Apple Considering Bid to Provide 15 Million iPads to Turkish Schools

[madmanmax3000]

Interesting. I'm actually headed to Istanbul in a couple of weeks for a vacation. Just don't block my airline check-in ability and I'm a happy camper.

I was there this time last year, and honestly it's a wonderful city with great people. However, during my stay YouTube was blocked.

Make sure you go to Istiklal Cadessi and walk the whole thing. It's a great place to hang out during the day, but especially at night.

 

[kiljoy616]

But it has to be made in turkey so I don' see it happening. in the end they will go with some crap from MS any one want to bet. Lets bet.

----------

Too bad Turkey is about to block most of the useful internet.

12,000 pages blocked and hundreds of keywords blocked from search.

Welcome to a Muslim country, not the Turkey of the late 80's now that was good times, what a different country then. US Army had its perks. Oh South Korea I miss you, and you Japan I miss you even more.

 

[Consultant]

But it has to be made in turkey so I don' see it happening. in the end they will go with some crap from MS any one want to bet. Lets bet.

iPad is already the market leader in
- usability
- apps availability
- price to quality ratio
- support

If Turkey wants something cheap and crappy then they'll go with something else, if they want something that can provide more benefit per buck they'll get the iPad.

The manufacture in Turkey part might screw up the whole thing though. That means Turkey requires billions of dollars in investment into local jobs and facility. Probably not happening, unless their wage level is similar to that of China and Brazil.

 

[touchmonkey]

But it has to be made in turkey so I don' see it happening.

Everyone seems to be ignoring this critical, deal-breaking factor.
iPads will not be made in Turkey.

 

[gnasher729]

Number seems a bit high. There's a population of 78 million people. That would be about 20 percent of the population.

 

[ozkl]

Turkey has been providing free printed books to all puplic school students for years. If Turkish government give away iPads to students, they wont have to spend money on printed books every single year. Considering all the things that iPad can do, it is really wise to provide students with iPads

 

[Navdakilla]

I prefer the good ol' paper and pen for notes

e-textbooks are the greatest tho

 

[andrewlgm]

When will the US present its students with iPads and require apple to produce them at home? God only knows how many jobs that would create.

 

[carlgo]

No sane company would ignore a potential order of 15 million for anything!

Getting into the evolving Middle East is a smart move.

Corporations are agnostic. Censorship, the Armenians...does that effect profits?

What would happen if some states got together and said they would buy millions of Apple products if they were made in the US...!

Whoops, andrewigm just said that.

 

[kdarling]

Turkey has been providing free printed books to all puplic school students for years. If Turkish government give away iPads to students, they wont have to spend money on printed books every single year. Considering all the things that iPad can do, it is really wise to provide students with iPads

It'd have to make best use of the ~$400-500 cost.

It depends on what grade level you'd start giving out iPads to, and how long you expect them to stay working, unbroken and unstolen. (Unless you work out a nice deal with Apple for extended warranties and breakage swaps.)

 

[shrtmkr]

Interesting. I'm actually headed to Istanbul in a couple of weeks for a vacation. Just don't block my airline check-in ability and I'm a happy camper.

After you visit all the classic tourist stuff, go and see Ortakoy,Bebek and Kurucesme areas(coastal areas next to the Bosphorus with high quality cafes and restaurants. Also do make a reservation and eat at one of the restaurants in Reina one night(google,popular nightclub with good food) and also eat at an amazing Italian restaurant called mia mensa(another google for you,sick views of the bosphorus). Stay at W istanbul if you can(no sea views but awesome hotel).



And as for the 15 million ipads to Turkish schools I bet that won't be happening. They will probably prefer some other low cost tablet.

 

[ozkl]

It'd have to make best use of the ~$400-500 cost.

It depends on what grade level you'd start giving out iPads to, and how long you expect them to stay working, unbroken and unstolen. (Unless you work out a nice deal with Apple for extended warranties and breakage swaps.)

As you said, I think they would figure out a way that is not too expensive for both Turkey and Apple.

 

[2 Replies]

As you evidently have never experienced an iPad or technology being used for anything other than entertainment, it is pointless to debate this or point out that just putting a Google like search engine in the hands of anyone extends by several orders of magnitude what can be covered in a text book or the cache of knowledge a teacher may hold.

*face-palm*
My MSCS and bachelors in math trump your blatantly false assumption of my technological experience.

As you evidently have never experienced the internet
.... or technology being used for anything other than an educational crutch...
I'll point out that having access to a search engine does NOT mean the information found will be at all accurate or of ANY educational value.
Additionally having access to Google, or a computer does NOT make you smarter, and is in NO WAY a replacement for a teacher.
(Do you/will you also leave your kids in front of a TV and expect the boob-tube to raise them?)

There's a REASON teachers ban calculators from classes when kids are learning basic math.
It's the same reason calculus students learn the long and hard way to integrate before they learn the simple-quick way.
If you have to rely on those devices for the mere BASICS, then you'll never excel in anything beyond those rudimentary skills.

Crib-notes, shortcuts to the answer and technological crutches are educational handicappers, not educational tools.
Sure, access to computers can be invaluable as typing stills and general computer use are very useful later in life, but teaching a kid to use an iPad instead of a computer is not doing him/her any good.
(Especially with Apple's accelerated hardware obsolescence.)

Apple wants a mental foothold, they don't care what they're used for, but you can keep deluding yourself into believing that iPads will be used solely for education, and not entertainment purposes. iPads in elementary/grammar classrooms are just today's equivalent to the 80's vapid "educational tool" Topo (used in conjunction to Apple ][ computers).

 

[Consultant]

There is some discussion on iPad in education.

One example: say a math test. With electronic testing, each person's questions could contain slightly different values so cheating will be much harder.

 

[clibinarius]

When will the US present its students with iPads and require apple to produce them at home? God only knows how many jobs that would create.

It would create 0 jobs in the US because Apple is way too cheap to hire American laborers.

 

[Les Kern]

No sane company would ignore a potential order of 15 million for anything!

If they have to be MADE there?
I'd put my money on Apple turning down the estimated (by me) 4.5 billion bucks gross.

 

[rsocal]

*face-palm*
My MSCS and bachelors in math trump your blatantly false assumption of my technological experience.

As you evidently have never experienced the internet
.... or technology being used for anything other than an educational crutch...
I'll point out that having access to a search engine does NOT mean the information found will be at all accurate or of ANY educational value.
Additionally having access to Google, or a computer does NOT make you smarter, and is in NO WAY a replacement for a teacher.
(Do you/will you also leave your kids in front of a TV and expect the boob-tube to raise them?)

There's a REASON teachers ban calculators from classes when kids are learning basic math.
It's the same reason calculus students learn the long and hard way to integrate before they learn the simple-quick way.
If you have to rely on those devices for the mere BASICS, then you'll never excel in anything beyond those rudimentary skills.

Crib-notes, shortcuts to the answer and technological crutches are educational handicappers, not educational tools.
Sure, access to computers can be invaluable as typing stills and general computer use are very useful later in life, but teaching a kid to use an iPad instead of a computer is not doing him/her any good.
(Especially with Apple's accelerated hardware obsolescence.)

Apple wants a mental foothold, they don't care what they're used for, but you can keep deluding yourself into believing that iPads will be used solely for education, and not entertainment purposes. iPads in elementary/grammar classrooms are just today's equivalent to the 80's vapid "educational tool" Topo (used in conjunction to Apple ][ computers).

What time warp do you live in? The future is already here with mobile tech, and the more we take advantage of it the better off we all are. Using iPads is just the next step in computing, just like when computers were put in schools. It is only going to enhance teaching and keep people moving forward, I've watched both of my children excel in school and moving with the tech and they still learn how to do math etc. without computers as well as using them side by side while still learning the "basics". I have also seen my 11yr old daughter having problems with some math homework and being able to use "google" to help her figure out problems when there is no teacher around, without giving her the answer but actually showing her how to figure it out the way they are being taught in class. My kids have and still are being taught how to do the work as well as learning how to use tech to better themselves for the future. The tech we put in people's hands will not do them any good unless we teach them how to use that tech. BTW playing games on any computer is just another part of learning how the tech works, and if used in proper moderation I feel, is just that much more knowledge. Some of those gaming "kids" are the ones designing some of the best software.

 

[Abazigal]

I see this and don't think "Aww those kids will be SMART" ... because I was a kid, and using a calculator didn't make me smart, actually doing the work did.
And we all know these will just be used primarily for entertainment, to play with (don't even TRY to claim otherwise).

My main thought about this is; "Interesting... Apple apparently has SEVEN AND A HALF BILLION dollars to burn".
As a shareholder, I'd rather see that money go to either product development, or to reducing costs and prices of the expensive hardware.
And as a iPhone owner, I'd like the same. :-/

I am currently teaching in a school where the students in each class are provided with their own laptops, and I can safely say that once trained properly, students who start seeing computers as a tool for knowledge creation can actually do good work on it, rather than spending all their time on gaming, facebook or youtube.

I'll point out that having access to a search engine does NOT mean the information found will be at all accurate or of ANY educational value.
Additionally having access to Google, or a computer does NOT make you smarter, and is in NO WAY a replacement for a teacher.

That's where you start teaching the children how to interpret and analyze the information they find, rather than just blinding copying everything off the net. I feel these are important life skills that should be taught early, and certainly cannot be taught off a book.

You are right in that it likely cannot replace a teacher, but a skilled teacher can use the internet to help make the children self-directed learners. Have a science query? Google it up, instead of always asking the teacher. E-readers like raz kids can pronounce words to help struggling readers. Online quizzes provide instant feedback, rather than the child having to wait for the paper to be marked and returned. The possibilities seem endless.

Hopefully, Turkey remembers to upgrade their wireless infrastructure to support the use of so many ipads.

 

[elppa]

If they were to fit the smart covers in Turkey, would that count