Introduction of Tablets a "disaster" for Mountrath Community College

Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 20/11/2013. Introduction of Tablets a

Tags: Parenting Teachers

The Principal of Mountrath Community College in Laois has called the school’s move from books to tablets “an unmitigated disaster” according to the Independent. It’s reported that technical difficulties with the majority of HPElite Pad tablet devices meant that students experienced problems such as tablets failing to switch on, tablets spontaneously going into sleep mode, devices looping while performing automatic repairs, system board failures and issues with wi-fi.

Parents had paid €550 at the beginning of the school year for the tablets. Due to the problems that have arisen, the school has now replaced the tablets with books which the parents do not have to pay for. In the meantime, it is reported that HP said it was "working very closely with Mountrath Community School, to resolve some technical issues and is committed to doing so in the shortest possible time frame.”

Comments

Stephen Hogan

(21-11-2013 11:33)

The The BIGGEST problem with tablets is the assumption that they can be anything other than (data) consumption devices.

Paul Doran

(20-11-2013 10:39)

Are there any positive feedbacks from the Post Primary sector in relation to this, it seems that we all going to have to go this road eventually, What role is the State playing, do they have guidelines,The costs that Mountrath are paying seem very expensive.

coyote

(22-11-2013 04:25)

Stephen, your statement has repeatedly been proven false.

Shane

(20-11-2013 15:00)

It would be interesting to get more detail on their 18-month selection process - did this involve trialling or testing? At least the HP units include a keyboard (unlike the ubiquitous iPads), so they can be used for active content creation, and not just passive content consumption