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AN AMERICAN HELD hostage for six months in North Korea arrived home today after his surprise release, stressing he had been well treated and voicing support for two other United States citizens still in detention.
Jeffrey Fowle was reunited with his wife and three children in his home state of Ohio, after Pyongyang allowed a Pentagon plane to fly into the North Korean capital on Tuesday to collect him.
Fowle entered the North in April and was detained after allegedly leaving a Bible in the bathroom of a nightclub in the northern port of Chongjin.
North Korea heavily restricts religious activity in the isolated country.
“Jeff would like you to know that he was treated well by the government of the DPRK (North Korea) and he’s currently in good health,” his family said in a statement, read by their spokesman.
They thanked the State Department, the Swedish embassy in Pyongyang that acted as a go-between to secure his release, former US ambassador Tony Hall and everyone who offered “love, support and prayer” during Fowle’s detention.
North Korea said the “criminal” Fowle was freed as a “special measure” on the orders of leader Kim Jong-Un following “repeated requests” from US President Barack Obama.
In a brief report, the official KCNA news agency said Fowle, 56, had been handed over to the US authorities in accordance with relevant legal procedures.
But US Secretary of State John Kerry insisted Washington, which has no diplomatic ties with the North, had made no concessions to Pyongyang to win his release.
“No, there was no quid pro quo,” Kerry said during a visit to Berlin, adding the United States was “very concerned about the remaining American citizens who are in North Korea.”
Fowle was smiling broadly as he stepped off his plane carrying his luggage after arriving to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, US television showed.
But his family said Fowle’s thoughts were still with Americans Matthew Miller and Kenneth Bae, who remain in North Korea having been sentenced to work in hard labour camps.
Tthe family said:
Although we are overjoyed by Jeff’s return home, we are mindful that Kenneth Bae and Matthew Miller continue to be detained.
They added that they “understand the disappointment their families are experiencing today that their loved ones did not return home with Jeff.”
His family said he now needed time to adjust to being home.
Washington has condemned Pyongyang over the detentions, saying the men were being held as political hostages to extract diplomatic concessions.
The 24-year-old Miller was also arrested in April after he allegedly ripped up his visa at immigration and demanded asylum. Miller was sentenced to six years’ hard labour.
Korean-American Bae, 42, was arrested in November 2012 and sentenced to 15 years’ hard labour.
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iPads are not cheaper..still paying for ebooks at same price as printed books..and only licensed for 3yrs. Only benefit is lighter school bag.
@SFAnkleTapper: seriously?
@SFAnkleTapper:
Ebooks come free with my kid’s paper books. The paper stays in school and the ebooks are at home. Best of both worlds.
@SFAnkleTapper: why does it have to be an iPad? Why not a much cheaper android tablet
@SFAnkleTapper: Perhaps you should read some books/ebooks comparing the environmental impact of printing books to that of creating ebooks before reducing it down to a mistaken single benefit of a lighter school bag.
@Lukevic101:
Androids are far less secure and can be manipulated or “rooted” far easier.
Apple should be the system of choice in this situation.
They’re more expensive, but you don’t need the highest end one. A 6th generation 32gb is around €350.
@Lee ‘McGeek’ Kelly: And are you taking into account the environmental impact of manufacturing the tablet in the first place?
@SFAnkleTapper: My daughter has tablet for last 2 years and the bag is still busting going out the door, I can barely lift it. Educational ebooks are bundled with printed book and vice versa, no additional cost.
@Eimear Cooney: no saving either plus you have to buy iPad/tablet.
@Sequoia: A 32gb lenovo tablet is 140e. Why would a child be rooting a tablet? A child profile can be set up on an amazon fire for example limiting the number of apps the child has access to.
@SFAnkleTapper: the Minister for Education, Dessie Ellis TD, has announced that brand new iPads will be issued to all school children, except in private schools. “Let the rich parents pay for their own”, the Minister said.
@Sequoia: to be clear, I’m all for tablets being used in schools, whether its iPad or android. It’s the future. And I like your ideas of a pupil being able to learn remotely if required, e.g. a snow day etc.
@SFAnkleTapper: not the first time you’ve been found out for spouting your rubbish
@Sequoia: Apple chosen because of an arrangement with the dept of education. Android tablet would be far better than any iPad.
@SFAnkleTapper: Thankfully not everyone has such a narrow sighted view and are therefore willing to embrace technology..The benefits offered by I Pads are so varied and too vast for this forum.The problem is typically Irish approach of half introducing a measure which no matter what it is will never work..WE NOW HAVE 2 SYSTEMS AND PARENTS ARE EXPECTED TO PAY FOR BOTH..Its time somebody actually made a decision and stuck to it and had the strength of their convictions.
@Gerard Casserly:
I respectively disagree.
Unless you are buying a high end quality brand device such as Samsung there is a massive difference in build quality
@Lukevic101: mate, a Google Chromebook would be the most secure (impossible to crack), cost-effective and even shareable device (if needed) for schools as proven by 70% market share in the States.
They do know they can block all other apps during school hours, right?
I mean it’s a simple process to do & can even be done in bulk for all devices.
I think this is more a case of someone thinking they’re going to be great being all high tech & then not understanding how the tech works.
There’s a specific school suite produced by Apple (more expensive than android, but for good reason) that enables the teachers to monitor the students screens and help if needed. Students can also work remotely as an active part of the class so in the event of snow days or illness, school doesn’t need to be missed. Homework can be done & submitted online, parents can see work, contact teacher direct
Maybe the people introducing the technology should learn about it first. It’s not just all ebooks.
@Sequoia:
Yeah, I’m sending my kids to ET school in September. It’s pre-loaded by a company with something called ‘Wriggle’. You can’t use it like an ordinary tablet – no widely available internet, games apps and so on, it’s entirely educational and we were assured that the kids use books as much as the tablet in any case. As long as the tablet, in ET case it’s an Apple for its security, is properly prepared it shouldn’t have the problems listed above. Also makes the device much less attractive to steal.
@The Quare Fella: they are actually able to disable that software pretty easily. I have worked in an i-pad situation. I don’t like them. They have used and can be great, but I replied more on other learning tools
@Sequoia: we all managed to disable this software in school and used games and other apps instead of schoolwork
@Adam Ryan:
It’s not a software setting. It’s a profile set at bulk install by the computer setting up & installing the iPad.
It can’t be disabled without the password. If the kid has that, then they can disable but only the educator should have it.
@The Quare Fella: I hate to tell but the school mentioned in the report Ipads are supplied by wriggle . All with the same protections you mention, unfortunately the reality is very different.
@Sequoia: It is the way forward and a fairer way if not hung up on ipads.
@The Quare Fella: There’s ET schools in Ireland? Cool. Is Jim Corr running them?
Tablet thing is a complete con,
They are a distraction and effect the ability to concentrate, they are also not cheaper the physical books and they break much easier then a normal book.
I know of a few parents who have had to replace tablets during the year at great cost.
@Barry: One of the principle issues seems to be that of the books, the price of eBooks is showing little or no saving over traditional text books. If this can be addressed, and that would have to be done by either the Department of Education, or thinking outside the box and sourcing from a different supplier. Approaching a large eBook supplier (we all know who I’m talking about) with potential large order is unlikely to get much of a discount, if any. But approach a smaller eBook publisher, even abroad, if need be, may get a discount with a large order.
Then instead of using tablets we simply use USB devices, they’re tiny, cheap and portable. Homework can be emailed and when the USB’s are broken or lost, which with teenagers will happen, they can be easily replaced.
Why is it always iPads they want and not just ordinary tablets. That’s just snobbery. Dead right to give the two fingers to all schools that do this. Reading a text book is far better. Fair enough there is the weight but that is the only advantage. Your can flick through pages and highlight faster and read quicker in a book than any tablet which are limited to screen size. Kids would be technology zombies from morning to night with never a moment away from a screen and no way is that healthy.
@Ashley Rowland: few reasons
- Apple get contracts with schools
- A large amount of people use the term iPad to mean tablet like they use the term Hoover to mean vacum cleaner, this unforruntaly means when it comes to purshing they rather foolishly pay over odds for an actual iPad.
- Some people are snobs when it comes to devices and thing Apple products = the best, I see it all the time with iPhone users.
I say the above as a person who owns an iMac and previously owned a iPhone, Android devices are as good if not better and far cheaper.
@Ashley Rowland: you can search for words or phrases far quicker than a book
@Ashley Rowland: I read that one school in the UK insisted every child had an iPad, even if they had an android tablet already they forced them to buy an Apple device and had a monthly payment scheme to help poorer families give their meagre income to Apple. Pretty sickening when you consider Apple’s profit margins.
It’s actually proven that you will learn more from a textbook rather than an electronic device.
@Dominik Michalik: is it? Evidence
@Maurice Mulcahy: There is a lot of research on it. It is said that readers absorb way less information when they read something on an electronic device, they are also less likely to take notes, they get distracted easily and one more thing A 2005 study from Sweden found that reading digitally required a higher cognitive workload than reading on paper.
You can look up all the research, it won’t allow me to paste it here.
@Dominik Michalik: well, part of my post graduated course is based on e books and iPads (I tunes u ), and I can tell thee, even the more tech savvy students believe that they are a complete pain in the back side. For precisely the reasons you suggest
Sure, for an extra 100 quid you can buy the special pen or key board to make notes etc. (The in built key pad on screen is adequate ) But , guess what the first thing that is done ? They print out whatever notes and slides they can so that they have a hard copy. They will even print out a copy of the e books ,if they can get around the software that prevents it
There’s no substitute for the text books, especially in disciplines like law.(and unlike England, Irish legal text books are a rip off, insane money );
What the I pad is great for is storing legislation and court reports etc that you can consult with in an exam or in other situations . But for it to a be the ultimate go to source ? No chance
The I pad ,ebooks and I tunes is nice to have , but when even the younger students (ie ones who literally spent most of their life with post 2002 phones etc) want text books and complain of precisely the same thing as you pointed out
Definitely messes up concentration .
Schools are using technology wrong. If you’re trying to replace traditional text books then they’re never going to fully do that, but they should be used for apps and activities that CAN’T be replicated by textbooks. Also for teaching coding principles etc.
The problem is not the technology but the implementation. It should have been a cheaper tablet with restrictions so it could only be used for school work. Why they picked iPads is a mystery
@Craic_a_tower: I’d imagine alternatives do not provide the educational suite of support & policy based rules that ensure the students can not spend their time online, install other apps etc on. Its much easier to implement from a school IT point of view to ensure tablets are used for educational purposes only during school hours and devices can be supported/maintained long term without the children’s means to bypass school policies. Same reason you won’t find windows home edition on work pc’s.
The schools network security is another factor to be considered, with control of access to shared learning material on the schools network, while ensuring there’s no access to student records, teachers data etc. All that is managed by suites of software not readily available to cheaper tablets.
@Derek: None of that makes any sense. Nothing special about the iPad in this regard. The whole reason they are complaining is because they aren’t locked down correctly. The claim is they are playing games and browsing shops online.
I work in IT and all very easy and possible to use cheaper tablets locked down correctly. Teachers aren’t smart people they just happen to know stuff before the children do. This is a case of IT illiterate people picking one of the worst possible option and not knowing how or what to implement.
There’s emperical evidence that the use of tablets & “smart” boards in schools are all counterproductive. Books are better, HOWEVER, we need the department of education to lay down the law to stop the “updated edition” scam, and standardise reading lists. My brother was only 3 years ahead of me in school and I never once got to use any of his books second hand, school changed them yearly.
Why? Because as it turns out, most principals have tidy little relationships with some book publishers and authors.
Although I do remember some bad backpain from schooldays lugging around 6 or 7 massive textbooks with 7 copybooks and a hardback journal. Maybe we should just use printouts.
We were the first year in our school to use the ipads back in 2013, students used them a lot more for apps and games than school work, after junior cert they were only used by a small minority of students as over 90% of the year switched back to textbooks, they didn’t work with our year in my experience but other schools may be different
Yes but book publishers have enough influence to ensure this will never happen. To much money involved.
@Peter Cavey: considering the books are cheaper then a tablet and the ebooks, this isn’t about saving money for anyone.,
@Barry: that is by design from the printers. They make it so you at least have to pay the same as a physical book so they don’t lose money with printing. Reality is it should be cheaper for ebooks but the publishers won’t allow it.
My daughter’s school uses ipads but many of the teachers don’t like them so insist on books as well. They also have a hardback A4 copy for every subject. Her bag weighs a ridiculous amount. My understanding was that ipads were meant to do away with the physical books.
As for them messing on them in school? That’s a discipline problem. Ours get detention if caught and the ipads are locked down and monitored. No point a school introducing them if they don’t have the capacity to manage them.
@Melissa OHara: why not complain about the teachers being unreasonable. The weight of primary school bags has been an issue for decades.
@Melissa OHara: This is the same in my kids school,school bag is extra heavy now with hard back copies ,real books & ipad
There is a radiation issue here that is harmful to growing children. Smart technologies and Wi-Fi/5G are more hazardous than we have been led to believe.
@Mick Curtin: just wear your tin foil hat, you’ll be grand
@Mick Curtin: all debunked. People used to say the same about having electricity in buildings.
@Craic_a_tower: Please show a link to where the damaging effects of 5G to humans and the environment has been debunked. That seems a ridiculous statement.
@Mick Curtin: Every regulatory authority in the world says that Wi-Fi is safe when deployed within the limits they define. If there was consistent, reliable, repeatable evidence that said otherwise they would act.
There is no consistent, reliable, repeatable evidence that Wi-Fi is hazardous and those who are saying it is dangerous do not understand the physics.
People like you know eh… Gemma’OD.
@Burn_the_Witch: you show proof of your claims so I know which riddiculious claim needs to be debunked. I have no idea which “radiation” you are talking about. Radio waves can be called radiation for example. A smoke alarm actually has radioactive elements. People make claims of electo sensitivity and have proven to be not able to tell if a single is on or not. There will always be people making claims that have no proof. The still make the claims and sleep in home made faraday cages.
@Mick Curtin: The irony is, everyone is ignoring the fact that it’s the screens that are harmful. Displays give off UV light which are bad for developing eyes. It’s like shining a flashlight into them for several hours a day. Paper is much better.
When it comes to learning it is essential that there is a variety of engaging resources available to pupils. Suggesting that just one kind of resource should be used flies in the face of research. Ipads, workbooks, textbooks, PowerPoints, worksheets, artefacts etc. should be used to create an atmosphere conducive to learning and to develop a wide range of skills in learners.
Why so much focus on ipads? Android tablets are equally as capable and cheaper. If dealing with workbook text only and no supporting apps are required then a very good alternative would be a dedicated e-reader which are back-lit, have less reflective displays making them easier to read and a recharge lasts weeks such as Kindle paperwhite.
Simply from the cost and the weight of the books, digital devices should be used. And have students work from their hand written notes.
The elephant in the room is the profiteering by the publishers. Why does the government not take education out of the market. Book prices could be easily set and controlled. Currently, scandalous prices.
@alan: agreed… they should be investigated as a monopoly!
@alan: Goverment could buy a printer and pr…. actually no, maybe not..
The Fire for Kids is an 8 inch tablet which costs £127 including VAT.
It comes with 2 year no question replacement if broken and one year membership. That gives the safe place some my 3 year old can play and watch safely. This tracks all his usage and encourages or restricts certain behaviour. I have remote access to turn it off or on, set all sorts limits.
So the technology is there and it responible price. 10 inch is £199, ex VAT that could be £160. And that is retail with extras, that could be reduced a fair bit from there…
iPads have been used in the Finnish Education system since they became available. None of this lugging books and damaging their backs. I’m all for them. In Finland you rent the iPad
Used an iPad 2 for 6 years of school, got into university and doing my dream course, so did 75% of my class. Not a distraction if you don’t want it to be.
@Nathan Hayes: Unfortunately not all kids are as disciplined. School is partly about forcing kids into an education as many wouldn’t do it themselves.
I didn’t experience this though, so I’m interested to if there were problems with some of your classmates and the ipad, and how was your eyesight affected?
My daughters school wanted everyone to buy a new Ipad a few years back for ebooks
I said its grand (old iPad 1 and tablet not allowed) and we would use books
So we used 2nd hand books, left heavy ones in school and one at home – -lucky to buy 2 2nd books cheaper then new book
Within a few years, anyone using iPad in her class, also bought a BOOK as it was easier to study from and put notes on
Some classes took ages to kick off as issues with some kids getting books to work (this was a few years back so am sure better now)
2 advantages I see with books are
Also you can sell back books
Its easier to study from (for some people)
Promised the Tablet would do away with heavy schoolbags. The young fella is bent double carrying the bag because they all insist on paper versions of exam papers, work books and hard back copybooks. Absolute joke.
A combination of the 2 would be ideal. I like reading ebooks and love audio books above all but when it comes to wanting to retain information I prefer a highlighted hard copy I can flick through easily. So I if I want to become knowledgeable on a non fiction topic I generally listen to the audio version and then buy a hard copy for reference purposes. No need what so ever for expensive iPads though except perhaps for Art.
This appears to be a badly planned or badly implemented transition from books to digital by the school.
Plenty of MDM platforms out there to lockdown the devices on premises.
Did the school try to cut corners, did their providers have the correct skill set?
Just disable all games. Lock down the OS so only administrators can make changes. Remove access to the internet. Make the iPads only for text books. Simple really.
@Jane Alford: and how do they get into their e-books with no access to the internet Jane? Are they not accessed online?
@Joe Kennedy: No, they are downloaded onto the device. The Admins (teachers) would enable the internet and download the required books, then disable the internet log out and hand the device back to the pupil.
@Jane Alford: ah right okay. Sounds like an awful lot of hassle just to achieve that then though. I’d stick with textbooks if that’s all they were being used for I think.
Education minister brought in circular 0038/2018 to allow for students to bring own devices instead of purchasing through wriggle. It costs us 480 for a Lenovo device, all paper books plus ebooks.school couldn’t do a thing. Wriggle tried to sell us a Microsoft pro 2 at full price of 594 which was a discontinued device the previous year. Do yourselves a favour and bring your own device. Cost you all half the price.
most of the people saying yes are peole who went to school 25 years ago. Let the studdnts of today decide
A poor worker always blames their tools. There is software to block other networks and to only use a specific network. There is software to monitor students on how they are doing and what they are doing.
On another note my kids class got one of those tablet boards to replace the white board…. Been used little all year teacher apparently isnt good with technology…Kids in class find it funny as they spend alot of time showing her how to use it, when she does try..
The whole school textbooks are a scam these days anyway… they change them every year so you have to buy new versions although only a few chapters and words are rearranged. As for those on tablets… they tend to be web based or purchased on a rental system so you need internet to access them. again.. a glorified monopoly by the irish textbook sellers! as you cant buy any other books but theirs!
@William O’ Connor: This is terribly true. There is so much available for free online schools could be using (that wouldn’t require an ipad necessarily) that’s of far higher quality.
Does the hours using a tablet in school count as screen time , as its well publicised screen time should be limited…
Some people are gas, “you cant pass the book onto anyone else” Jesus im i favour to be it all digital and all tablets. Must be living in the stone age. Im working in IT and its moving faster than ever before. Sharing data and info is the norm now. An actual book is a waste of paper and will usually end up in the attic or a shelf
Very damaging to the eyes.Scrap them now.
Books should be used in schools and provided by schools, and kids should take pictures of what they need for homework. When it comes to exam years and studying, students just buy or borrow books for study, or study via materials on internet etc. Every student learns differently, I know I’d not have excelled with an iPad where others would.
God (the Christian edition lol ) help us if we ever have severe power cuts and csnt get access to the broadband to download and back up our I pads or have access to electricity to charge same
There’s a real risk of over reliance on technology And in particular electronic gadgets . I am communicating via I pad right now. It’s great for browsing the internet or as one might say serving the web. My post grad course incorporates the use of the I pad and iTunes you. It’s interesting but it’s no substitute for text book and I’m not the only one out of 400+ course (many of whom would have known nothing but I pads and apple products all of their life )
Firs thing that is done by many ? A dash to the printer to get a hard copy of the content in the e books
As long as they are allowed to buy their own tablet and not one that they have to buy from the school.
Tablets mean you can’t pass the book on to younger siblings.
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