Tablet Drawbacks

It is true that the tablets transform the classroom environment.  In some aspects, it is a positive change, and in other aspects, it is a pain!  With this new technology, students are given the freedom, independence, and resources to achieve far more than the could have before.  This is only if the technology cooperates.

There was an initiative to personalize learning for each student.   WIth the amplify tablets, teacher were suppose to implement interactive lessons to all students at their own pace.  Because there were so many technology issues, such as chargers breaking, wifi not working, or apps having errors for no reason, Amplify and Guilford County decided to suspend the PACE initiative and remove the tablets from the classrooms and out of the hands of students.  This decision was made mainly because there were safety concerns with the chargers.
Since the tablets were removed from the classroom, the daily activity and climate has changed in the classroom.  First off, there is no more cluttery mess of chargers and tablets charging in the back of the room!  The students also are less concentrating more on the details of the lesson because they are doing more writing and more moving around.  With the tablets, the students were more concerned with the text not being centered or having lag time while typing.  Now, it is all about the content and they do not have as much authentic hands-on experience with technology, which is unfortunate.
The students were very frustrated with the tablets.  Everyday, there would be at least 4 people with major tablet issues that would cause me to quickly troubleshoot or find another way to do the activity planned.  I was having to write multiple lesson plans for each class period to use a a back-up plan if the tablets were not working.  It frustrated the teachers because we could not rely on the tablets to do what they were intended to do, personalize learning.  The students would try to maneuver them and work the best they could with them, but many times, there would not cooperate.
Many of the students were relieved to get rid of the tablets.  Some of them stopped bringing them home and using them in class because the tablets were more of a hassle than a helpful tool.
The PACE plan has good intentions.  It was a huge project to bring on, especially given that the program was just vaporware last June.  This initiative should have had a trial period where they could have learned some of the problems and worked out the bugs before putting the tablets in the hands of over 15,000 people.