iPad Tablets in LA Schools

RE: iPad Tablets in LA Schools

bluescreen — Wed, 20 Nov 2013 14:16:59 GMT

And then this happened--

iPad software licenses expire in three years, L.A. Unified says

Contradicting earlier claims, Los Angeles school district officials said Tuesday that their right to use English and math curriculum installed on district iPads expires after three years. At market rates, buying a new license for the curriculum would cost $50 to $100 each year per iPad, an additional cost that could surpass $60 million annually.

(iPad software licenses expire in three years, L.A. Unified says - latimes.com)

It's a shame that the iPad rollout has been marked with such incompetence-- makes it hard to have an intelligent discussion in LA about the right role of technology in the classroom.

RE: iPad Tablets in LA Schools

gadget.iom — Thu, 14 Nov 2013 17:52:46 GMT

It would be upto each individual school to decide whether purchasing tablet computers is worthwhile. The most disturbing aspect of this report is the above-market prices they were willing to pay and the apparently unsustainable loan terms they accepted. It would also seem that somebody is making a handsome profit from this venture for what seems to be a very poor service.

The US is not alone, companies have profiteered in the UK from similar schemes: BBC News - Schools kit scam 'could cost schools millions'

On the subject of 'Hacking' it would seem that the device profiles were removed in order to bypass content filtering that could (arguably) be considered too restrictive for out-of-school activities. Perhaps maintaining the tight security through proxy servers on the school wi-fi access points, and relaxing the restrictions over remote access would make the devices less worthy of hacking and teach some basic work/play dynamics that would ultimately be transferable to the working world.

RE: iPad Tablets in LA Schools

sqkybeaver — Wed, 06 Nov 2013 16:49:28 GMT

I'd hire anyone who went through school without an iPad or tablet over anyone who had one in school. if you can figure out problems without the cut and paste mentality of the internet.

IMHO supporters of "one tablet per child" programs have NO IDEA of how to effectively teach. Educational problems are all too often trying to be corrected by throwing money at it.

politically incorrect portion follows

And why the hell is the school censoring religious, political and what the school system(government agency) is labeling "extremist" sites. this is a terrible idea, and is nothing but brainwashing for a subservient future workforce. And very unsettling to someone who took oath to defend the Constitution.

RE: iPad Tablets in LA Schools

Former Member — Thu, 24 Oct 2013 22:16:25 GMT

see related news story here:

http://www.element14.com/community/community/news/blog/2013/10/17/lau-school-district-s-common-core-technology-project-stumbles-out-of-the-gate

RE: iPad Tablets in LA Schools

bluescreen — Mon, 21 Oct 2013 20:03:01 GMT

As someone with two kids in the Los Angeles public school system, I'm boggled that we don't have enough money to keep our school open throughout the year, pay for a music teacher or Spanish teacher, but we can give every kid an iPad. I suspect someone made a lot of $ brokering this deal.

RE: iPad Tablets in LA Schools

ntewinkel — Mon, 21 Oct 2013 19:11:39 GMT

"The school borrowed money on 25 year notes to purchase tablets with a three-year warranty..."

Sounds like the school board members need to take math class again [View:/resized-image/__size/16x16/__key/commentfiles/f7d226abd59f475c9d224a79e3f0ec07-68b41d48-b93d-4b5e-8dd5-4276b5abac19/contentimage_5F00_3.png:16:16]

RE: iPad Tablets in LA Schools

DAB — Mon, 21 Oct 2013 19:03:11 GMT

The only way this purchase would make sense is if they could eliminate 50% of the teachers with the tablets.

Otherwise this is another irresponsible act by administrators wasting huge amounts of money for little or no benefit to the students or their parents.

As a tax payer, I would be down at the next school board meeting asking for explanations and resignations.

Just my opinion.

DAB