Laptop/IPads/ Bring Your Device in schools

[11plusNewbie]

I wonder how other parents feel about more and more schools asking DC to commute to schools daily bringing in laptops/or iPad which will be used during school time.
I see this trend creating safety issues (muggings), logistical issues (heavier weight to carry with higher risk of damaging equipment) and more importantly, mental/educational issues with the DC spending ever increasing amounts of time on screens, less handwriting, less face to face exchanges.
I am not sure why schools cannot lend iPads or laptops for determined amounts of time during the school day to tackle certain specific projects that can then be finished at home.
Hoping to hear opinions on the subject.
Thank you !

Y7 DD uses a laptop for every lesson due to severe dyslexia and hypermobile fingers. It's made a HUGE difference to both her grades and her confidence and self esteem. Definitely the best thing we have ever done.

She has a 90 minute journey to school each way by train, is very small for her age, and doesn't find it a problem.

We bought a smaller size laptop to reduce weight and took out insurance through Protect My Bubble and found a decent rucksack to make it easier to carry and give some protection.

I had wondered about her having a laptop that she kept at school and then using mine or another one at home for homework etc, but a) no current access to lockers due to Covid and b) lack of internet access at school would probably mean she couldn't access classwork at home so wouldn't work in practice.

I'm not really very worried about screen time - she doesn't use it during break times and has a lot of extra curricular activities.

I am not sure why schools cannot lend iPads or laptops for determined amounts of time during the school

You’ve really not read any posts by teachers telling you about the size of school budgets, have you?

It makes me very uncomfortable, to be honest. But they are required at DD's school. As it is, her bag is extremely heavy as she needs to take all of her textbooks to and from school, because of covid restrictions, her locker is pretty much unusable.

I'm fine with this, so long as families on low income have access to devices too (they are helped in our school).

My son has a relatively cheap (c£180), small, light Chromebook from John Lewis and it does the job. He's in sixth form so he uses it to do homework in his free periods and occasionally in lessons if they need to access the internet. I don't think he uses it to take notes, as he prefers to hand write those, but some do. It's all good training for when he goes to uni. He also has a windows laptop on his desk at home but it would be too heavy (and expensive) to carry back and forth.

@Crakenwakes does he keep all his files in the cloud so he can access them both in school and at home ? I assume he is not constantly syncing the two.
I think it works well for sixth formers, not so sure for year 7/8

[quote Iamsodone]@Crakenwakes does he keep all his files in the cloud so he can access them both in school and at home ? I assume he is not constantly syncing the two.
I think it works well for sixth formers, not so sure for year 7/8[/quote]
He's not as organised as I would be but he gets by. Everything's in the cloud somewhere, but spread across different accounts because he has a school Microsoft account, a personal Microsoft account and a personal Google account. It's all accessible from any device, so long as he remembers where he put it.

My ds’s school have just provided all yr7 and 8’s with laptops, these stay in school though. Everything is done on Teams so can be accessed at home on a different device although Teams is not an ideal platform IMO

Teams has its flaws but it's what most professional work environments seem to use, so it's good experience.

@SnarkyBag I like the fact it stays at school. I does address a number of my issues.
@Crakenwakes 👌

I’m a TA in a secondary which requires all pupils to have Chromebooks. Honestly I think they’re a nightmare. I sit at the back of a variety of classes, and all I see in most of them is kids messing about playing games instead of doing what they’re supposed to be doing.

I won’t be sending my kids to a secondary school with this policy.

In schools where devices are loaned/purchased via the school, I think they are usually locked down so that only approved apps can b

... be used.

But kids will always find a way to mess about if the teacher isn't hot on discipline.

@feesh that has been also a worry.
I expect that, when loaned by the schools the kids cannot do or install certain things, however I’d be surprised if YouTube in itself was banned :(
I just wish they didn’t have any laptops generally in school except under special conditions (for ids who do better with them) or restricted ICT teaching time