Tablet batteries (barely) included

Pupils and teachers, working with free tablet PCs given out by the government say they are struggling to keep them switched on

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Children at Wat Donthong School in Chachoengsao focus intently on their tablet computers provided by the government. TAWATCHAI KEMGUMNERD

Tablet batteries (barely) included

Lamphai Intathep

Pupils and teachers, working with free tablet PCs given out by the government say they are struggling to keep them switched on

CHACHOENGSAO First-graders who have been given tablet computers have complained their learning has been disrupted by the devices' short battery life.

Teachers and education administrators at two schools in this province have raised concerns over the issue during a visit by the Bangkok Post.

"Teacher! My tablet is showing an orange sign," a Prathom 1, or first grade, pupil at Wat Donthong School said as he raised his hand to alert his teacher to the problem.

The teacher, Thipparat Polsen, told her 40 students to always pay attention to the battery level icon at the bottom right of the tablet's screen.

When the icon turns orange, it means there is about 10% of the battery power left. The students then have to turn off the computers and ask to share with fellow students whose devices still have battery life.

The batteries tend to last no more than three hours, although the manual said they should last for at least six hours of continuous use, Ms Thipparat said.

At the school, the tablet curriculum is designated as an additional tool to help students learn five core subjects – social studies, mathematics, Thai, English and science.

There are about 400 first-graders studying in 10 classrooms at Wat Donthong School.

Eighty of them are waiting to receive the Chinese-made devices.

Ms Thipparat said she could not charge all the tablets at the same time because the school did not have adequate power outlets. Each of the tablets take as long as five hours to be fully charged.

"It is a big burden for teachers and we have to stay at school longer in the evening to charge them as we cannot let our young students do it themselves," she said.

She said the use of tablets for the children's learning had both pros and cons.

The biggest benefit was that students concentrated more in class, with some students calling for more learning hours with the devices.

In the past, one of her pupils would often cry when being dropped off at school by his parents, but the teacher said the tablets have helped him to enjoy and look forward to his classes.

Wat Nakhon Nueang Khet School in the same province is also experiencing the problem of the tablets' limited battery life.

The school has 49 first-graders who have already received tablet computers.

"They can be used for only a few hours and need five hours to be fully charged," Prathom 1 teacher Pattaya Laipradit said.

As a result, teaching through the tablets has been restricted to only one hour a day.

Another problem the school has faced since receiving the tablets is that the devices have no mechanism to automatically cut the power supply once they are fully charged.

The Chachoengsao primary education service area office realised the problem and plans to invest in battery charger sets which include breakers and timers.

Without an auto cut-off system, the tablets would get very hot if they were left charging for a long time. This could shorten their working life, said Narong Junjaroenvongsa, the office's education supervisor.

Once acquired, the teachers could set a time for the breakers to automatically cut off the power supply to ensure safety, he said.

Kawinkiat Nonthapala, the office director, said that the idea could be a model for other schools.

He said the office also planned to create its own lessons about Asean and about the province, such as the history of the famous Sothorn Buddha Image and Bang Pakong River.

"The tablets are being bought with taxpayers' money, so the students should be getting the most out of them," he said, adding the tablet programme should be allowed to run for at least three months before any evaluation was made.

Chachoengsao has about 5,000 first-graders and 1,959 tablets have already been distributed to students at 40 schools under the Office of the Basic Education Commission.

focus – to give attention, effort, etc. to one particular subject, situation or person rather than another เพ่งความสนใจ
intently – showing strong interest and attention อย่างตั้งใจ
barely – only just; almost not เกือบจะไม่
struggle – to try hard to do something that you find very difficult พยายาม
switch on – to turn on; to start a machine working เปิดการทำงาน (เครื่องจักร, เครื่องไฟฟ้า)
complain – to say that you are annoyed, unhappy or not satisfied about somebody/something บ่น, ร้องทุกข์
disrupt – to prevent something from continuing as usual or as expected ทำให้เสียกระบวน, ทำให้เสียระบบ, ทำให้สับสน
device – a machine or piece of equipment that does a particular job อุปกรณ์ เครื่องมือ เครื่องจักร
administrator – someone whose job is to manage a business, organisation, or institution  ผู้บริหาร
concern – a worry ความกังวล
issue – a problem that needs to be considered ประเด็น
alert – to tell someone in authority about a danger or problem so that they can take action to deal with แจ้งให้ทราบ, บอก
pay attention – to watch, listen to, or consider something or someone very carefully เอาใจใส่, สนใจ
level – the amount of something that exists in a particular situation at a particular time  ระดับ
icon – a small symbol on a computer screen รูปสัญลักษณ์บนจอคอมพิวเตอร์
tend – to be likely to behave in a particular way or have a particular characteristic มักจะ
manual – an instruction book; a textbook คู่มือ
continuous – happening or existing for a period of time without interruption  ซึ่งติดต่อกัน, ซึ่งต่อเนื่องกัน
curriculum – the group of subjects studied in a school, college, etc หลักสูตร
designated – marked, separated, or given a name for a particular purpose ถูกกำหนด
core – the most important or most basic part of something ที่สำคัญที่สุด
adequate – good enough or large enough for a particular purpose พอเพียง
outlet – a device in a wall that you put a plug into in order to connect electrical equipment to the power supply of a building  เต้ารับสำหรับเสียบปลั๊กไฟ
burden – a serious or difficult responsibility that you have to deal with  ภาระ
pros and cons – advantages and disadvantages ข้อดีและข้อเสีย
benefit – an advantage you get from a situation; a helpful or good effect, or something intended to help ผลประโยชน์
concentrate – to give most of your attention to one aim or activity  เพ่งความสนใจไปยัง  มุ่งไปที่
drop off – to stop so that somebody can get out of a car, etc; to deliver something on the way to somewhere else ส่งผู้โดยสารหรือของ
look forward to – to feel pleased and excited about something that is going to happen ตั้งหน้ารอคอย
limited – not much or enough; not very great in amount or extent จำกัด
restrict – to limit จำกัด
mechanism – a set of moving parts in a machine that performs a task ตัวจักร
invest – to spend money on something in order to make it better or more successful  ลงทุน
supervisor – someone who is in charge of an activity, a place, or a group of people such as workers or students ผู้ควบคุมดูแล, หัวหน้างาน
acquire – to get; to obtain ได้มา
ensure – to make certain that something happens or is done  ให้การยืนยัน, รับรอง, ให้ความมั่นใจ
model – something such as a system that can be copied by other people   น่าถือเป็นแบบอย่าง, ต้นแบบ