No Deal On Computer Tablets, Thai Education Ministry Prepares Textbooks

[Buchholz]

Expert Questions Tablet PC Project's Readiness

The Thailand Development Research Institute Director has voiced his concern over the government's free tablet PC project, pointing out that both students and teachers are still unprepared.

Director of Thailand Development Research Institute Somkiat Tangkitvanich has expressed his concern over the government's plan to hand out one million tablet PCs to first graders across the country in the approaching new academic year, questioning the readiness of the information network, from which contents will be downloaded into the tablet PCs.

He also pointed out that there is no plan to prevent students and teachers from misusing the tablet PCs.

Regarding the progress into the procurement process of one million tablet PCs worth 2,400 baht each, Information and Communication Technology Minister Anudith Nakornthap revealed that the contract draft has already been reviewed by the Attorney General's Office and sent back to the ministry.

After that, tablet PC manufacturer, Shenzhen Scope Scientific Development, will be asked to secure a bank guarantee for the project, with the contract signing expected to take place tomorrow at the latest.

The ministry has also requested 50 million baht to fund the project's shipping and other related costs.

-- Tan Network 2012-05-09

[gand]

A selling point? yahoo headline "Orangutans at Miami zoo use iPads to communicate"

[GentlemanJim]

These tablets should NOT be issued to young children. Older ones that may need to do internet research for work assignments ok. The trouble is that it will replace the bog standard ability to write, to find your way through a real book for what you want, to use your head for basic mathamatics. The result is a generation of children unable to do the most simple task without the use of a hand held gadget.

My wife wanted to buy the 4 year old a little electric car for her birthday! Absolutely no way until she learns to ride her bike without stabalizers! If you allow children to 'skip' the basics then they will never have the motivation to do them. Why think when you can have a gadget do it for you, why peddle your bike when you have a toy car with a 9V battery in it? I cannot believe that the powers that be do not understand all the problems that we are finding so simple to see. That then concludes me to believe that the Government are culpably negligent, criminally even, in that they are knowingly sacrificing children's education and standards so that they wont lose votes over an insane pre election promise. God help the kids.

[maidu]

When you got a headache, you take a tablet. Voila! headache gone (or should be, unless the tablet is no good).

PT wanted more votes, they promised tablets. Not delivered, but so what, they served their purpose. Or at least the promise of them did: it garnered more votes for PT, and voila! - they got the power seats.

Oh, will the PT tablets not be glitch-riven? Time will tell, but all early indications are pointing to a boondoggle wrapped in a Gordian knot. The biggest losers: the kids, particularly the ones who aren't as adept at playing games on the gizmos - they'll be stuck with spending hours per day looking over the shoulders of kids who are adept at game playing.

That's the next generation of leaders for Thailand, after the Thais (especially their military brass) get done with re-cycling the same old privileged rich people in and out of gov't over decades.

[OzMick]

Walmart online, $79.00 Ematic eGlide EGLIDE2BL 7" 1GHz 4GB Android 2.2 OS Black

would you get a discount for a million?