Does anyone use an ipad for HE, and if so, was it worth the money?

[AmanitaMuscaria]

I'm just about to start HE with my DD (aged 8, almost 9). Her last day at school is tomorrow.

We're going to be making a great deal of use of the internet and the teaching/learning resources there. We've currently got a laptop and an older desktop. I was reading about ipads today and looking at some of the educational apps you can get here and they look amazing! Obviously though, it's a huge amount of money to fork out.

I wondered if any of your children use ipads, and if so whether there are notable advantages over a laptop or desktop? Was it worth the money? Are the apps as great as they look?

Thanks for any advice.

Would I have liked one? Oh yes!
Did I need one to home ed? Definitely not

If money were no object and they had been available I'd probably have liked one-but value for money in a tightly budgeted home ed lifestyle?

No.

But then we did everything on a really tight budget-I gave up all thoughts to a well paid career to home ed my kids, and my dh had been retired on the grounds of ill health some years before.
We bought everything from charity shops, of ebay/amazon/carboots or got for free off Freecycle.

We spent money on the life experiences they wanted and on fuel to get to workshops/gatherings and on home ed camps. If we'd had more it would have been nice to spend it on other experiences they wanted. We had to prioritise everything.

Laptops for the children became very important as they got older, my children are dyslexic, so a laptop computer each "set them free" (their words) but they were basic ones, nothing fancy-buying one each used up all of the unexpected windfall we had, but were worth it.

Our children are all in Higher Education now and have outperformed by miles what their respective schools had predicted for them, so successful home ed doesn't depend on money or the latest gadgets.

so up to you, if you have money to spare they look good, but if not there are so many more things to spend your home ed budget on IMO

Thanks for your reply Julie. I've read lots of your posts so I know that your children are now thriving in higher education (good on them!!). I totally appreciate that pcs (laptops, ipads whatever) are an unnecessary addition to HE (or any education), and that it's completely possible to do fine without them. My starting point with DD is that she is already very computer focused - we have to ration time spent on pcs because she would do that all day. It's a fight to get her out into nature, although every time she loves it once she's out there.

DD is incredibly independently minded - hates being told a single damn thing and much prefers to figure things out herself than be told or shown. I thought that having the ipad with all its interactiveness and apps might give her a big sense of autonomy in her learning (bearing in mind I'm not going down the autonomous learning route, but a more structured 'curiculum' to start with...). I've been trying to work out how best to engage her desire to learn (when that seems to have been utterly quashed by school already) and her feeling (that I have) that the world of knowledge is limitless - everything you have the desire to learn and know is out there and accessible to you.

So in summary, buying an ipad would use up all the rest of a small inheritance I got earlier this year. I've got £500 left. Then we'll be down to running costs for living and HE. We're struggling less than many are, but not too flush with cash, if that makes any sense. And I'm all too aware that HE is going to cost a lot more than schooling, with all the visits, classes etc.

I'm trying to decide whether that's a worthwhile investment, educationally - whether that would be the best way to spark DD's thirst and enthusiasm for learning. I want to add that I know that's not the only way; she loves art and drawing, for instance, so that's something we'll be doing a lot of.

Phew! - must stop talking now!

I'd be very sceptical at the moment. Personally, I'd keep the £500 until you know there is something you need for her (especially as she is only 9). You already have PCs and she can use them. There is a lot of free or cheap educational stuff on the 'net - and £500 would buy 20 years' worth of Mathletics/Spellodrome subscription at EO rates...

The iPad could be just an expensive gadget. Also, although you say you'll not be autonomous, can I suggest that you don't plan to start your structured curriculum until January? You can spend the next few weeks getting ready for Christmas (if you celebrate it) and getting the school restrictions out of your minds (de-schooling). Once you settle into HE, if you still think an iPad would help, you can get one then - and the original ones will be much cheaper than they are now.

I LOVE the ipad we got for our son, and at the time of making the decision the opps for exploiting it for HE were foremost in my mind.

Then the little bugger decided to go back to school.

It has still been invaluable for the apps that support the kind of parrot learning that forms the bulk of an Italian education.

However I would NOT recommend spending your "cushion" money on it.

It's good (strokes ipad with unabiding affection), but it's not that good and def. not an essential bit of kit.

If there is one lesson that I can glean from the two years HE we did, it is that I wasted an awful lot of cash by throwing money at problems, without necessarily getting solutions that justified the expense.

I'd say hold off on spending Big Money on anything for the minute, settle in, see how things go and let time underline where paid for resources are going to be most valuable to you.

If you already have a 'puter you'll find that most apps are accessable to you in a PC form anyway, and where not there is likely to be an alternative out there.

But if you REALLY REALLY want one and HE is an "excuse made of virtue rather than tech-lust" (which I have to admit is probably where my "need" came from) then get one.

(strokes iPad lovingly some more)

PS

If you do REALLY want one you can spend less than 500 quid.

Apple Sell refurbished ones.

store.apple.com/uk/browse/home/specialdeals/ipad

obviously I discover this AFTER I buy a brand new one.

Thanks for your reply SDeuchars. I have read about having a deschooling period after finishing school. The thing is, I'd like to have a bit of routine in terms of doing maths and literacy every morning right from the start, so I'm hoping that continuing the school routine will enable that to happen without too much adjustment. It may well happen that we end up relaxing the routine and going more down the AL route, but it feels more appropriate for me at the moment to start with some structure.

Thanks fastweb - really relevant and useful advice there, particularly this

"If there is one lesson that I can glean from the two years HE we did, it is that I wasted an awful lot of cash by throwing money at problems, without necessarily getting solutions that justified the expense."

Despite finding this to be very pertinent advice... I bought an ipad this morning.

Apparently, Apple very rarely discount their stuff (they think it devalues the product). Today they were giving a modest discount (black friday, the US version of our boxing day sales), plus I use a cashback site, so I thought bugger it, I'll just do it. I saved about £60.

I've a feeling that this will kick us off to a good start. I hope I'm right, but hey, if I'm wrong, at least I have an ipad to comfort me.

The refurbished ones you kindly gave the link to were £359, and I got a new one of same spec for £368. Not a huge difference.

Thanks again everyone for your words of wisdom.

I bought an ipad this morning

Go check out The Elements app.

But hide your credit card first.

Stuck on Earth is free though

As is Science 360

You need to sign up at the app shopper website, if you stick something on your wishlist it will send you an email alert when the price drops.

I got geowalk for free when they suddenly dropped the price to nothing for a day.

Oooh thank you thank you thank you. "" Indeed!

I'll check out the apps you've mentioned. What I liked was that so many apps are free or under £2. I was initially thinking of making this a christmas + birthday present for DD, but on consideration, I'm not going to do this; it's going to remain something that I've bought specifically for her HE (as opposed to something on which she can play 'angry birds' 24/7.

No! Don't make it a gift! That was my mistake.

Cos then they have the right to whip it off you when you are playing on MN/chuzzle/Ikea app/Good Food for the iPad mag

I want an iPad to call my very own too [jealous]

I love the app store, could spend hours there (if people didn't whip the iPad off me).

Hi
I have been HEing for 2 years and remember well how it felt to be new to it!
My children are similar ages to yours and tbh it is nowhere in my current plan to buy them their own laptop/ipad etc.
They have a look at a few websites maybe a couple of times a week but would far far rather be looking at books, drawing, talking, playing etc

We have mountains and mountains of books which they spend hours poring over and learning from.

I think its far more valuable to children to spend your time and money doing stuff out and about, memorable experiences etc. And spend much of your time at home doing activities and stuff involving drawing and writing etc.

I also agree that once kids become teens computers become much more useful and needed for genuine things rather than just as a nice accessory.

Once you have got into your HE life more you will no doubt discover all sorts of things that you would like to spend money on - and the costs can add up.

But I can see you are already completely 'sold' on the idea so perhaps Ill shut up :)

I think its far more valuable to children to spend your time and money doing stuff out and about, memorable experiences etc. And spend much of your time at home doing activities and stuff involving drawing and writing etc.

Having a yen for all things teccy does not exclude the inclusion of the above.

It's not like you join the "stuff that uses electricity" club, swear alligence forever more and enshew all things that don't come complete with a circuit.

It's more like having dual nationality, than abandoning the motherland.

Very true fastweb

But at over £500 its an awfully expensive pot of money to spend on something that can be done just as well on the computer that most families have anyway.

I think its inevitable that my kids will have laptops in a few years. I want them to have their own in a few years. But I cant personally see any need to join that club right now!

They cant either - I offered them the option of 30 minutes every day having a look at the internet and they said "but that would leave less time for our own fun!"
:o

I'll own up to thinking an iPad was just a toy version of a 'puter. And I was quite resistant to the idea of getting him one until I got my hands on one.

As a learning aid/tool/resource I've dumped my laptop and by way of stealth and bribery 90% of the time opt to use the iPad with my students instead.

It's hard to describe with just words, but take something like science 360, there is a dynamic of discovery which you don't get with the more static GUI you'd have on a CD Rom or website.

As somebody who started teaching when sticky back plastic was considered pushing the boat out I speant years teaching with realia, paper based resources (like card games, board games, mostly cobbled together by me with half dead felt tips) and I think the iPad is probably the nearest thing I have seen to a marriage between the kenetic/tactile nature of resources you can actually touch/manipulate, and the flexible nature of material (like images, video, editable text) that are 'puter based.

The keyboard takes some getting used to though. And now I am more used to it I appear to have gone alll finger and thumbs on a normal keyboard.

Yes it is a lot of money, certainly I wouldn't recommend selling your granny to get one on the basis it is an essential bit of kit.

But if the budget allows, you have a yen for one and are inspired by the possibilities it offers, then why not?

I like the idea of 'having a yen' for something.

And secretly I would love an ipad for myself but cant justify it atm (especially as no way would I want to share!)

especially as no way would I want to share

That was my grave error.

Should never have given it as a pressie.

On the otherhand could not have afforded both the iPad AND a borthday pressie.

So will have to put up with it being whipped off me in exchange for delights like BBC Global iPlayer.

It was like all my xmases came at once when the BBC released that app to coincide with the purchase.

Although I am very miffed that they appear to have cancelled Casualty. Holby City is no substitute.

I'm comforting myself that when The Next Big Thing in the post iPad world comes put, it will be my turn for primary ownership.

Although knowing my luck it will be well out of our price range.

Brilliant replies here; thanks all.

fastweb you summed up perfectly what I'm hoping the ipad will provide:
"I think the iPad is probably the nearest thing I have seen to a marriage between the kenetic/tactile nature of resources you can actually touch/manipulate, and the flexible nature of material (like images, video, editable text) that are 'puter based." It's the interactive and tactile nature of it that appeals to me for DD - I think it will really engage her. The apps you've mentioned look great - I've downloaded the free ones and put The Elements on my wishlist on the App Shopper site. Thanks so much for that.

Laura we too have lots of books, and DD loves to read (mainly fiction). I fully intend us to make lots of use of the library. But DD has always been pretty screen obsessed - she'd be on the wii all day if I let her. Her obsession with wii Endless Ocean (beautiful game) has given her an encyclopedic knowledge of ocean life (her pet subject); she loves the visual nature of it and the interactivity.

bran I think the ipod would have been much too small in terms of screen size.

Thanks for all your replies. I'm so excited now - have been downloading loads of apps in anticipation of the grand ipad arrival on Monday!

I have just spent aaaaaages playing about with Stuck on Earth with DD1 (5yo), thank you for the recommendation!

To actually add to the thread, the DDs and I share an iPad (they are 5 and 2) and while I agree that they really aren't in any way necessary they do open up all kinds of interesting things to toddlers who can't use a mouse yet! DD2 particularly likes the drawing apps because she finds a finger easier to draw with than a pencil.

We bought it to replace a stolen laptop and they do get much more use out of the iPad than they did from the laptop.

We luuuuuuurve the ipad! DD and I have spent the last three days fighting over practising negotiation skills regarding possession of the ipad, and playing 'where's my water?', which I have justified on the ground that it is classed as a physics puzzle.

I'm really glad I bought it - as you say, it's the interactive nature of it that's brilliant; that she is using her finger in contact with the screen. It just makes a difference, somehow.

Hi! Totally agree re the interactive nature of the iPad- our DDs get a lot out of this (age 4 & 20 months) but I'm inclined to think that if your daughter's old enough to handle a mouse and PC that this pot of money could be put to better use as a contingency fund for special interests, or unexpected requirements. I obviously have limited experience as my girls are still so very little but the one thing that I've found so far is that if you can run with the direction that interests them (and can afford to order the book/resource that would be ideal at that particular moment) it makes a massive difference to how much they actually learn from it...

It just makes a difference, somehow.

I'm putting it down to connectability. A finger makes for a direct contact between human and machine lowering a confidence barrier perhaps, the learning curve (when life thus far has taught you how a finger works) is not at all intimidating and the whole thing feels more immediate.

DH is a technophobe, on the few occasions he has been convainced to touch a mouse he has waved it in the air clicking madly in the manner of a TV remote. But I have high hopes that when -DS and I stop bickering over whose turn it is on the iPad-- we have some free time, I can have him up and running independantly on the IPad within a matter of hours.

A miracle will have happened if we drag DH out of the 18th century.

This morning I am sulking cos MobileRice (the app from Free Rice, the vocab/grammar/languages site that donates rice to the hungry when you play the game) is not available in Italy.

I have a whole list of "socially responsible" apps I am about to investigate and will sulk even more if none of them can be downloaded due to to poltiical geography

(Please excuse spelling/grammar/general illiteracy was up all night due to a zombie in my loft space. Or rat. But prefer zombie, cos otherwise I have to face up to the world's niosiest and hugest rat being above my head all night. Pity there isn't an app for sorting that problem out.)

In many ways I love the iPad for the 'teacher in a box' aspect of many of the apps.

For me, however, I've found one major diasdvantage. All the software is loaded on there all the time, so it's too easy to 'surf' from app to app, without really becoming immersed in the problem solving. I'd love a 'lock' feature, so that I could insist the kids spent at least 15 minutes on each app at a time. They'll even surf over the games! Spend a few minutes, and then click onto another one when they get stuck. That's not great study skills IMO.