Big, little paradox - another view
Thursday, May 10, 2012 at 05:40AM 
I don't how much of what Mr. Stager writes he truly believes and how much says just to stir the pot. In his latest post, Big, Little Paradox, Stager argues that younger students are being shortchanged by being give lower powered computers, especially iPads. He writes:
Sure, the iPad is light, easy to use and has a good battery life, but of all the students in a school or district, younger children need the most computing power for speech, graphics and video.
While Gary often states that kids need full-powered computers to do real learning tasks, I don't remember reading exactly what those tasks are. An iPad won't run CAD/CAM programs, heavy-duty video or photo editing software or crunch masses of numbers. But I am not sure how many third graders are doing or ought to be doing 3-D graphics rendering anyway.
iPads are just fine for word processing, spreadsheet building, photo editing, and video/audio composition. You can use them to draw pictures and created mindmaps and timelines. They can be used for collaborative work and communication. They work with most online tools.
And the real advantage that Gary admits - that they are "light, easy-to-use and have good battery life" - makes them powerful indeed since they will actually BE USED more often and in more places and for longer periods of time. (See Apple as at right.)
Gary, spell out specifically what tablets and similar devices won't do that you feel are so essential. You may change my mind.
But for now you're sounding like a shill for computer manufacturers, I'm afraid.
Reader Comments (9)
I'm just going to observe you and Gary argue over what makes a computer "powerful" enough. :)
In the meantime, you say "I like the idea of a machine kids can hack, if it is their own device and doesn't need to work on a continuous basis for other education purposes such as [...]"
I don't understand why the ability to hack is presented as incompatible with the ability to do other activities. Hackable tech with an Internet connection is better than powerful. It's empowering.
I'll add one thing you cannot do as a 3rd grader with your iPad - right now, you can't program your iPad without using another computer. You can't give it additional functionality that you create for itself. Now, one would think that there would be a Logo app for the iPad (there is a very trimmed down version of Logo) but given that Apple nixed Scratch on the iPad, I don't think this very likely. I can find exactly one app for the iPad which will let people create their own programs. Given that my 5 year old has started learning programming techniques using Turtle Art, I think that 3rd graders should be capable of learning some as well.
This particular flaw is important. One of the best things I like about programming, aside from the excellent opportunities to develop program solving skills, is that it democratizes your device. It helps you recognize that your computer is a tool that you can customize for yourself.
Small point: I have autocad on my iPad.
Dear Mr. Johnson,
Blogging sure is peculiar. I can't seem to keep from running afoul of some unwritten rules. I am either criticized for writing "posts" that are too long or expected to explore every nook and cranny of an issue when I make an attempt at brevity.
I have also discovered that the easiest way to elicit comments is to question a popular piece of hardware.
Some folks are excited by the use of computers to teach what they have always wanted kids to know; perhaps with greater efficiency, efficacy or comprehension. My work over the past thirty years has been driven by the power of computing to help kids learn and do in ways and domains that would be impossible otherwise. I have little patience for incremental progress and little interest in helping kids do school better.
That said, there is nothing technically keeping the iPad from doing many, if not all, of the things I think children should do with digital technology. However, the marketing and legal folks at Apple are keeping the iPad predominantly as an information appliance. I love the three iPads I have purchased. That does not mean that I recommend them for classroom use, at the moment. Incidentally,
I advise education leaders that the computers they purchase should be capable of doing everything they think students should do AND a great deal more of what they haven't even imagined.
This may be the first time in Apple 's history that they have limited the functionality of their products. Their arbitrary and obnoxious prohibition on the creation of "executable files" makes programming impossible on the iPad. An "app" is not even allowed to share its files with other users - unless Apple created the software (Keynote, Pages, iMovie, etc...)
I sure wish you knew my current 3rd graders or the 1st graders I've taught to program their laptops.
These constraints make impossible all of the "knowledge work" I did with kids this week. 3rd graders used formal mathematical language and turtle geometry to create beautiful art, 4th graders built and programmed robotic stuffed animals. 5th graders programmed their own video games while learning complex math, science and computer science concepts, while some classmates figured out how to program the computer to represent any fraction as shaded regions of a circle.
You may find a list of the software I recommend to K-8 schools - http://stager.tv/blog/?p=2384
The list was created for one of the schools I work with where every child from first grade on has a personal MacBook laptop. Only the business tools on the list (created by Apple) run on the iPad. The "app" business model and Apple's ban on student agency makes it unlikely that any of the producers of these software environments will be able to port them to the iPad.
As for the Apple slogan, let's check back in a few years and see if the iPads have made schools more productive contexts for learning. I doubt it.
I would love to welcome you, your readers and colleagues to Constructing Modern Knowledge this July - http://constructingmodernknowledge.com Participation in our institute would give you a better sense of the expansive role of computing in the construction of knowledge.
Best,
Gary
PS: On a personal note, I do not play devil's advocate or write to start a food fight. Just because my view may be unpopular or never considered does not mean that I do not come to that view casually.
For me it's not the power of the iPad that let's it down but the fact that as a computing device it's not representative of the vast majority of workplaces.
Tablet form factors are predominantly used in the home and not the workplace. Yes they have been deployed in some areas such as retail, but on the whole people use keyboards and mice to carry out their computing tasks.
Tablets certainly have their place in the modern world, but surely from a learning standpoint both form factors need to be mastered.
Hi, I am Mary, an iPad-lover, I see children working with them and it feels like magic. They are so enthusiastic, their faces are enlightened! They start looking at education as a game to be enjoyed, a match to be played. IPads are just a tool to encourage kids into learning, but a very very useful one. There are also many apps designed for classroom use that are wonderful.
Wish you my best! :)
Mary
David-
I've been frustrated by the lack of coding or dev tools on the iPad since launch. But it's worth noting that things have signifantly improved over the last year. Python for iOS is a decent 2.x interpreter. Codify is a fun Lua environment, with a decent library of sprites and libraries for simple games. There's Gambit and other REPL-esque apps for functional programming.
Those apps are a good step towards the being the "learn to code" device I'd like for my students. on the other end f the spectrum, I do a fair amount of coding for my schooling using google apps script, built in a text editor or in the browser. Several folk have documented how they use the iPad as a classic thin client. I recognize that's not the same as having these abilities on the device, but it does allow people to "do real work."
My sense is that hackable refer to the ability access and control arbitrary components an capabilities of the device outside of the auspices of a particular app. That is, you can program ON your iPad, but you can't program YOUR iPad. We're so far from the Unix ideal of communication via a text stream that having an app X access app Y's data is a huge feature, rather than a basic assumption.
I don't think the iPad will ever meet that standard, just like I don't think it will ever have an openly navigable file system. I recognize that as a failing, and I dread the day that same philosophy hits Mac OS. But I don't think that flaw invalidates the other merits of the device, especially as one component of the tech saturated landscape. I know that counting on the ability to develop iPad applications remaining open *and* the iPad keeping the ability to connect/control external machines through various means (vnc/ssh) *and* jailbreak options staying accessible, is a far more tenuous position than just using an open device. But I'm not RMS, and I don't think 3rd graders need to learn under those kinds of philosophical restrictions.
Hi Peter,
I suppose hackable and reliable aren't mutually exclusive. Point taken.
Doug
Hi David,
Never having been a programmer myself, I admit I neglect that aspect of computing. I have to say, however, that never being much of a car designer hasn't kept me from being a good car user.
Doug
Hi Gary,
Having NEVER been criticized on my blog, I can't empathize, I'm afraid. (That's a joke.)
I guess we will just disagree on this set of values. The ability to program and customize programs and operating systems to me have far less value than having the ability to locate, evaluate, synthesize, create and communicate information for students. And the iPad does that fine.
I'll leave the free plug for your conference in the post.
See you at ISTE. I am growing less enchanted with that organization for all the reasons you mention. And now we are to create video "blurbs" for our sessions? Please.
Thanks for the thoughtful reply,
Doug
Hi Seb,
I have never bought into the "that's how business do it" argument for how we should be doing things in school. Yes, businesses may not now use tablets, but by the time most kids graduate, they all be using devices not even available now. Get the tool to fit the mission of today.
Doug
Thanks, Mary.
Since you did not mention your affiliation, I removed the link to the commercial product. If you are a classroom teacher, I can restore it.
Doug
Thanks, Andrew. I appreciate your reply.
Doug
David Weiss responded:
No, definitely not, but it has prevented you from being able to make full use of your computer. It's not a huge issue for most people, but as computers become more ubiquitous in our society, and permeate every device we make, being able to edit and modify the software on which those devices run will be critically important. It may be that someday that the difference between being able to program and not being able to program will like being able to read or not able to read.
David
Hi David,
I guess I remain unconvinced. For most of us, computers are simply a means to get a task accomplished - write an e-mail, find information, prepare a talk, calculate a budget. I am not sure I need to understand and customize my computer any more than I need to understand and customize my car, my toaster or my cell phone. There may be some modest productivity gains, but will they be greater than the time it take to tweak?
Interesting question!
Doug