Tag Archives: education

Mr. President, this time you are Tech-nically WRONG : You better get an iPad, dude!

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In a recent speech held at Hampton University this past weekend President Obama shed some light on his views regarding some of the newest gadgets recently released in the tech world.

One comment from the POTUS went a little something like this “With iPods and iPads and Xboxes and PlayStations — none of which I know how to work becomes a distraction, a diversion, a form of entertainment, rather than a tool of empowerment, rather than the means of emancipation,”.

It’s good to see opinions being formed about devices directly after admitting you haven’t a clue how to work on a single one.  True that in some cases these devices can be used as a distraction, but this is so with just about anything. To me a comment like this was prematurely blurted, not only offending a lot of people, but discouraging parents from buying their offspring something like an Apple iPad that can aid as a tool of empowerment and a means of emancipation.  Only time will tell if this is the case and if such devices will truly be used for educational purposes, but from my own experience the future looks bright.

As a student who is homeschooled through an online charter school, I can attest to the Apple iPad being a great help in conquering my daily workload.  Basic Apps that come preinstalled on the iPad such as Calendar, Notes and Mail serve as an electronic binder and planner that help me to keep up with assignments, take effective notes in class, and stay in constant contact with my teachers.  Aside from these, the ever expanding App Store offers a variety of productivity and educational Apps.  Three of my personal favorites include the iWork suite of apps, native to the Mac, designed for the iPad and called Pages, Keynote, and Numbers respectively.  These are essential if you plan on doing any word processing, creating spreadsheets or composing awesome presentations.

Overall, as with any device, the iPad can be tool of empowerment if the user wishes for it to be.  Since gaining office, Obama has been a huge advocate for making the Nation and White House more technologically advance, claiming it as a tool of advancement and a means to move towards the future, but his most recent tech related comment portrays just the opposite.  I have outlined ways the iPad can be used educationally, but don’t take my word for it.  Make your way to your local Apple Retail Store or Best Buy and try one out.  I’m sure they’ll let you in and President Obama too.

Stay tuned for more in depth reviews on educational apps and the Apple iPad as a continuation of this article!

“iPod, iPad and Xbox are source of distraction” – Obama

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In an address to the Hampton University graduates, President Obama bemoans the iPod as a distraction, and that information has become a distraction posing problems for the democracy.

He stated,  “You’re coming of age in a 24/7 media environment that bombards us with all kinds of content and exposes us to all kinds of arguments, some of which don’t always rank that high on the truth meter,” he told the students. “And with iPods and iPads, and Xboxes and PlayStations — none of which I know how to work — information becomes a distraction, a diversion, a form of entertainment, rather than a tool of empowerment, rather than the means of emancipation. So all of this is not only putting pressure on you; it’s putting new pressure on our country and on our democracy.”

What the president wants to convey is that these are toys as compared to the laptops. Let me tell you, the iPad has various educational applications , which educate the users, if not distract them. And there is only one benefit by using these gadgets.  The ipad can revolutionize the education system. Imagine, in a class where you don’t have to write in the text books, and use the iPad instead. The information could me immediately updated.

The White House has already rolled out an app for iPhone, called The White House App, so that people can directly watch the stream of the live President’s public events at the White House. Firstly, they roll out the application , then they say they are distraction.

Simply put , iPads are next generation notebooks, and calling them distraction, isn’t limiting their use. Time will tell if the iPad becomes just another distraction or, rather, more of a reading platform and educational tool.

Facebook and Twitter to be school subjects soon!

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As I said, it is exciting to know, its a superb news for the School students in Britain. The Government is planning to include Facebook and Twitter to their curriculum.

The subject is called ‘English Studies: Digital Communication’ where students will have to study the websites as per school curriculum plans for a new English GCSE.

“This qualification builds on students’ interests in digital texts and proved to excite and engage both boys and girls in our pilot. It reflects the changing needs and interests of learners,” a government spokesman said.

Students could take on the subject as stand alone or study it along with English and other subjects.

Editors Note (Monik Pamecha) : This is surely very interesting because students, i mean most of writers on our blog, Etiole are youngsters from age 13-19 so if we get a chance to study them, we would surely score pretty high marks as we spend most of our time on it!  Another advantage of teaching students such things would be actually preparing them for the practical world and if one knows how to use social networks properly, one can surely build a strong PR!

Via Telegraph and image credit : thebrandbuilder.