I-pad ,....never had one, Sooo....

kristmace · 20 Mar 2012 at 21:49

Shamikebab said:
Regarding using your phone as a hotspot, most contracts don't allow this do they?

Really? I've never heard that.

Shamikebab · 20 Mar 2012 at 21:59

I know T-Mobile doesn't (I checked tonight) unless you pay for the add on. 3 does if you have the unlimited one.

Faustus · 20 Mar 2012 at 23:02

DragonWoLf said:
Am I the only one to think that it's just too much to buy a young kid an expensive piece of tech?! Jeebus just buy em a book.

Thank goodness I'm not the only one thinking the same thing. Why do today's parents think they need Tech to teach their children. Books plus sitting down and spending time with them is still the best way to teach children about the world, it's worth a thousand iPads. The mind boggles it really does.

DarkHorizon472 · 21 Mar 2012 at 08:07

I got the ipad2 32gb g3 but to honest the 16gb wifi only would be fine for almost all of my usage.

DarkHorizon472 · 21 Mar 2012 at 08:08

Faustus said:
Thank goodness I'm not the only one thinking the same thing. Why do today's parents think they need Tech to teach their children. Books plus sitting down and spending time with them is still the best way to teach children about the world, it's worth a thousand iPads. The mind boggles it really does.

More likely a reason to justify buying one for themselves.

I know we all do it

ademcg · 21 Mar 2012 at 12:48

Faustus said:
Thank goodness I'm not the only one thinking the same thing. Why do today's parents think they need Tech to teach their children. Books plus sitting down and spending time with them is still the best way to teach children about the world, it's worth a thousand iPads. The mind boggles it really does.

So no judgement at all there then. :rolleyes:

We (my wife and I) spend plenty of quality time with our children, thank you very much, I guess this is borne out by our eldest being in the top 0.5% for his year in the region, not only in Reading / writing and comprehension, but also mathematics.

Back to the topic, this particular piece of tech is to enthuse the little one (almost 5) to keep up reading and learning fresh skills, within a new environment which will encourage her to keep learning and exploring new media does no harm.
Yes, we have quite an extensive library at home too, which we sit down with the children (both of them) and choose reading material, but perhaps I should have been more descriptive in my original post.

And yes, it will be used by My Wife too, for quick internet searching and shopping from the sofa.

Thank you all for your input...I think a 2nd generation refurb 16Gb WIFI will suffice.

Mattus · 21 Mar 2012 at 13:04

Faustus said:
Thank goodness I'm not the only one thinking the same thing. Why do today's parents think they need Tech to teach their children. Books plus sitting down and spending time with them is still the best way to teach children about the world, it's worth a thousand iPads. The mind boggles it really does.

Why? So long as you're sitting down with your children and helping them learn, why is doing it via an iPad worse than doing it via a book? After all, schools are buying iPads because they're good at holding the kids' attention.

I have to say - some of your posts make it sound like you're not particularly keen on much modern technology. But you can't really complain if you find people on a computer forum who're enthusiastic about technology!

Faustus · 22 Mar 2012 at 23:59

ademcg said:
So no judgement at all there then.

We (my wife and I) spend plenty of quality time with our children, thank you very much, I guess this is borne out by our eldest being in the top 0.5% for his year in the region, not only in Reading / writing and comprehension, but also mathematics.

Back to the topic, this particular piece of tech is to enthuse the little one (almost 5) to keep up reading and learning fresh skills, within a new environment which will encourage her to keep learning and exploring new media does no harm.
Yes, we have quite an extensive library at home too, which we sit down with the children (both of them) and choose reading material, but perhaps I should have been more descriptive in my original post.

And yes, it will be used by My Wife too, for quick internet searching and shopping from the sofa.

Thank you all for your input...I think a 2nd generation refurb 16Gb WIFI will suffice.

I found reading as a child one of the greatest pleasures in life and still do. I used to spend hours at night torch in hand with my head under the covers eagerly trying to finish whichever book I happened to be reading before my parents discovered what I was doing. I didn't need to be enthused as my parents taught me the joy of reading well before I went to primary school. That love affair with books has stopped with me throughout my life. My wife asked me only the other day if I wanted a Kindle as a birthday present. I have declined the offer as I don't think there's any substitute for having a physical book in ones hand. That is why I don't think an iPad is a good idea for such a young person as I doubt they will ever get that intense pleasure of reading from a device such as a tablet.

Faustus · 23 Mar 2012 at 00:05

Mattus said:
Why? So long as you're sitting down with your children and helping them learn, why is doing it via an iPad worse than doing it via a book? After all, schools are buying iPads because they're good at holding the kids' attention.

I have to say - some of your posts make it sound like you're not particularly keen on much modern technology. But you can't really complain if you find people on a computer forum who're enthusiastic about technology!

Schools would do well to teach the basics rather than seeing technology as the answer to all the under achieving in schools. We get school leavers on work experience at our office who can barely string a coherent sentence together and as for using punctuation or writing a business letter, forget it.

Raymond Lin · 23 Mar 2012 at 00:10

Faustus said:
Thank goodness I'm not the only one thinking the same thing. Why do today's parents think they need Tech to teach their children. Books plus sitting down and spending time with them is still the best way to teach children about the world, it's worth a thousand iPads. The mind boggles it really does.

Have you bought one yet? Or are you hoping this "fad" will go away soon?

Mattus · 23 Mar 2012 at 00:14

Faustus said:
Schools would do well to teach the basics rather than seeing technology as the answer to all the under achieving in schools. We get school leavers on work experience at our office who can barely string a coherent sentence together and as for using punctuation or writing a business letter, forget it.

That isn't because the schools aren't teaching... it's because half the pupils aren't paying any attention. And I bet your average English comprehensive school isn't distributing iPads among its students right now. If doing so is what it takes to focus students on the material, then I'm all for it. But really, I think they're more suitable as learning aids for primary school children than secondary.

shine · 23 Mar 2012 at 00:18

Faustus said:
That is why I don't think an iPad is a good idea for such a young person as I doubt they will ever get that intense pleasure of reading from a device such as a tablet.

I love reading books but as I cannot afford to build a Noah's ark for books the Kindle is fantastic way to allow me to keep my reading habit and still have some living space. There are two sides to everything.

HAz · 23 Mar 2012 at 08:18

Apple are doing 10 months interest free too which is a good way to get a brand new iPad 3 instantly

DarkHorizon472 · 23 Mar 2012 at 08:42

Faustus said:
Schools would do well to teach the basics rather than seeing technology as the answer to all the under achieving in schools. We get school leavers on work experience at our office who can barely string a coherent sentence together and as for using punctuation or writing a business letter, forget it.

A lot of that is down to their parents and how state school teachers are set up to fail with large classes including a very wide range of needs and massive amounts of bureaucracy to complete.

Technology is a good way to get kids interest but no substitute for good well organised teaching.

Trifid · 23 Mar 2012 at 08:44

HAz said:
Apple are doing 10 months interest free too which is a good way to get a brand new iPad 3 instantly

Are they? I could only find they normal finance deals at 14%.

Metalface Mark · 23 Mar 2012 at 09:31

Raymond Lin said:
Have you bought one yet? Or are you hoping this "fad" will go away soon?

Yeah he has one from other posts, very hypocritical post if he has ever let his kids use it in any way.

Metalface Mark · 23 Mar 2012 at 09:32

Oh and you can get ipad 2 16gb for £299 at the moment from a few places without going refurb op

siege2 · 23 Mar 2012 at 13:01

HAz said:
Apple are doing 10 months interest free too which is a good way to get a brand new iPad 3 instantly

Good news there, do you have info/link for that I am very keen to purchase one now, rather then later.

Kenneth

Raymond Lin · 23 Mar 2012 at 13:04

Metalface Mark said:
Yeah he has one from other posts, very hypocritical post if he has ever let his kids use it in any way.

Really? what happened to all the iPad bashing from 2 years ago?

ademcg · 23 Mar 2012 at 13:39

Well, this is a fun conversation now isn't it. :rolleyes:

Thanks guys for the heads up re- Apple 10 month Interest free...I will check that out.

I sense a certain amount of technophobia, surprising considering the bb media interface (internet) and the forum (e.g. all things technology)

Each to their own...horses for courses....just don't preach....it is foolish after all