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L.A. Unified School District to Give Students 640,000 iPads by End of 2014

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Apr 12, 2001
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The Los Angeles Unified School District is planning to give all of its students free iPads by the end of 2014 as a part of a program launched by the district, reports CITEWorld. The program, which will see a total of 640,000 iPads handed out, is part of an initiative to improve education for students and to ready them for the workforce by enhancing their technological skills and comprehension.

ipad_for_education-800x319.jpg
The district plans to distribute 31,000 iPads to 49 of its 1,124 K-12 schools to begin with during the first phase of the program, with plans to begin distributing the rest throughout 2013 and 2014. Each of the iPads will come preloaded with digital textbooks from educational books publisher Pearson.
"The most important thing is to try to prepare the kids for the technology they are going to face when they are going to graduate," said Hovatter. "This is phase one, a mix of high school, middle school, and elementary students. We're targeting kids who most likely don't have their own computers or laptops or iPads. Their only exposure to computers now is going to be in their schools."
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Apple has long had a heavy focus on the educational market, discounting its product lineup for students. Last month, Apple announced that it had been awarded a $30 million deal from the LA Unified School District to bring iPads into its schools and the company has also been in talks about a huge educational deal with the Turkish President.

Article Link: L.A. Unified School District to Give Students 640,000 iPads by End of 2014
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2013/07/26/l-a-unified-school-district-to-give-students-31000-ipads-this-year/
Shrink

Shrink

macrumors G3
Feb 26, 2011
8,929
1,727
New England, USA
When I was in school, we were given stuff, too. A stone tablet, hammer and chisel to take note. Pretty advanced stuff for us!

It seems to have changed a little over time...:p
 
I

iMikeT

macrumors 68020
Jul 8, 2006
2,304
1
California
Oh why oh why oh why doesn't the LAUSD hire more teachers and improve the current state of the schools in the district, especially in the poorest of areas, instead of buying 31,000 iPads?

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for technology and the future but I also believe in strengthening the foundations of academia before a top-down approach.

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Shrink said:
When I was in school, we were given stuff, too. A stone tablet, hammer and chisel to take note. Pretty advanced stuff for us!

It seems to have changed a little over time...:p
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Stone tablet huh? Did you go to school with Moses? :p
 
charlituna

charlituna

macrumors G3
Jun 11, 2008
9,636
816
Los Angeles, CA
iMikeT said:
Oh why oh why oh why doesn't the LAUSD hire more teachers and improve the current state of the schools in the district, especially in the poorest of areas, instead of buying 31,000 iPads?
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They can't. Not with this money. It came from a bond that was voted on by the tax payers and has very firm restrictions on how it can be used. Hiring teachers isn't one of those approved uses. To change it would require a whole new vote etc.
 
ArtOfWarfare

ArtOfWarfare

macrumors G3
Nov 26, 2007
9,560
6,059
iMikeT said:
Oh why oh why oh why doesn't the LAUSD hire more teachers and improve the current state of the schools in the district, especially in the poorest of areas, instead of buying 31,000 iPads?
Click to expand...

I'm sorry, but I have two things to say about that:

1 - It's ludicrously expensive. Employees in general are expensive - they're the most expensive thing most businesses have. Salaried unionized government employees are in an expense category all to themselves - for every teacher they hire that's 100+ undiscounted annual iPads they can't get. They could afford maybe 310 teacher-years if they chose not to get the iPads.

2 - It's inefficient. Most teachers can handle class sizes of 30-40 students - I seriously doubt that they have class sizes larger than that right now, given most schools aim to have 12-18 students per teacher.
 
V

Val-kyrie

macrumors 68020
Feb 13, 2005
2,107
1,419
Shrink said:
When I was in school, we were given stuff, too. A stone tablet, hammer and chisel to take note. Pretty advanced stuff for us!

It seems to have changed a little over time...:p
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At least you were give your stone tablet. We had to make ours, and that was after we bought the hammer and chisel from the school.:D
 
Shrink

Shrink

macrumors G3
Feb 26, 2011
8,929
1,727
New England, USA
ArtOfWarfare said:
I'm sorry, but I have two things to say about that:
2 - It's inefficient. Most teachers can handle class sizes of 30-40 students - I seriously doubt that they have class sizes larger than that right now, given most schools aim to have 12-18 students per teacher.
Click to expand...

I'm assuming you are a teacher, or the assertion highlighted might be considered ridiculous.

Giving those students in need of some additional attention is impossible in a class of 30-40 students.

Perhaps the teachers you know feel a class size of 30-40 is a good size...my ex, who was a teacher, and the other teachers I know say different. Giving the kids enough individual attention requires a class size just a bit smaller than 30-40.

I believe there is more than enough research to support the assertion that a class size of 30-40 is way too large for effective teaching.

(Since I don't have a research source for that statement, take it for what it's worth.)
 
D

Desterado

macrumors newbie
Jul 5, 2010
11
0
Let's keep something in mind. They're giving them to students who don't have computers at home?

When they say give, are they letting these students take these home? If so, this is a terrible idea.

Students who cannot afford computers at home are probably the poorest and least likely to treat this property with care.
 
I

iMikeT

macrumors 68020
Jul 8, 2006
2,304
1
California
charlituna said:
They can't. Not with this money. It came from a bond that was voted on by the tax payers and has very firm restrictions on how it can be used. Hiring teachers isn't one of those approved uses. To change it would require a whole new vote etc.
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So this is where 0.01% of the county tax I pay goes?

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Shrink said:
That guy with the beard? He was a year behind me in school.

Not sure if he made anything of himself...he was a cut-up in school.
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Perhaps this is what he looked like in his youth....

spicoli2.jpg


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Shrink said:
I'm assuming you are a teacher, or the assertion highlighted might be considered ridiculous.

Giving those students in need of some additional attention is impossible in a class of 30-40 students.

Perhaps the teachers you know feel a class size of 30-40 is a good size...my ex, who was a teacher, and the other teachers I know say different. Giving the kids enough individual attention requires a class size just a bit smaller than 30-40.

I believe there is more than enough research to support the assertion that a class size of 30-40 is way too large for effective teaching.

(Since I don't have a research source for that statement, take it for what it's worth.)
Click to expand...


I hear the same thing from the primary education teachers I know, some say 25 is too much to handle.
 
J

Johnny Vegas

macrumors member
Jul 7, 2011
65
124
Say what you will about a textbook, but at least it's durable, relatively inexpensive, can be used outside, and not a target for thieves.
 
ValSalva

ValSalva

macrumors 68040
Jun 26, 2009
3,783
259
Burpelson AFB
Education has always been very important to Apple. Get them while they are young, just like the tobacco companies used to ;)

But seriously, how is this anything but good news?
 
charlituna

charlituna

macrumors G3
Jun 11, 2008
9,636
816
Los Angeles, CA
litmag01 said:
It's a good thing Apple Configurator exists.
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Exactly. The assumption here is that LAUSD is just going to hand them to the kids and let them have at it. But you can bet they will still be district property and thus restricted with firm rules about getting expelled for damaging school property if you try to restore it etc to get around said restrictions.
 
oneMadRssn

oneMadRssn

macrumors 603
Sep 8, 2011
5,978
13,990
Shrink said:
I'm assuming you are a teacher, or the assertion highlighted might be considered ridiculous.

Giving those students in need of some additional attention is impossible in a class of 30-40 students.

Perhaps the teachers you know feel a class size of 30-40 is a good size...my ex, who was a teacher, and the other teachers I know say different. Giving the kids enough individual attention requires a class size just a bit smaller than 30-40.

I believe there is more than enough research to support the assertion that a class size of 30-40 is way too large for effective teaching.

(Since I don't have a research source for that statement, take it for what it's worth.)
Click to expand...

I've read some interesting research that suggeste that the students per teacher metric is flawed for the very reason you brought up; it doesn't contemplate individualized attention.

For example, (1) the traditional model x random students per one single teacher; say 20 students for simplicity.

However, (2) some new teaching methods use 100 students per four specialized teachers; each teacher having a different specialty. The theory goes that if a certain student needs more attention in a certain area, he/she will be more successful if they see a teacher who is a specializes in that area or for that problem; which extrapolated out results in a more efficient environment.

So both result in 20 students per teacher; but really the two situations are vastly different.
 
myrtlebee

myrtlebee

macrumors 68030
Jul 9, 2011
2,677
2,242
Maryland
I would imagine most kids already have an iPad in their home. This will be a good excuse to fool around in and outside of class under the excuse of "reading textbooks". I hope when they say "give" they mean lend to each student during class time and not give to them to keep for free. What a waste of resources.
 
P

ps45

macrumors regular
Feb 19, 2010
192
13
myrtlebee said:
I would imagine most kids already have an iPad in their home...
Click to expand...

You are kidding right? People can't really be that sheltered, and haven't been since Marie Antoinette!

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Desterado said:
Let's keep something in mind. They're giving them to students who don't have computers at home?

When they say give, are they letting these students take these home? If so, this is a terrible idea.

Students who cannot afford computers at home are probably the poorest and least likely to treat this property with care.
Click to expand...

Wow, what an obnoxious comment. So you'd be happier if the program restricted access to those who already own a computer? Your disdain for those kids who happen to be born poor... mindblowing. And ignorant.

I don't think this is money well spent, but not because it's being targeted to help those in need, just because I think it should be spent on other things.
 
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