Pace’s grade one class has access to a site called IXL.ca. This site has a series of modules on various aspects of math that kids can work through to learn concepts including counting, addition, shapes and so on.
There are dozens of modules under various headings, each with escalating levels of difficulty – for example, under “Addition”, the first module might be “Adding by 1” then “Adding by 2” then “Adding by 5” and so on.
We worked through Pace’s first five modules this weekend (the teacher gives a small prize for every five modules a student completes) and I had a few random thoughts as we did them…
– there’s some debate in Regina right now because some elementary schools in wealthier areas are encouraging students to bring iPads to school as another “school supply” provided at the parent’s expense, just as they do with pencils and crayons and glue sticks.
Not every student has their own idevice, and [Grade 1/2 Teacher] Maley admits some parents have (completely understandable) misgivings about sending their Grade 1 child to school with an extremely breakable piece of $500 equipment — that’s why the class has a few general use iPads and access to laptops to blog and tweet.
Personally, I’m not opposed to the use of modern technology in the classroom or for homework such as the IXL site (would I buy Pace an iPad and send it with him if he went to this school? Hmm…interesting question.) But my concern comes from a place of equality – shouldn’t kids in the poorer areas of the city have access to the same tools as kids in the wealthier or else do we just reinforce existing class divisions by giving upper class kids an instant leg up? Even within the same school, you have to wonder if every kid in our working class neighbourhood, which has a relatively high percentage of new immigrants and low income folks, will have access to the Internet in their home to take advantage of this site? And then, when Pace gets some Dollar Store trinket tomorrow, how does the kid who doesn’t have Internet at home feel? I mean, sure, if you’re extremely dedicated as a parent, you can always get Internet at the library or elsewhere but even something as simple as the fact that Pace and I could multi-task to complete his fifth and final module tonight while he was in the tub and I was perched beside him with the iPad showing him the questions, is a lot easier than going to the library or wherever to help your child.
– On that same note, the use of iPads by children in general was also a story on the supper hour news tonight and the experts all reiterated the fairly standard guideline: “we recommend no screen time before age 2 and heavily moderated use after that.” I’m sitting there thinking “Pace has been using our iPhones since he was younger than two and one app he loved about how to identify shapes made one of these modules sail by in five minutes!” (On average, they’re supposed to take 10 to 15 minutes each.)
– I showed Pace a couple things that probably aren’t part of the purpose of the IXL site but that can be useful skills for life in different ways nonetheless. For example, I taught him about using “the process of elimination” in that in the first two of three answers in a multiple choice question weren’t correct, he could be reasonably sure the third answer was the right one and didn’t have to bother counting it. Then, after noticing that the first answer of three choices was rarely the correct one (the program obviously wants kids to use repetition for their learning), I suggested he start by counting the third option first then the second as those were more likely to be the correct one as a time saver. (I wouldn’t have done this if I was sure he was doing fine and getting the concepts. But I’ve also never liked busy work – going back to my own elementary school experiences!)
– I also showed him how to do calculator races which can be a lifesaver during boring classes when you’re older. (If you’ve never done one, you and a friend hit “1” then “+” then the equals sign repeatedly as fast as you can until someone hits 100.)
– Recently read Malcolm Gladwell’s new book, “David and Goliath” and he’s got some interesting thoughts on whether it’s better to be a “big fish in a small pond” or a “small fish in a big pond.” Shea and I debate this ourselves – for a variety of reasons, we’ve purposely chosen to live in a neighbourhood that’s probably not as reflective of our socio-economic status as the neighbourhoods of many of our peers. Is this a disadvantage to our children or could it be, as Gladwell claims, an advantage (see Slide 6 in that last link)? Time will tell…
– Anyhow, we must be doing something right as this is one of Pace’s favourite songs of all-time and there’s been many a car trip where we’ve had to listen to it on repeat over and over and over again! 😉
“7 8 9” – Barenaked Ladies
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