PCWorld Forums: Gates: Tablets Don't Fit Into Schools - PCWorld Forums

Post your comments for Gates: Tablets Don't Fit into Schools here

I completely agree! Our schools' budgets are limited enough and we are buying overpriced iPads and Macs instead of affordable PCs. Why not teach our kids how to use a PC? That is more than likely what they will be required to use in the workplace.

Until MS will have a decent tablet alternative to ipad, low cost PCs are better for schools Actually, iPad is an exact fit for schools especially iBooks is very good. A tablet will enable more interactive content, most up to date information, best for supervised and unsupervised education. It has also benefits like decrease use of papers, reuse of device in next years etc. Also, I think tablets could help less backpain and spinal disorders for children by decreasing the weight carried (or you can fit a low cost boring beige mini tower box to backpack of a child!!, according to Gates' recommendation)

MustafaB, on 30 June 2012 - 11:05 AM, said:

minus the fact that after the purchase of the several hundred iPads (or other tablets) needed for each student to have one, which not every student today has their own textbook thanks to the wastefullness of school baords in the US, you would then have to purchase liscenses for each book for each device. then you have to consider the cost of the need of upgrading schools current wifi networks to be able to handle the sudden large amount of new wireless devices connecting to it and then the staff needed to handle the monitoring and maintanence of said network. then you have to have a savings setup for when a student "loses", that is break into the firmware to reformat it to get the policy information removed and any restrictive software off of it so they can pawn it for cash or trade it in for something at a store, the device and it has to be replaced. this savings also goes for when a device has a legitimate hardware failure.

this is in contrast to a desktop computer, which can be gotten for cheaper or even free in some cases, which would be hardwired into the network, which is cheaper than the scale up on an increased wireless network, and can't be stolen by a student after they go home with it because they can't go home with it. also a desktop has cheaper upkeep as if there's a hardware failure the individual piece of hardware can be replaced instead of having to buy an entire new device.

on the subject of the merit and viability of a tablet as a teaching tool what does it offer that the current medium of teaching does not? all it does is digitize the textbook and thats about it. it offers no real boost to the ability of a teacher to teach or a student to learn. they offer nothing new to the field that a desktop can't already offer at a cheaper price tag. I say focus more on getting every kid a textbook first before you try to keep up with the Jones'.

I agree as well gates should know
he has been in the business a while .

I agree also. I am posting this comment from a tablet, and it is a tedious process just trying to type. I can see the apple addict has chimed in. However, he doesn't seem to understand the process of funding our public education facilities. Many better funded school systems utilize laptops and netbooks in their classrooms, but they are not Apple products. They can stretch their educational dollars further with a MS or linux based machine than an IOs based machine. Apple has established itself as the elitest cultist system of choice with a pricing structure that matches. Really now what can an IPAD/IPHONE do that my Samsung android based systems can't do?

AusTechCS, on 30 June 2012 - 10:59 AM, said:

As a student, I would rather learn how to use a Mac and iPad for business, the windows PCs at my school are so locked down and disabled that it isn't even like windows anymore. not to mention they are teaching us Office 2003 and Windows XP because new systems are too expensive to upgrade to.

MustafaB, on 30 June 2012 - 11:05 AM, said:

I would not use an apple product. i think a Windows or an Android would be batter and more user friendly. the rest of your points are spot on. it would save lots of money and lets not talk about the amount of wight a kid carries these days. and image a book that is up dated yearly not every 10-20. you could ask the parents to help pay the cost. a$300.00 galaxy or Motorola is a lot easier to handle then 400-700 for an ipad and the kids could turn in the memory card to the teacher with saved homework on it( ipad does not have expendable memory)the options are countless. the big issue would be. being able to lock teh item to not allow kids to install games,Face book ect. this would pull away from the learning wile in school. but unfortunately it will never happen becuse sombdy want to make money off of it...

NAP51DMustang, on 30 June 2012 - 11:55 AM, said:

use the expandble memory slot to turn in home work. no WiFi needed and you don't have to worry about Facebook or twitter aether

Fire Ballmer and replace him with Gates! Please!

Gates is afraid of the future of Microsoft as the Androids and Ipad tablets are the future. GOD BLESS AMERICA

There's not much value I place coming from Mr. Gates. Most of his products have either been purchased and then updated or blatantly copied. MS rarely innovated and when they did, the product failed miserbaly. Even Windows 7 is but a new shell off an old operating system. The answer may/may not be with a tablet but 25+ yrs of personal computing shows that isn't the answer.

He needs to be back at the helm of Microsoft. Balmer just makes my skin crawl

It's not a plus or minus thing with who is CEO of Microsoft. With gates we had Win-95, win-98, Millennium, as negatives, he almost got things right with Win-2000 and only with Win-Xp did the computer become 100% reliable (zillions of dollars of cult learning curve at MS).
With Balmer we have Vista & Win-7, Win-8 is coming >>> not any of the 3 with his fingers on it have shown any major USEFUL innovation - yes each tends to (almost) keep up with industry but in each release there are major "non-friendly" aspects of the user interface >>> that do not add to a person getting more work done or even working easier.

There is a cult attitude at Microsoft that might be driven by financial considerations, i.e., if we don't issue a new OS release every 2 to 4 years then nobody makes a decent bonus, plus - some of the tens of thousands of employees might even be terminated.
So, even if the new OS is a candidate for illustrating stupidity (A.K.A., not aiding the user significantly) >>> get it out the door!

As someone who uses tablets in the classroom with 30 + students... I could not agree more!

After posting my last, I finally read what it was and find that I am as spastic is many of Microsoft's programmers - not addressing the issue of the article!

Our children attend school at least 12 years in their life, we all hope more. If each student for the first month of alternating school years is "wasting" time learning how a new OS works, then how is that helping him/her get schoolwork or homework done promptly. Plus, how does the various school boards fund this massive mess that consistently occurs?

A low cost and a class notebook sized tablet with suitable education apps and a suitable pen/digitiser for handwriting/taking notes trumps both low cost PCs/Macs and current tablets(ipads,androids and surfaces) for educational needs.

Lets see how expensive it is to upgrade macs XD..

Whats great about PC's with windows is they offer cheap and high quality products, Apple tend to only focus on the high end, so of course they are all amazing.
Nice if you got the money but not all people on this planet do and I am sure they all appreciate a company that supplies products to their budget.

AusTechCS, on 30 June 2012 - 10:59 AM, said:

You mean the $400 Dell Netbooks my school purchased as part of a one laptop per child program? Try reading a textbook on them. It is the most annoying experience ever. Typing on the tiny keyboard will cramp up your hands. Oh, and there is no interactive games to mention unless it's ten year old flash based web games. Oh- 2 years from the start of the program, and they are just being sent out. Another 2 years- outdated. And no one likes them. Everyone ponders on the same question- why didn't we just get iPads? So, I can tell you first hand, buying a PC for education is a horrible idea, as the one thing they are NOT is interactive.

joshsec1, on 01 July 2012 - 08:06 AM, said: