Must be nice.

I wonder what $30M would do to reduce class sizes, bring back arts education, add after school programs, and other things the was know actually make a difference -- if we didn't just give that money to Apple instead.

The district's $30 million will only cover the first 31,000 iPads.

That leaves 609,000 more iPads to buy.

At a cost of $589,354,838.71 based on the per unit cost of the first 31,000 iPads.

Bet on it.

before and during their course studies on their ipad.

Good catch.

(The Sero 7 LT would be a good choice.)

Last edited Sun Jul 28, 2013, 10:47 AM - Edit history (1)

That's nearly equal to the number of current instruction staff (Wiki): "During the 2011-2012 school year, LAUSD . . . had 45,473 teachers"

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-05-05/california-teacher-layoffs/54767514/1

To turn 'teaching' into a low-paid, semi-professional job.

Not a career, a job.

Sure, school districts might still require a four year degree (lord knows they are a dime-dozen anyway these days), but a 'teacher' in the ultimate fulfillment of the Bush-Obama-Paige-Spellings-Duncan era in public education will be little more than a supervisor of kids at computers.

It is so sad ... outside of spying on Americans, the closest alignment of Obama with Bush has been in education policy.

Reduce the teacher pool, reduce their salaries and benefits, bust the unions, put computer billionaires in charge of formulating education policy and turn children into test-takers -- we've been twenty years now on the corporatization of American education -- is our children learning yet?

Uh?

ities, such as LA. There is no such rush to try to "reform" suburban systems that do a generally good job of educating whites and middle-class kids.

I live in a western suburban Denver school district.

And, unfortunately, the pace of 'reform' here is hurtling onwards.

More and more testing, less and less teacher freedom, more and more non-union charters, a narrower and narrower curriculum, more and more good teachers leaving early, more and more 'security' and cops in schools, zero-tolerance rigidly enforced ... so on and so forth.

The lay-offs here have slowed, and the rhetoric of 'reform' is softer than in urban areas, but it is still the same 'No Child Left Behind' and 'Race to the Top' diminution of teachers and creativity and diversity in education.

My spouse retired after 30 plus years as a teacher and my child just graduated from the same top-ranked DC area suburban system. We've all noticed the problems you mentioned. The changes are not for the better, even though the education received is still excellent.

That comes out to what, about $967 per iPad? Isn't that double what they retail? I get there are logistic and overhead costs, but wtf?

Also, why aren't there any discount applied to such purchases? Why not use cheaper alternatives to bring similar technology and functionality to the classrooms? This sounds like a major waste of money that won't offer much bang for the buck...

we are still at $150 over RETAIL...

someone is getting a hell of a kickback.

sP

When is public education going to embrace open source and open hardware?

the machines will be pre-loaded with educational software".

From: http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-lausd-chooses-ipads-for-pilot-20130618,0,6957151.story

That poor author, I don't know if it's possible for someone to get more things wrong than that, wow.

How about FORCING signing an agreement for Apple to build them in the USA. Then maybe some of those kids will be able to find jobs when they finish school.

It's not rocket science, give them the BOM, give them the price limits, let them negotiate the whole thing.

It'd be like the whole Young Entrepreneur Foundation approach, except the students would be directly involved.

And if anyone mocks this idea, there are students that have designed Cubesats. If kids can make a satellite, that orbits the planet, they can design a tablet.

... designing the cubesats, but it's not the same thing. I have helped design and construct cubesats, and other ham radio satellite payloads going back to the 60's and 70's with the original Project OSCAR group. As cool as the satellites are, they are not in the same league as trying to design and fab a tablet computer. Both are complex, but with a different set of initial conditions and design constraints. The basic (but huge) difference is designing and constructing a one of item, versus something that must be built in mass quantities for a consumer market.

Again, hat's off to the kids building the sats. I also used to work with high school kids in high school robotics competitions. It was a pleasure working with some bright, energetic young people, and restored my faith in some of today's youth. But they will need a bit more education and experience to design mass market items.

Most Cubesats are based around similar chipsets, it's not like the students or even the adults are going around making unique chipsets for each satellite. Same with a tablet. Grab a common ARM chipset, grab a common screen resolution and screen size (7" seems to be pretty standard for low cost systems) and there you go.

In many ways this is easier than a Cubesat because you don't have to spend a lot of effort on networking or communications and it doesn't have to be space hardened nor does it have to be based around an experiment.

And if you're really that concerned about the inability of students to do this, just sneak in a BOM (Bill of Materials) for a tablet design that the schools have already decided upon (cost being the primary factor, something under $75 each). If the kids pick it, then they won't know any better, if the don't, then you say "well, you missed this design, which we're going to choose, but good work!"

... that would be a challenge for the kids. Lots of people can throw components together and make a working system. It's the design for mass manufacturability that takes some experience.

Sigh.

Good intent, at least.......

At first when I read this I thought the $30 million was going to buy 640,000 iPads. That's a mere $50 per iPad. Get me one, too!

But no: it said "The board will use the $30 million in tax money to fund the first 31,000 devices but will look for additional funding in order to secure the remaining tablets."

Hello? $30 million for 31,000 iPads? That's $967.75 per iPad. Twice as much as you could get one for at the local Apple store. I think the LA Board of Education needs to get some calculators first. They're cheap.

did the math above. They are looking for an additional $1/2 T. Some reporter should ask where do they plan to get an additional $1/2 T.

the machines will be pre-loaded with educational software".

From: http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-lausd-chooses-ipads-for-pilot-20130618,0,6957151.story

So what education software is included besides one Pearson mentioned and Apple's software suites which are included anyway on all their products?

Is our children learning?"

—George W. Bush, Florence, S.C., Jan. 11, 2000



iPads automatically detect which direction is "up", and presents the book accordingly.

So are kids will to be smartnesser, futurely.

?

Not all bigots are gopers

This makes zero sense.

Or is it the result of corporate exploitation of sorry saps like you who think you can solve problems with poor communities by funding useless PR campaigns?

Yeah, how could that possibly be important in the field of education?

No. They will cost money just like the millions for these iPads.

This is a win/win for corporate America yet again. So, L.A. decided on iPads. San Diego may decide on Surfaces. Why not? They can run Pearson's Core Courses, an office suite, and mp3 playing software like iTunes.

Maybe San Francisco should go Android. Wow, now wouldn't that be funny?

And a lot of the non free ones come licensed with the educational iPads.

"Someone is making money somewhere" is not by itself a persuasive argument against a practice. I make money tutoring many of my students; they're still better off for it.

"1500 free ones" is not comparable to "any book published at any time", right?

My point is that these eBooks are not all free. Where is that money coming from? Will there be more corporate deals with publishing houses? Will there be more taxes levied? Will they make other cuts to other aspects of education like teachers, facilities, and other programs like art and music? Not all licensed books will come with these iPads as has been stated in the article.

I am a capitalist and have been self employed for almost 30 years. I never made the argument you are setting up as a straw man. The money has to come from somewhere. If millions are spent on iPads because they could provide 'any book published at any time' when in actuality there would be additional costs, how is this cost effective and the best choice for education.

And before you lay some tired argument on me about me being a Luddite. I grew up literally with tech, program computers and have for decades, and have worked on systems you probably have never heard of.

without jumping through hoops for corporate do-gooders, safe neighborhood schools and a host of other things BEFORE the district hands out iPads and calls it good.

the poor kids may be the big losers.

I've done a few ad hoc experiments. If you give two classes with middle-class, wealthy, and poor kids the same test but one class gets it on paper and the other class on computer, the middle-class and wealthy kids will do about the same in both classes. The poor kids will, on average, do significantly worse with computers. They know this. Some online standardized tests spot kids taking the computer-administered version a few points to make up for this.

A lot of the poor kids also are a bit more gullible when it comes to stupid websites. They are more easily distracted. When they see no point in "playing school" they more readily turn to games. And if they come to school ill-prepared, it means stringing extension cords all over the classroom to get their computers up and running.

And then the final winning trait: The equipment itself. They're more likely to have their equipment stolen and, if it breaks, the least likely to have it fixed.

And that's just student-side. Teacher-side it's a whole different ball of wax, as you come to grip with all the software and how to both get the kids to use computers *and* use them for learning. Because the more open Internet access, the more likely that low achieving kid is going to be going someplace useless.

to a school that uses Ipads. First there is software on them that restricts websites and most games. When they are in school, the teachers can access the student Ipads and monitor what they are actually doing on them and if they have something like angry birds on them; not only is it removed the student faces a penalty for downloading inappropriate software.

The upside to Ipads: backpacks are lighter. The schools can easily save millions on textbooks and use that money for Ipad purchases and upkeep. My Kid's school supply list consists of: 2 pencils, 1 notebook, ruler, a backpack is optional. Because the weight of the backpack is minimal, they can be used year after year. Usually I spend almost $100 on supplies and had to replace the backpack 1/2 way through the year because the straps broke or the bottom got holes and tear from the corners of textbooks - even the expensive ones.

Homework is emailed to the teacher when completed. My kid had several teachers who would e-mail projects back to him (as long as he sent it to them 2 days before due) with notes on how to improve it for a better grade. he would improve it and still turn it in on time.

The downside: they break and kids being kids I would recommend the parents to get an otterbox. I think this is one reason why the Ipads are slated to cost more. The schools supply a case (not a good enough one) and a carrying bag. We are required to pay $50 for insurance. Still that is about 1/2 of what I would spend on school supplies.

between the well to do and the poorer students. I know people who have gotten iPads for their 2 year olds, who learn to use them quite handily. Poor kids need to have these tools too if there is going to be some parity.

However, as an iPad owner, I have to ask whether a tablet is the best technology for education. I use mine rarely, and only as a kind of toy. If I want to do real research or write anything, I use my computer. True, a tablet is good for storing books and reading material (though I personally do not use it for that at all). And you can look stuff up ... so you have a dictionary, encyclopedia, thesaurus, simple calculator, etc. at your fingertips. But I find all this to be better done on a real computer; apps of newspapers, magazines, etc. are almost always inferior to the web site; writing is very difficult on a tablet, etc.

Of course, buying laptops for every child is way too expensive. So I'm cool with this project, but they're paying way too much for buying these units in such bulk.

PS: Make them turn off or lock the auto-correct. Not only does it stink; kids need to learn to spell for themselves.

But that "something" should mean another live teacher.

They'd better have a healthy supply of spares available if students have to rely on them.

Awful.

They have Google, meaning that they're as likely to write a report on tree octopus and the Portuguese war in N. India as they are to do anything else academic.

Now, NBA basketball--both watching it online, reading about their favorite players, and playing the game--there's a winner.

Where the teacher or others can electronically swoop in, grab screen shots, download, collect, and most importantly watch, control, and restrict student access. To anything.

reading the virtual version of Encyclopedia Britannica and taking quizzes before unlocking a certain amount of game time.

That's what I'd like to see!

Apple is capable of making a special IOS for this!

or loss.

However this is a good thing. My kids Already use ipads for learning. It has helped my dyslexic son enormously allowing him to keep up with kids his age in language arts.
We use GarageBand to record in their own voice notes each day after school and combine them with their favorite music then play back the notes before tests.
There are so many books available for free that kids can read on their ipad as well. When they encounter a word they don't know or cannot pronounce they can immediately highlight it, get a definition, hear it pronounced correctly and/or read an encyclopedia entry for the word or phrase. It's like having an entire library at their fingertips.
Also, I created an app using Montessori tecniques that helps them with math: addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.
This is the future. And it can be great!
Shouldn't be used as an excuse to shed teachers or cut art programs though. And Apple should be giving schools across the nation a huge discount, though.

Good old-fashioned textbooks work better for learning. And you don't need to worry about batteries running out, crashes, software upgrades, and students using them for entertainment purposes.

But then again it's always annoyed the hell out of me that calculators are used in my kids' elementary and middle schools.

With so many schools struggling to stay open and budgets being slashed, I don't think this is a wise expenditure.

What about kids who don't have internet access at home? Who pays for damaged devices? What does the district plan to do when those iPads start showing up in pawn shops?

All of the above have been problems in the school district here, with no good solutions offered.

This is the stupidest fucking profit-driven bullshit.
How many more must die?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/iphone-theft/