Thai education ministry ‘tablets’ a bright future: Bringing equality to classrooms

[huyuli]

2 hours ago, seajae said:

just like last time they did this, the only ones that benefited were the ones that sold garbage tablets that were totally useless cheap rip offs at a huge profit and the ministers/higher ups that pocketed all the graft from buying them, seems to be the only way pheu thai can run govt,  by  getting graft the same way their leader did when he was in charge

That's right. At my school they were put straight into the store room never to be seen again.

[bob smith]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Permpoon revealed that every student would be granted a tablet

will they also be proving the accompanying rave music to go along with said tablet? ????

[Bangkok Barry]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

He added that he was currently evaluating the total cost of the scheme

So they have no idea how much it will cost, but they've announced it anyway. No survey to see if it will be worth the cost (as they have no idea what the cost is). Not even a committee to examine the proposal. But they will do it because (you can fill in the blank of who will really benefit). And it isn't the kids.

[Cabradelmar]

What a waste of limited resources in a system that has far more pressing needs... they need to pay for better teachers, improve the curriculum (away from rote learning), not to mention the shortage of new/quality textbooks and classrooms. And while your at it do something about all the 15-16 year olds who quit school after the 9th grade... make grades 10-12 (Matthayom Suksa 4-6) compulsory and free (or at least tuition minimal)... free tablets is a feel good gimmick in a system desperately broken

[keithkarmann]

2 hours ago, Pouatchee said:

utter waste of good money. ten years ago i was teaching wehen they tried to implement this crap. problem is the curriculum is not designed for this and changing the curriculum will end up costing way more. the kids arew distracted enough as it is they don't need another toy.

 

they spend enough time on their phones now they will just spend most of their time doing nothing.

Carry on as normal and treat every one like mushrooms (in the dark). At 18 years old my wife's sister has not had any computer learning . Could not manage more than one day working at 7/11. What is her future looking like? Probably end up working in the rice fields, tapioca or sugar cane. Another one who has got 90% plus in her exams . But in reality she spends most of her school time doing useless essays. That's enough from me as I could go on a lot longer.

[TTSIssues]

Chi-pads. I wonder how much they will cost per unit when we all know they are a couple of thousand baht each at most ????

[webfact]

Teachers Slams Free Tablet Scheme, Want More Teachers Hired
by TNR Staff

 

A composite photo showing Education Minister Permpoon Chidchob with a tablet computer next to him. Credit: Matichon

 

JUST AS Education Minister Permpoon Chidchob moved to relaunch the Yingluck Shinawatra government’s project of distributing free tablet computers to all students and teachers nationwide a large number of teachers pointed out that this scheme was not that effective when carried out almost a decade ago and it would be better to use the budget to hire more teaching staff, Amarin TV said today (Sep. 15).

 

Permpoon, from Bhumjaithai Party, announced the revival of this project when outlining his “Study Well, Be Happy” policy to officials at this ministry with this being divided into two parts – education for excellence and education for stability of life.

 

Also included in his policy is to provide teaching equipment and welfare with teachers and students across the country to get one tablet computer each.

 

Among the teachers who disagreed with the revival of this project is Ms. Orawan Khunsrirod, a professional-level teacher at Ban Sa Ngam School, Mueang district, Nakhon Sawan province, who said her school still has tablet computers that were distributed during the Yingluck Shinawatra government which are not usable and kept in a storeroom.

 

Full story: THAI NEWSROOM 2023-09-15

 

- Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here.

 

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[thesetat2013]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

 

The Thai Education Ministry is set to revive a decade-old initiative, which was originally launched by a previous Pheu Thai government, to distribute a tablet computer to each student and teacher across the country. This initiative aims to promote equal educational opportunities.

 

The announcement was made yesterday by Education Minister Permpoon Chidchob and his deputy Surasak Phancharoenworakul, both members of the Bhumjaithai Party in the Pheu Thai-led coalition. During a gathering of ministry officials, their stated goal was to endorse good learning, with happiness.

 

Permpoon revealed that every student would be granted a tablet computer to lessen their expenses and diminish disparities in educational opportunities under the one student, one tablet scheme. He added that he was currently evaluating the total cost of the scheme, suggesting that if the current budget was not adequate, tablets could be obtained through borrowing or renting.

However, A previous Democrat Party MP, Suchatvee Suwansawat expressed his concern about the programme to the Bangkok Post. While he concurred with the use of modern technology to assist learning and minimise educational inequality, he was hesitant about the scheme.

 

by Atima Homtienton

Picture courtesy of Tony Education.

 

Full story: The Thaiger 2023-09-15

 

- Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here.

 

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Pheu Thai running the government wants to revive giving tablets to all school children and teachers... haha.. they must still have accounting on the profits gained from the last time they did this scheme..  perhaps this is how they plan to get the money to give all Thai 10000 baht. The tablets scheme last time was full of problems. Most of which the cost the government said they paid for and the equipment received did not balance out... then there was the problem that teachers has allowing kids to use them in the classrooms for actual school work.. let's not forget that not all families.. have the internet to use a tablet at home for school work.. but I guess new leadership men's developing new scams or using old scams they worked well in the past to generate extra income for the politicians. 

[alanrchase]

1 hour ago, hotchilli said:

They can't even learn 1-10 in English

I have a friends daughter aged 15 who cannot tell the time in English, her father asked me to help.

She said she didn't understand English time, I said the clock is universal around the world. ie 12/24 hour time

I told her to think of the time in Thai and just convert the numbers to English..

the almost blank stare came back as she counted on her fingers one-to-eleven for eleven O'Clock.

Not quite true in Thailand. 9am can also be 3 in the morning and 8pm can be 2 in the evening.

[Mavideol]

3 hours ago, 2baht said:

The definition of insanity, trying the same thing over again and expecting a different result!

who will be in charge of the purchase and who will be the supplier??? are the main questions as "brownies" will be changing hands

 

brownies definition == brown envelopes that sometimes come in other different colors

[2baht]

4 minutes ago, Mavideol said:

who will be in charge of the purchase and who will be the supplier???

The winners! ????

[ikke1959]

Money has to go, who has the business for this not working program...But who cares about the education the money it is what is counting

[Poseidon]

Could try Increasing teacher pay, improving the schools especially around science laboratory'sif they were serious. Instead it's outdated rubbish that didn't work the first time 

[realfunster]

Hmm...I suppose it's a marginally better way of self-enriching those in power than buying submarines.

At least the tablets might have some utility and benefit to the Thai people...

[Bobydog]

3 hours ago, bamnutsak said:

Not sure this would actually harm the already essentially dead Thai education system?

 

Almost any activity, including playing games, might be better than the rote learning of the numbers 1 to 10.

 

 

 

 

Australian Edu put students in laptops etc etc and did so at a pre college stage which bypassed essential base learning they schould have had before being introduced to advanced technology.  The young people coming up into adult hood are largly devoid of the basics which includes , work ethics amongst a wider range of behavoural things, too much dependance on technology.

[kimamey]

3 hours ago, 2baht said:

The definition of insanity, trying the same thing over again and expecting a different result!

If they learn from the mistakes of the previous scheme then it could help. The trouble is I suspect the only things they will have learnt are, how to get more money out of it and how to improve covering it up

[kimamey]

3 hours ago, stoner said:

can someone explain the witty headline pun to me. excuse my table manners. 

Show me the witty headline pun and I'll certainly do my best.

[Bangkok Barry]

1 hour ago, hotchilli said:

They can't even learn 1-10 in English

I have a friends daughter aged 15 who cannot tell the time in English, her father asked me to help.

She said she didn't understand English time, I said the clock is universal around the world. ie 12/24 hour time

I told her to think of the time in Thai and just convert the numbers to English..

the almost blank stare came back as she counted on her fingers one-to-eleven for eleven O'Clock.

I have a nephew living with us after his mother dumped him on us to live overseas. He's been learning English for eight years and can't put a sentence together. Still, he was given his turn as top of the class in English one month.

And he has today off of school as it's closed for lessons as the director is leaving and the teachers are having a party. Having the party after school obviously never occurred to them. At his previous school, the director was murdered by his wife as she thought he was having an affair. He wasn't.

 

Thailand is ....... different.

 

[AustinRacing]

Cons- stolen and sold in market, hacked for playing games, broken and can’t be fixed.

Pros- will update later

[HappyExpat57]

Yeah, another boondoggle. The school I worked at received a number of these useless tablets the first time they tried it. I KID YOU NOT - there was a picture reading exercise that showed a fat old foreigner at an ATM, and the point was for the student to enter the correct pin to receive money to give to a young Thai woman.

[stoner]

26 minutes ago, kimamey said:

Show me the witty headline pun and I'll certainly do my best.

now that's how it's done. 

[newbee2022]

4 hours ago, Pouatchee said:

utter waste of good money. ten years ago i was teaching wehen they tried to implement this crap. problem is the curriculum is not designed for this and changing the curriculum will end up costing way more. the kids arew distracted enough as it is they don't need another toy.

 

they spend enough time on their phones now they will just spend most of their time doing nothing.

That sounds like self fulfilling prophecy. 

This kind of thinking will not change anything. 

Let them try without your "experience"????

[khunPer]

Back when Yingluck had her election campaign, she showed an iPad and stated that all school children should have a tablet. After she got elected the tablets slowly arrived to the school children, but not iPads; no, cheap Chinese tablets.

 

My daughter got one in her school, but it never ever came in use, as there were no software/apps available for that type of tablet. It ended useless up in a drawer for some years, I presume it's been given to recycle by now; at least it's gone.

 

Tablets can be great replacement for a more expensive laptop, but if the product quality is not in place, it's worthless.

 

During the Covid lockdown the schoolkids where I live in Thailand, used their Android and Apple smartphones and online apps for education in virtual classrooms.

[newbee2022]

2 hours ago, hotchilli said:

They can't even learn 1-10 in English

I have a friends daughter aged 15 who cannot tell the time in English, her father asked me to help.

She said she didn't understand English time, I said the clock is universal around the world. ie 12/24 hour time

I told her to think of the time in Thai and just convert the numbers to English..

the almost blank stare came back as she counted on her fingers one-to-eleven for eleven O'Clock.

Probably you have been a great help?????????????

[newbee2022]

32 minutes ago, AustinRacing said:

Cons- stolen and sold in market, hacked for playing games, broken and can’t be fixed.

Pros- will update later

Oh, great! We have a clairvoyant here ????????????

[khunpeer]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

 

The Thai Education Ministry is set to revive a decade-old initiative, which was originally launched by a previous Pheu Thai government, to distribute a tablet computer to each student and teacher across the country. This initiative aims to promote equal educational opportunities.

 

The announcement was made yesterday by Education Minister Permpoon Chidchob and his deputy Surasak Phancharoenworakul, both members of the Bhumjaithai Party in the Pheu Thai-led coalition. During a gathering of ministry officials, their stated goal was to endorse good learning, with happiness.

 

Permpoon revealed that every student would be granted a tablet computer to lessen their expenses and diminish disparities in educational opportunities under the one student, one tablet scheme. He added that he was currently evaluating the total cost of the scheme, suggesting that if the current budget was not adequate, tablets could be obtained through borrowing or renting.

However, A previous Democrat Party MP, Suchatvee Suwansawat expressed his concern about the programme to the Bangkok Post. While he concurred with the use of modern technology to assist learning and minimise educational inequality, he was hesitant about the scheme.

 

by Atima Homtienton

Picture courtesy of Tony Education.

 

Full story: The Thaiger 2023-09-15

 

- Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here.

 

Get our Daily Newsletter - Click HERE to subscribe

my daughter tells me now already she don't want that tablet. she has Iphone, she can't be bothered with terrible quality tablet! many students think like that! maybe 10 years ago it worked, but not anymore...

better improve quality of teaching, or is this 'not done'...?

[Sydebolle]

Given the fact, that most kids are glued to all sorts of phones and tablets already - it would not make a difference to them. The stuff they learn at school here is provenly substandard - to be polite - irrespective if administered in printed or electronic form. 

For argument's sake, uploading respective school applications would suffice and well, if not enough space, then throw out some of those useless game apps with which those children are wasting their playtime outside. 

But the money might not be in the apps but rather in the hardware and, surprise, surprise, the name Chidchob pops up. The sitting Education Minister Police General Permpoon Chidchob is lesser known than his father - the "Padrino" of Buriram Khun Chai Chidchob. His brothers are the uncrowned chief of Buriram, Bhumjaithai Party patriarch Newin Chidchob, the ruler of Buriram and Saksayam Chidchob, former Transport Minister. All of them interesting characters on the political chessboard of Thailand. 

This tablet business taps interesting tax payers resources while the problem is not the media but rather the content - me thinks! 

[Caldera]

This new government has neither brains nor shame, they'll rob the country blind.

[Eric Loh]

1 hour ago, khunpeer said:

my daughter tells me now already she don't want that tablet. she has Iphone, she can't be bothered with terrible quality tablet! many students think like that! maybe 10 years ago it worked, but not anymore...

better improve quality of teaching, or is this 'not done'...?

Other daughters may not be so privileged to have a rich father like you. Anyway, she a bright girl to foresee the poor quality tablet which has not been issued. I agree that teaching need improvement. 

[brianthainess]

6 hours ago, 2baht said:

It was a lady whose first name begins with Y!

When is Yingluck coming home?