750 Basildon pupils set to get iPad-style computers (From Echo)
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750 Basildon pupils set to get iPad-style computers
1:00pm Wednesday 22nd February 2012 in Local News By Paul Offord
750 Basildon pupils set to get iPad-style computers
EVERY pupil at a school set to get an £8.7million makeover will be given touch-screen computer tablets to use in lessons.
Building work on a two-storey teaching block and a single-storey fitness suite at De La Salle School, in Ghyllgrove, Basildon, will start in April.
The entire school, including the new buildings, will benefit from state-of-the-art computer equipment.
All 750 pupils will be given touch screen computer tablets to use in lessons, which will be like iPads, but not necessarily made by Apple, as contracts have not been signed with any manufacturers.
These could be used to upload essays, type in notes from lessons, or browse the internet.
Headteacher Dr Mike Curnock said: “It’s all part of our drive to bring more technology into education. We’ve piloted a class using the tablets already, and it seems to work really well. Every pupil will eventually have access to them during lessons. Teachers will also have tablets linked to computerised projection screens, which will really improve teaching visual aids.”
Essex County Council, which is responsible for managing schools, has lodged a planning application for the £8.7million extension and modernisation scheme with Basildon Council.
De La Salle’s regeneration project was among just 12 in Essex to survive, when the Government axed the Building Schools for the Future programme in 2011.
It is hoped the new facilities will help drive up exam results, after only 34.45 per cent of De La Salle pupils achieved five or more A to C grades, including passes at English and maths, at GCSE last year.
This was below the 35 per cent Government target.
Dr Curnock added: “What caused the problem was an unexpected dip in the English results, but I am happy with the overall academic performance.
“Overall, 72 per cent of pupils achieved five or more A to C grades last year, but not necessarily with English and maths.
“The new technology will all help improve academic performance.”
Comments(13)
badgerlemerre
says...
2:39pm Wed 22 Feb 12
naughtyladyofshadylane
says...
4:25pm Wed 22 Feb 12
e! Does it seem fair for the one school though, must set a precedence surely!! I think its technology gone mad !!
basmum
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5:00pm Wed 22 Feb 12
hothead
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5:15pm Wed 22 Feb 12
shorty1964
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9:13pm Wed 22 Feb 12
basmum wrote:Well said Basmum, thats why most kids today don't know how to spell or write properly, and the reason for this... yes you've guess it good old spell check...
what happened to a good old pen and paper, and resources at home or the library to do work?
Brunning999
says...
7:20am Thu 23 Feb 12
If you work hard save up go without and then buy something you really really appreciate it.
If given something without cost it is not really appreciated and not looked after.
What would be great to see because basically it is OUR money they are given and that is a audit in 2 years and an audit in 5 years when all the tablets need replacing because they are out of date, who pays then????
naughtyladyofshadylane
says...
10:51am Thu 23 Feb 12
R85
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1:19pm Thu 23 Feb 12
Anyway I wish I was born in 2000 so I had all this tech when I was at school – the computers we did have were ridiculously terrible! Having said that I love tech & future, wouldn’t mind being born in 2050! Also I would put the “unexpected” dip in English partly down to predictive text and auto correct in MS Word!
R85
says...
1:24pm Thu 23 Feb 12
shorty1964 wrote:I dunno about others but when I see words being corrected electronically, I usually remember this happening and therefore it would help me with spelling. If I wrote this down on paper I would never know if I had made a mistake! Some people may not notice these corrections though, so I can see why it may be detrimental for some to use an electronic device!
basmum wrote: what happened to a good old pen and paper, and resources at home or the library to do work?Well said Basmum, thats why most kids today don't know how to spell or write properly, and the reason for this... yes you've guess it good old spell check...
In my opinion though, there’s nothing good about pen or paper unless you have a power cut or the battery runs out! One of the reasons is that if you make a mistake using this method all you have is TippEx; so you either use that, cross it out or do the whole thing again! Sloppy or time consuming! In my place of employment I would think very negatively if somebody were to send me a handwritten letter! So so so unprofessional!
naughtyladyofshadylane
says...
2:09pm Thu 23 Feb 12
The Cater Wood Creeper
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2:21pm Thu 23 Feb 12
R85
says...
3:51pm Thu 23 Feb 12
naughtyladyofshadylaYeah I’d recommend staying with your laptop & PC – especially if you had difficulty getting used to a touchscreen phone (plus it would be pointless if you have PC and laptop – both will be much more powerful). Tablets are powerful; don’t get me wrong, but not much more powerful than the latest smartphones and nowhere near PCs.
ne wrote:
R 85 do agree with what you are saying, it all looks so much nicer and professional, also one other thing is ,my hand writing is not good, I dont take the time to do it slowly, I sometimes make myself notes and cannot read them,like on a shopping list ! Cannot get your words corrected on here though!. Having said that, I did on one, just one occasion, don't know what I did to get that function? Just read your previous comment, on touchpads/tablets, whatever they are called!, not being quick enough, I dont know much about them, but I did have to do a mystery shop recently and was sort of put off buying one, as I had a PC and a lap top, I was told to persevere more wth my touchscreen phone, which I abandoned after the first use,twas too hard to get the screen to change .
My phone for example – Its a year old now, its got 1Ghz CPU, 1GB ram, 16 GB memory, basic Microsoft office package, HD Dolby Surround Sound, HD video - good for a year old phone but a year old PC could have a quad or even eight core processor running over 4Ghz, 8 or 16gb ram, 1000 or 2000 GB memory, full MS office packages. All this equates to copious amounts of extra storage, full (as opposed to slimmed down) software packages and much much faster response and processing times (and once you’ve keyed for a few years you can type faster than write)!
Tablets or smartphones are for people on the move a lot! A smart phone comes in handy in so many ways. You’ve got augmented reality, GPS, music, good quality camera, movies & TV on the go, full internet, Playstation 2 equivalent games etc etc etc. For me the free news apps are the new newspaper too – infact you can read any newspaper from anywhere in the world on your phone – for free on Android! If you’re on the move a lot I’d say it could possibly be worth getting used to though I guess!
austiali says...
1:07pm Wed 22 Feb 12