L.A. Unified School District Suspends $1 Billion iPad Contract with Apple

[Snowy_River]

A school I used to work in purchased dozens of iPads and the teachers didn't have the first clue what to do with them. I'm all for getting technology in to the classroom but just throwing money at it and hoping it all works out is not the answer. It made me feel sick to see tens of thousands of dollars spent on iPads and they were primarily used as mediocre cameras.

This is truly the problem. There have been some pilot studies that show that the educational process can be greatly enhanced through use of technology like iPads, but it depends on teaching the teachers how to use it effectively. This is where most programs like this one fail. They provide for purchase of the technology, but don't have adequate or even any provision for proper training of the teachers as to how to effectively integrate the technology into their curriculum. And a one-day seminar on how to use an iPad is not the kind of training needed. This is a whole new area of teaching that requires ongoing education.

If you're talking Mark Twain, then maybe so, but I'm guessing the lifespan of my grade school science textbook that taught me our solar system has nine planets is a bit finite...

This is an exceptionally fair point. Most textbook publishers have contracts with school districts which require the districts to buy updated editions every two or three years. And these text books can cost $200 per book. The cost of the text books can pretty easily get over $1000 for a complete set...

 

[Fenez]

While there are plenty of arguments to be made, including the politics involved in the decision, the role of technology in the classroom, and the success of implementing such technology, one thing I don't believe anyone can argue with is the decision to go with Apple.

I wouldn't run any institution on Android, Galaxy Tabs, whatever it is Asus puts out, or my favorite, the Polaroid tablets found at Big Lots!

Ridiculous statement, based on what? Educational software can be installed on any device...if its just to replace textbooks then I would imagine any device would suffice. As far as internet browsing its also basically the same, unless there is some specific reason for using apple then why should taxpayer have to pony up for an overpriced device when anything else would work just fine?

 

[peterh988]

If you're talking Mark Twain, then maybe so, but I'm guessing the lifespan of my grade school science textbook that taught me our solar system has nine planets is a bit finite...

I left school in 1983, and we had science books that talked about the possibility of man visiting the Moon one day still being used, and held together with tape.

Hopefully things like this could be better upgraded with a digital library.

 

[danielsutton]

A book has an 'infinent' lifespan. This software as well as an iPad maxes out at 3 to 5 years.

Books have lifespans too, there are new editions that come out every so often. Researchers are learning new things along with the students and updated informations goes into each edition. I do agree though that textbooks in their own right are ridiculously overpriced. Some of them can go for $150 or $200 just by themselves. The textbook market needs a serious overhaul too.

 

[NachoGrande]

And yet nobody blinks twice when professional sports teams toss around hundreds of millions on a 25-man roster.

Because that's PRIVATE money. Schools are PUBLIC money, huge difference.

 

[Jimrod]

I'd like to know how successful the pilot program was for actually educating children better. I'm quite skeptical in educators' abilities to use technology effectively for education.

Actually it's surprisingly effective. My wife is a deputy head teacher at a UK Primary school and they started using iPads to great effect a couple of years back. It's helped the shy kids communicate better and gain confidence as well as increasing the productive output of the classes in general. They still have to do all the usual things in the lessons so don't risk becoming socially inept.

 

[numlock]

Professional sports teams with money from seasons passes, tickets, accessories, toys, clothing, games, overpriced food/alcohol, etc and public schools that are paid for with taxes are two completely different things

why no mention of stadiums?

but i dont think the poster you quoted was thinking about whether its tax money or not but how frugal we are when it comes to investing in the future but my interpretation could be wrong.

 

[joneill55]

Hope the sales guy's wife hasn't already spent the commission

#Fatladysings

 

[sseaton1971]

A book has an 'infinent' lifespan. This software as well as an iPad maxes out at 3 to 5 years.

Yeah... Books never have outdated information in them! If they do, you can simply replace the pages by tearing out the outdated information and pasting in the current information.

 

[velocityg4]

Um... you seem unaware of the cost of other things schools buy that they no longer need to buy, IE, textbooks (did you happen to go to college where you had to actually buy them yourself? One semester can easily go over $800 in books. I think one semester I ended up spending $1050 on books,) and computers.

The schools I went to kept using the same books for at least 10 years. Longer if there were still enough in good enough shape for their classes. Also with 655,494 students and 31,748 teachers they should get massive discounts on books. Considering that there are many books on any subject competing with each other. Discounts should be even higher on e-textbooks since there are no printing costs.

The typical university also get about a 25% profit margin on books. So the school district should be getting at least that much of a discount. Although it should be much higher. As they are buying far more books than even the largest university.

 

[Rogifan]

I agree. At this point in time (and space!) iPads are just a toy, a way to show the parents that the school system is advanced and leading children to a bright new future.
As much as iPads are cool - I am surprised that there is no ePad by Apple - I think that a kid would learn more useful things from a Raspberry Pi rather than an iPad (or any other tablet).

iTunes U is just a toy?

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Actually it's surprisingly effective. My wife is a deputy head teacher at a UK Primary school and they started using iPads to great effect a couple of years back. It's helped the shy kids communicate better and gain confidence as well as increasing the productive output of the classes in general. They still have to do all the usual things in the lessons so don't risk becoming socially inept.

No, no, no. You're supposed to say it was a waste of money and iPad is just an expensive toy that's only good for browsing the internet.

 

[Orlandoech]

Because that's PRIVATE money. Schools are PUBLIC money, huge difference.

Bingo! That's exactly right. Huge difference

 

[iMerik]

Actually it's surprisingly effective. My wife is a deputy head teacher at a UK Primary school and they started using iPads to great effect a couple of years back. It's helped the shy kids communicate better and gain confidence as well as increasing the productive output of the classes in general. They still have to do all the usual things in the lessons so don't risk becoming socially inept.

That's good to hear. I'm of the generation where most of us weren't using the Internet until we were in our teens and many of us only touched computers in the elementary school's first ever computer lab. And as I was in college, most of my professors were of the generation that started using computers and the Internet even later in life, and when they used them for education, it was to create Power Points for easier repeating of material.

So I imagine now as we get more educators in the workforce that group up with technology teaching children that know no other world than an Internet connected world, we will be much more successful at teaching better with technology as you described. This gives me hope.

 

[GeneralChang]

Overpriced Pearson software.

Well, considering that pretty much every book or piece of software targeted at students or schools is hilariously overpriced, I'd say that's a fair assumption.

 

[Earendil]

Huh, I have a general education text book from the 1890s that is more or less still up to date in many concepts.


Unless you are doing a PhD (and a handful of masters), anything within the span of 3 years doesn't make a different at that point in your education. This is especially true of a K-12 school district.

I would consider it a huge problem in American public schools if we think "general education" up through high school only requires knowledge and ideas from pre-1890. Like, HUGE.

I also find it humorous (in a scary way) that you admit that the concepts in your book are "more or less" up to date, as if we're okay with the next generation being "more or less" correct in their understanding of life and the world.

Children already struggle to find relevancy in the things we make them learn. The least we can do is not spend their time learning incorrect or il-informed information. Few things make me want to toss a source of education down the drain as much as finding incorrect information. I don't know if iPads are the answer, but we have the ability to keep all information up to date and as accurate as possible. To not do so seems like a huge disservice to young minds learning about concepts and ideas for the first time.

 

[GeneralChang]

Professional sports teams with money from seasons passes, tickets, accessories, toys, clothing, games, overpriced food/alcohol, etc and public schools that are paid for with taxes are two completely different things

Actually, a lot of sports franchises are supported (at least in the upkeep of their venues) by local taxes. It's obviously not a majority of their income, but it's a significant percentage for a lot of them.

 

[Rogifan]

I wonder who at Apple was responsible for this deal and if they're getting taken to the woodshed by Cook.

 

[danielsutton]

Oh, the irony.

Exactly what I was thinking! The reason U.S. students are so far behind in education is because old textbooks are being "recycled" over and over again, and they are not learning the more up-to-date information. The good thing about tablets (iPad in this case) is that new content can be loaded onto them as it becomes available. Once a book is printed, that is it, there is no adding new information to it at a later time.

 

[PocketSand11]

That seems like a tremendous amount of money for a school district to have.

Not have, borrow

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I was happy until I read the last line. "The district is expected to purchase up to 18,000 laptops with Apple and Pearson invited to bid on this new contract." Another disaster waiting to happen.

 

[TXCherokee]

I'd like to know how successful the pilot program was for actually educating children better. I'm quite skeptical in educators' abilities to use technology effectively for education.

My wife is a teacher and the iPad can be a useful tool in improving education.

That said, it is not a tool for every student in every classroom. The two programs she has participated in came to the same conclusions:

The iPad is great for teachers as a personal tool as it allows them to move around the room freely while 'Airplaying' to a common large screen.

The iPad is also great for very high and very low (academically) classrooms, for various reasons on which I could write an essay.

However, if a school district is determined to put technology in the hands of every student, the best solution is often....ready....a Chromebook. It gives most students access to everything they need to be more successful in the classroom. Research, (some) textbooks, YouTube (yes, there are plenty of educational videos on YouTube), Google Docs for reports, not to mention the less expensive price point.

AND with all that, if the districts do not train their teachers to properly use these tools, and some don't, it's a big waste of money. It's not the teacher's abilities you should question. It's the district's choice of tools and training.

 

[PocketSand11]

Exactly what I was thinking! The reason U.S. students are so far behind in education is because old textbooks are being "recycled" over and over again, and they are not learning the more up-to-date information. The good thing about tablets (iPad in this case) is that new content can be loaded onto them as it becomes available. Once a book is printed, that is it, there is no adding new information to it at a later time.

What about math (calculus level and below), English, and history need to be up-to-date? I went to an excellent high school, and we had plenty of books from the 70s. And no freaking iPads or digitized textbooks.

 

[Heltik]

I guess I could see where over time (years), this could eventually turn the corner towards saving money vs traditional books. However in the school districts where these have been deployed (I think we even have them up here in Northern VA?) -- have there been any crime events (muggings) associated with this?

Books should never be looked at as a cost, but an investment. If iPads improve the education of students, as a progression of the technology of educating, thus better equipping them for the modern world, allowing for greater future opportunities, wealth generation and taxation, then that may be a worthwhile investment. That is the cost basis that should be considered.

If the bid process favoured Apple, one of the major employers in California (tax dollars now, and work/revenue/taxation in the future) over some of the competitors such as Samsung, who reported act without ethics in stealing others' technology, which is to the detriment of those who create it (including America), then is that really a negative thing? And who are the other competitors? Motorola (Lenovo), HTC, LG etc. - all foreign companies. Steve Jobs felt Android was a stolen product... And it's effectively commoditising Apple's ingenuity for the benefit of China and the far East.

I might argue it's sensible to adjust the bid process to promote US innovation, that can be sold to the world at great profit, on US soil.

 

[GeneralChang]

Huh, I have a general education text book from the 1890s that is more or less still up to date in many concepts.


Unless you are doing a PhD (and a handful of masters), anything within the span of 3 years doesn't make a different at that point in your education. This is especially true of a K-12 school district.

This attitude is why a huge portion of the population still refers to glass as a "slow-flowing liquid." At least iPads can be used to access up-to-date information for the three to five years they're in circulation.

 

[mackinmike]

kids are better off with a laptop like chromebook. ipads are limited on getting work done. if they need an ereader, a cheaper tablet will suffice. you don't need an ipad for that.

 

[RangerOne]

A book has an 'infinent' lifespan. This software as well as an iPad maxes out at 3 to 5 years.

A book has nowhere near in infinite lifespan. A typical textbook lasts 2-3 years in a K-12 school. They get quickly damaged, and their content becomes obsolete (some subjects more quickly than others). They are very expensive temporary resources.

A typical iPad can easily outlast a book (the bulk deals often include cases to protect them). And for those of you who missed it, when you buy apps or textbooks on an iPad they get routinely updated. Textbooks cannot without re-printing at full price. This means that the typical lifespan of a digital textbook is much greater than a traditional textbook as long as the publisher doesn't get greedy and start launching "new" products vs updating their existing ones.

If anyone is skeptical about digital books, download the FREE E.O. Wilson's Life on Earth book from the iBooks store. It is fantastic, it will blow you away, and it'll make you want to go back to middle school.

I fully support the idea of a digital curriculum. There are some challenges, but I believe the benefits greatly offset the scales. A digital curriculum is so much more immersive, so much more effective at focusing a student's attention and engaging them, that it is well worth the cost.