers/adults/society. 

[mcallen isd]

I agree with the previous guest. Most students are not utilizing their IPADS for educational purposes. I agree that Facebook is not necessary. Most of the students are playing games and sending instagrams. I have yet to see students loading books and reading.

[six50]

I would agree with mcallen isd. There has been a serious lack of training before they were distributed. It has been my experience that students use them for playing games and social networking. I've heard many complaints from parents that the I-Pads have been more of a distraction than a benefit.

[McAllen]

I feel that the Ipads have been more of a mess than beneficial. I am now seeing that students are plagarising, uploading violent games and pictures, and texting during class time. There simply isn't enough hours in the school day to have to monitor their usage and teach at the same time. Parents are getting upset because we are taking away the Ipads for valid reasons that had already been discussed to them before they recieved the Ipad. I believe they can be of use, but in limited amounts. I think it would have been more beneficial to have given each class a class set and use them only in class. Often times violent games include guns and drugs, which I believe sends the wrong message. The students aren't the only ones not being responsible with the Ipads, the parents too are failing to monitor what is being downloaded. In essence the responsability is going to the teachers and staff.

[Teacher]

I think the previous members have said it all. The personal use of iPads for the students is unfortunately focused on Facebook and instant messaging. I have seen some high-scoring studnnts' quality of work and grades going down due to the iproper use of the iPads. And even according to the students, cyber bullying is done mainly through Facebook.

[Ipad<Teacher]

Student use of ipads has been completely inappropriate. Students focus on games and social networking applications. Facebook, twitter, instagram, tumblr, vine, etc. are constantly on for these students and they have far too many opportunities to play on these applications while in class. They're just a swipe away from switching back to whatever application might be "acceptable."
It goes further. There is completely inappropriate/illegal things happening on these ipads. For example, I've seen students with dating site applications like OkCupid or PlentyofFish. These students have complete access to websites that aren't filtered like tumblr, which has a plethora of nudity. These are easy porn machines. I was most excited about photo/video opportunities for students. Unfortunately those ideas have been destroyed by the fact that students just take a picture of their assignments and send it whoever.
The use of these ipads has been disastrous to my classroom instruction. It decreases student/teacher interaction and communication. It distracts them. I have never had to repeat myself to the extent in which I have done so this year. I wish I taught at a district without Ipads.
I would save them for specific classes to have sets. or for technology related extracurricular. They have no place in our core classes.
I love hearing the success stories of ipads in classrooms. However, (similar to the idea of closing facebook access) the cons outweigh the pros.
It took students a week to comprehend dropbox and when I revisited it 3 weeks later, half of them had deleted it and misplaced their login information. Young, irresponsible teens are not suited for technology like this. They aren't in college yet.
PLEASE TAKE THEM AWAY.

[Concerned Teacher]

Ipads were intended to enhance learning but in reality it has only disabled our students. Talking to one of my students
last week, I questioned why he was failing his classes when he did so well before (in juvenile center). He admitted that the
Ipad was a distraction to him and the reason he did well before was because there was little distractions and was pretty
much forced to learn and do his work.Yes students have the choice whether they want to use the Ipad to their advantage and use it as a learning tool but truth is they are not mature enough to make those smart choices. They are hung up on social networks such as facebook,youtube,instagram, etc..
Teachers also play a major role in proper Ipad use. We as teachers have the authority to make them put their Ipads away if they are not part of the lesson but most dont. Students fail to understand that they do not own their Ipads. McAllen ISD does. If not being used for educational purposes we can take them away or ask to put them in their bag.
We must stand firm and stern together as teachers on the purpose of Ipad use in classroom.Ipads should be used as a class set as suggested before. We are sending the wrong message to students when one teacher allows for it and another does not. This confuses the students on what the expectations are.There needs to be guidelines implemented for Ipad use that every student and teacher should follow. Ipad distribution had so many expectations and promised to transform learning.
It has only impeded our students learning and robbed many of reaching their potential.I hope that there is a plan in place to fix this major issue that we are dealing with and we can move forward and use this wonderful tool to our advantage.

[Teacher]

I have had great use of this amazing device in my classroom. I teach at the elementary level and I learned very early on that I need to keep the devices in a designated location ( to keep students from getting off task). Parents have told me that their child just plays games on the IPad at home. I tell them that they need to control what happens at home, and I control what happens in my classroom.

[ipad]

as most have posted before, the iPad has is uses and its downfalls, most notably the distractions they cause both in the classroom and at home. I believe the district went about the iPad distribution the wrong way - instead of laying down the foundation by providing real training (instead of that ridiculous "training/app sharing" at the beginnning of the school year) and support, they distributed the iPads without a clear goal in sight. "Once they get a hold on technology, the kids will want to learn on their own" - one of the videos we were forced to watch at the inservice gets it all wrong: those kids he was talking about in India(?) had been deprived of ANY form of technology, and they WANTED to learn how to use it. The kids we deal with at MISD are worlds apart, both literaly and figuratively, in that they don't have the same drive as those other kids. The analogy fails since our kids aren't so desperate for an education that they'll do whatever it takes to learn how to read/use the technology. Our kids are more interested in socializing with their peers than learning about their subjects. This is a touchy issue, especially with teachers who pour their hearts and souls into the lessons for their classes, and are rewarded with student apathy/disrespect in the classroom. The infuritating part is that many people (teachers) have been told that there's no way to block the apps students use while in their classrooms - trught be told, Apple DOES make a program (you need a Mac though) in which you can control what students do on their iPads through the teacher's computer. The response I received early on in the year when asked why the district wasn't investing in this program was that "it was too expensive"... um, what about "investing in our children's future" with the iPad initiative? Wasn't that the whole purpose behing the district buying/issuing out the devices? Lastly, many students STILL don't have an iPad because their parents didn't wish them to get one or for any number of reasons... that makes it very dificult to provide lessons/instruction on the iPads if 1/3 of the class doesn't have access to them. Thanks for reading.

[Teacher]

Not only have the iPads been a huge issue when it comes to distracting students from their studies but I've found that it has been a disciplinary issue as well. I don't allow iPads in my room during instructional time unless specifically stated. Most of my students accept this policy and do a good job keeping their iPads in their backpacks or tucked under their desks. But in some of my classes I have students that absolutely refuse to put their iPads away. When I try to take them away so they can focus in class they fight me and then I have to write a referral. I am so sick of writing these referrals for something that shouldn't even be an issue. Now they are not only falling behind in class but they are constantly getting in trouble and creating power struggles. I wish they would take the iPads away so I could just teach my class without always having to be the "bad guy."

[anon]

Problems observed from personal MISuse of iPads:

1. sleep deprivation which erodes learning efficiency
    (Students admit to gaming, texting, social networking, etc.
     until the post-midnight hours.)
2. decline in library circulation, AR participation and independent reading
3. bullying, gossip, curse words and dirty jokes, and sexual references
    (and requests) seen on the iPads of kids as young as 6th graders
4. lack of enforcement of the signed agreements leads kids to think that
   bad behavior online is either ignored or accepted
5. the quick spread of viewing (then trying) fads such as twerking and
   Harlem shake 
6. research at a surface level with cut-and-paste plagairism

[Teacher]

I'm an elementary teacher and I can not believe the amount of totally inappropriate photos, messages, and apps that I am finding on my students' iPads. These are 10 and 11-year-olds with materials that are sexual, drug related, and violent on school devices. I can't even imagine what would be found on a middle or high school student's device. I have had several parents ask me to take the device and not return it to their child because it has been extremely detrimental to their academics and attitude at home.

What makes it worse is that I have little or no control over the device. For all intents and purposes, it's basically "their" device. I can't put documents or apps on it because the students all have their own id's and passwords. These should have been distributed as class sets (at least in the elementary grades).

[BCH]

Three quick tales:
1. I ask my Friday FCA group why attendance is down. The answer: "Our friends would rather be on their iPads."
2. Another teacher told me about a stellar student who came into class with tears in her eyes. When asked "What's the problem?"
she replied, "My friends don't talk at lunch any more. All I see is the top of their heads as their fingers work the key board.
I hate iPads!"
3. A parent sat through a conference about her son's problems at school texting and scrolling on her iPhone. That's the problem
her son has in class.

[dldrapes]

Ipad is the biggest distraction. Student neither have the skills or the responsibility to use the Ipad for what is was intended for; education.
Student are constantly on the ipad texting, on face time, on facebook, on any other icon that the ipad offers other than for school purposes.
Classroom sets (ipads) should have been assigned to each teacher.

[ms. g]

I teach at the Middle School Level and when it comes to personal use of the iPad the students have taken it to heart. Social Networking, Music, Video, and Games are generally their focus. I would love to know how things are going at the Elementary level. Are students using the devices as educational tools or are they simply making it easier to socialize with each other?