Students' tablets still in boxes

Most first graders in Nakhon Ratchasima have not used their PC tablets for studying even though the devices were delivered to their schools a month ago, according to a survey by a reporter.

More than 3,600 tablets are now available at schools in Muang district under the Nakhon Ratchasima Primary Educational Service Area Office 1's supervision.

The schools decided to leave the tablets in their boxes because of many reasons. Their teachers have not been trained on how to use them to teach in class. The Internet connections for the tablets are not ready. A meeting of the schools and school committees and parents to forge understanding among the stakeholders has not taken place. And the schools are ready to close for semester break.

Boonsiri Kannoot, head of the ICT centre at Sukanaree School, said her school received 382 tablets on September 3 and immediately let the students try using them. However, it could not teach all of them how to use them in class, as only half of the teachers had been trained. Next semester, they would fully use the tablets.

One of the tablets could not recharge its battery, but the problem was fixed in one day by an after-sales service company, she said.