Apple Scores $30 Million iPad Contract from L.A. Unified School District [Updated]

[anonpez73]

This is ********.

LAUSD is a complete joke.I know someone who works at a school in this crappy district and man does she have some stories. She works in one of the "newer" schools that were recently built and she says it's a ********.

Hell, she said one time the electricity went out and the district refused to send the children home. It was gone for five hours and during those five hours there was no way the kids could have done anything. There was no food for the kids made and their friggin toilets wouldn't even work during this time!

And this stupid district thinks it wise to spend 30 million on iPads?

 

[Squeak825]

Which is why Apple is trying to change the way the textbook game is played. All iBooks textbooks are $14.99 or under, but may not be resold. Publishers charge $100+ for textbooks because they know that ~90+ of the time people aren't going to buy a new textbook - they're going to buy someone else's old textbook. Apple is hoping that by dropping the number of resells to 0%, publishers will cut their prices by 90%.

Ha ha ha! Hold on a second, while I catch my breath from laughing.

Apple's iBooks textbook initiative, by all accounts, is an utter failure in K12. The amount of books sold is a rounding error to the annual sales that K12 publishers put out in other digital formats.

There are no compelling reasons to purchase a book through iBooks, as opposed to the other digital means that the K12 publishers provide, considering they understand the customer base much better than Apple.

 

[malexandria]

What, you think regular desktops are cheaper?

$299 Dell Inspiron 660s with CELERON processor, WITHOUT a monitor ($99).
$399 above WITH monitor.

$329 iPad Mini


And the Dell will use about 10x more power.

you are being a bit disingenuous. iPads consume power, kids can't do real work on them - unless you really think teachers are going to read and grade papers on an iPad. And who said they are getting minis? They are I'm assuming getting regular sized iPads and I would assume probably the 32-GB variety which is $599, but say they get the regular 16 GB that's $399.

Schools receive MASSIVE PC Discounts - which, I'm not sure what Apple's education discounts are, I do know I purchased several million dollars worth of Apple equipment and the aholes only gave us a 13% discount. Not to mention a lot of educational software on PC is also free.

 

[Squeak825]

My company bid on this deal. Here are the facts: This 30 million dollar purchase is part of the 500 million dollar complete purchase LAUSD will make within the next year and a half from Apple. So the writer is unaware/not divulging the total story. This is an amazing win for Apple and Apple did everything they could to win it. 30,000 role out in Sept, 300,000 in December, and another 300,000 the following December.

LAUSD is paying for this from a roughly 5 Billion dollar renovation bond. So 10% of that budget is going to putting tablets in every kid and teachers' hands. The RFP they put out had to be contorted some to make it all legally feasible to spend this money this way. None of it could go to teachers. It includes five years of high-end educational software, services, apps, insurance, and unless Apple was unwilling to comply with the requirement, a FIVE YEAR theft, loss, accidental damage, software fix, and anything else you can imagine coverage. (I think Apple will take a huge loss on this deal. Imagine 500 dollar ipads in every kids back pack in a very poor neighborhood. The theft on this is going to be huge. Either Apple will be losing a ton, or else an insurance company dumb enough to insure will go under.) Yes the kids get to take them home. Maybe not the K-3 level, but all the rest will.

The PC did not lose this deal because the can't compete at $199. No one who bid offered anything close to $199. Everything offered was at $650 up to $1150 dollars to cover the rediculous requirements LAUSD put on them. Who ever will own a tablet computer for five years??? Apple won because they were good and also the cheapest. The liability was huge so very few companies were willing to take all the risks LAUD required, and in the end it looks like it will be a big financial loss to Apple to win the name LAUSD unless LAUSD decided not to hold Apple to the same standard they required of everyone else (which has been LAUSD's policy in the past).

The State's new Common Core requirements will mean most schools will go a similar direct in the next couple years. LAUSD is ahead of the curve. However I'm not sure they are doing it in a realistic fashion. I am sure they are going to have a ton of troubles because they don't know what they're doing to make it SUCCESSFUL. (we could tell by how they wrote the RFP). Good luck Apple!

My company too also bid on it, and I can agree with everything you say.

With the device, they wanted full K-12 Math and ELA (English Language Arts) content to be resident. Assuming the 5 year buy, and one device per grade, that is close to $150 for the content alone.

Oh, this is also 3 years after LAUSD spent $50M to buy a new K-5 Reading program. So, they want to buy another already?

 

[PrometheusGeek]

What a stupid waste of money. When Public Schools are struggling to keep teachers and are always under the gun for money. THIS is what they spend it on?

Ignorance.

They already spend as much or more per student on textbooks. Many textbooks will be included in the price of the device, besides which any additional resources which need to be purchased can be at a fraction of the cost of printed materials. In addition, the technology streamlines the processes by which assignments are distributed and work is handed in, saving money on supplies. Lockers or other secure storage spaces (which cost to install and maintain) become obsolete because this single device can hold the entire curriculum and workload. There are myriad ways in which the single, expensive device can offset a multitude of other expenses. Schools that have gone this route are saving money, students are carrying fewer heavy books in backpacks, and the efficiency of their work and learning is enhanced. That last reason is the biggest reason that entire school districts are embracing technology. Just as computers were a major step forward in enhancing productivity and learning in the 90s, tablets do the same today, only to a much greater degree.

 

[malexandria]

The main difference NOW is that Microsoft CANNOT GIVE their stuff away... Nobody WANTS it. They burned so many bridges in the last 3 decades and never really delivered on making education better.

And somehow an $600 iPad is going to magically make education better?

 

[lordofthereef]

Always makes me laugh, Americans going on about how poor they are. Third world country. Maybe you should stand in front of the Foxconn factory doors and ask for donations for struggling American schools.

Huh? Who is saying that we are a third world country? We are in a deficit, and we are discussing spending more money on, what some would consider, a luxury item. Nobody is asking for a handout here...

 

[Constable Odo]

Microsoft was totally pissed over this Apple contract. Microsoft feels that Apple products are way overpriced and iOS is a crap OS for children to use. MS claims the Surface RT is a more useful tablet than any iPad could ever be. Greedy Microsoft has tens of thousands of education and business contracts and has had them for many years. Microsoft basically cornered that market. They feel Apple doesn't deserve to have any. Honestly, how badly could a small contract like this hurt Microsoft? This is probably a one in ten thousand fluke and unlikely to ever happen again. Microsoft is willing to charge only $199 per tablet and thinks the L.A. Board of Ed. made a big mistake.

 

[malexandria]

My company bid on this deal. Here are the facts: This 30 million dollar purchase is part of the 500 million dollar complete purchase LAUSD will make within the next year and a half from Apple. So the writer is unaware/not divulging the total story. This is an amazing win for Apple and Apple did everything they could to win it. 30,000 role out in Sept, 300,000 in December, and another 300,000 the following December.

LAUSD is paying for this from a roughly 5 Billion dollar renovation bond. So 10% of that budget is going to putting tablets in every kid and teachers' hands. The RFP they put out had to be contorted some to make it all legally feasible to spend this money this way. None of it could go to teachers. It includes five years of high-end educational software, services, apps, insurance, and unless Apple was unwilling to comply with the requirement, a FIVE YEAR theft, loss, accidental damage, software fix, and anything else you can imagine coverage. (I think Apple will take a huge loss on this deal. Imagine 500 dollar ipads in every kids back pack in a very poor neighborhood. The theft on this is going to be huge. Either Apple will be losing a ton, or else an insurance company dumb enough to insure will go under.) Yes the kids get to take them home. Maybe not the K-3 level, but all the rest will.

The PC did not lose this deal because the can't compete at $199. No one who bid offered anything close to $199. Everything offered was at $650 up to $1150 dollars to cover the rediculous requirements LAUSD put on them. Who ever will own a tablet computer for five years??? Apple won because they were good and also the cheapest. The liability was huge so very few companies were willing to take all the risks LAUD required, and in the end it looks like it will be a big financial loss to Apple to win the name LAUSD unless LAUSD decided not to hold Apple to the same standard they required of everyone else (which has been LAUSD's policy in the past).

The State's new Common Core requirements will mean most schools will go a similar direct in the next couple years. LAUSD is ahead of the curve. However I'm not sure they are doing it in a realistic fashion. I am sure they are going to have a ton of troubles because they don't know what they're doing to make it SUCCESSFUL. (we could tell by how they wrote the RFP). Good luck Apple!

Jesus $500 million on THIS? Makes this an even WORSE story. They could build or renovate schools for this kind of money and they buying ***** IPADS?

 

[LagunaSol]

Jesus $500 million on THIS? Makes this an even WORSE story. They could build or renovate schools for this kind of money and they buying ***** IPADS?

Perhaps the future of education isn't about more brick walls.

 

[OrangeSVTguy]

Is there special software or iOS installed that would keep kids from playing angry birds all day while in school? I hope it's better than that easily crackable At-Ease software they had to keep us kids out of the system back in my days of using computers in the classroom.

 

[nishishei]

I am the IT director for a school district in Pennsylvania; while not nearly as large as LAUSD in May we committed millions of dollars to give ever teacher a 13" MacBook Air and an iPad as well as every student an iPad. We paid for the bulk of it by doing away with a majority of the textbooks and consumables and moving them digital.

Why in hell is it necessary for every teacher to have a 13" MacBook Air?

 

[donutbagel]

Youreally thing the cost of an iMac means anything? Look at the BIGGER budget. What does the empty desk with no computer on it cost? Figure there is a floor and a foundation under the floor and there are kights inthe ceiling above the desk add up the TOTAL cost of that 100 square feet of space before you plce a computer in it. The school has alraady spent rought $20,000 for the space the desk sits on. Yes, you need space for walkways and to pull backthe cair and so on so a 10 by 10 foot square is reasonable. Buildings cost about $200 per square foot to build, and that is for cheap buildings.

So assuming the university has spent $20K why go cheap on the computer by trying to save $400?

This goes for businesses too, the cost of the actualy computer is NOTHING. The computer is writen off on a three year schedule. The cost is the building and the employee who uses the computer. The person useing the computer costs maybe $200K over the life of the commuter.

Schools are the same, the cost of the $2,000 computer is trivial.

I know the current prices of this particular iMac and its 2007 counterpart because my cousin just sold his 2007 iMac and got the new one, and we researched together. Assuming that the computer costs $1400 vs the $400 old one (which it does), why spend the extra $1000 per computer? It's totally unnecessary, and then there's something else like a bathroom in terrible shape.

 

[nishishei]

Perhaps the future of education isn't about more brick walls.

The future of education isn't some iPad with a 3 year battery life either. I'm pretty sure the iPad hasn't done jack squat to mankind besides making us bigger consumers. The whole generations of people who built the Boeing 747, sent us to the moon, discovered fission, invented computers and the Internet all grew up on old fashioned books and paper.

And good luck getting rid of physical schools when both parents work in America. It's pathetic we are spending $500 million on a disposable toy beholden to Apple's planned obsolescence in one school district while many schools don't even have air conditioning. It just goes to show, give a bureaucrat money and he'll figure out a way to use it and then come back for more money in the next trumped up crisis.

 

[donutbagel]

Why in hell is it necessary for every teacher to have a 13" MacBook Air?

There is some advantage in everyone having the same computer, especially if the IT sucks.

 

[PracticalMac]

But iPads can be lost. And since they're more desirable than textbooks by thieves, will be a magnet.

Not sure if it's still the same now, but when I was in K-12, if I lost a textbook, I had to pay for the replacement. If it's going to be the same for iPads, that's going to be a huge expense for those poor families when their kid(s) lose or damage that iPad.

"Find my iPad"

It works, just ask the hundreds of thieves cooling off in prisons.

...and I am sure if it was lost, parents pay for it.
Ever see how much those text books cost? Would not be surprised if a backpack full of those books cost same as one iPad Mini.

But iPads can be chewed on (and damaged when dropped).

Case. Even an inexpensive one will do the job.

At "a cost of about $678 per device," you can buy a basic laptop PC for 1/2 or 2/3 of that.

$329. Mini (16GB)
$459 with cellular (if they insist).
$499 / $529 for iPad 4 (16GB)

Cheapest Dell laptop:
$399 Inspiron 15, and THAT is ON SALE.

Cheapest HP laptop:
$449 HP Pavilion g6t-2000 Notebook PC

Cheapest Acer NETbook:
$248*

*Runs Windows 8, 1.1 Ghz Celeron CPU (a very, very low performing brand of CPU)
Windows 8 - 64-bit version - Intel® Celeron® 847 processor (1.1GHz) - 2GB DDR3 memory - 320GB hard drive - 11.6" HD widescreen CineCrystal™ LED-backlit display (1366 x 768) - Intel® HD graphics - Intel® NM70 Express chipset - webcam - stereo speakers - HD audio - multi-gesture touchpad - full-size Acer FineTip keyboard - Wi-Fi - HDMI® - card reader - 4-hour battery

Since the Dell and HP really are not as "cheap" as you claim, more like comparable to the iPad, that leave the Acer.
Get the Acer netbook I listed, try it for a week, let us know if it will work for a school better then an iPad.

 

[donutbagel]

And somehow an $600 iPad is going to magically make education better?

If they do it right, it should cut book costs (meaning a net decrease in spending) and require students to carry less. I don't think it would bring very many advantages besides that, but they're surely going to pretend.

 

[Squeak825]

If they do it right, it should cut book costs (meaning a net decrease in spending) and require students to carry less. I don't think it would bring very many advantages besides that.

No. Publishers will expect close to the same per-year student costs for instructional materials.

Creating it digitally does not make it significantly cheaper.

 

[donutbagel]

No. Publishers will expect close to the same per-year student costs for instructional materials.

Creating it digitally does not make it significantly cheaper.

There's a substantial paper and printing cost. But I said "if they do it right" for a reason. Publishers might be able to get away with charging the same exact amount for digital as for paper since they figure that people have to buy it anyway. In which case, the iPad would only lighten the load.

I've seen a couple of schools switch to iPads or use digital books, and it hasn't gone well. One of them gave every student an iPad but only put textbooks for science class on it.

 

[blasto2236]

Isn't it illegal for companies to almost "give away" their goods to grab a foothold in companies and organizations?

I remember when Apple was starting loose a lot of share in education (the 90's) because Dell and MS were essentially giving away their goods to education institutes...

Apple also lost a big part of their foothold at that time because their computers weren't as good as the competition and the company itself was in disarray.

My school system switched from Macs to PCs in the mid-late 90's, and then when Steve came back, BOOM! Bondi Blue iMacs for all!

 

[Squeak825]

There's a substantial paper and printing cost.

No, there isn't. As mentioned before, printing costs are only about 1/10th (or less) of the total costs of the book.

 

[nishishei]

There's a substantial paper and printing cost. But I said "if they do it right" for a reason. Publishers might be able to get away with charging the same exact amount for digital as for paper since they figure that people have to buy it anyway. In which case, the iPad would only lighten the load.

Most books nowadays are published in China. The paper and printing cost is very marginal. You'll save maybe 10-15% at best. You don't save that much money from the Kindle edition vs the paper edition. And you shouldn't expect textbook publishers to charge much less than that either for the electronic version. Most of the cost is in the intellectual property.

In return you have a fixed cost of a $600 device with a finite shelf life (which could easily buy at least 1 year of K-12 textbooks for the student). The lithium batteries on the iPad will not hold a charge forever and neither would Apple support any iPad version for more than 3-4 years (see iPad 1).

This is horribly wasteful and fitting for an education system that jumps from one fad to the next, while our students suffer. God forbid a student has to do some fractions on paper or write a legible essay on paper.

 

[LagunaSol]

The future of education isn't some iPad with a 3 year battery life either.

The future of education is not in brick & mortar buildings.

I'm pretty sure the iPad hasn't done jack squat to mankind besides making us bigger consumers.

I'm pretty sure you don't understand the impact of technology on education and how rapidly it's changing.

The whole generations of people who built the Boeing 747, sent us to the moon, discovered fission, invented computers and the Internet all grew up on old fashioned books and paper.

Yes. And those that came before them scratched out hieroglyphics on rock. The world marches on.

It's pathetic we are spending $500 million on a disposable toy beholden to Apple's planned obsolescence in one school district while many schools don't even have air conditioning.

Yes, let's focus on air conditioning the space where ineffectual learning is taking place.

 

[PracticalMac]

No. Publishers will expect close to the same per-year student costs for instructional materials.

Creating it digitally does not make it significantly cheaper.

They already make the books digitally (in company, before sent for publishing).

So they don't pay for printing, distribution, warehouse.

All that adds up enough to make a noticeable difference.

Even 10% savings on hundreds of books is a large sum.

 

[nishishei]

I'm pretty sure you don't understand the impact of technology on education and how rapidly it's changing.

Why don't you try to enlighten the rest of us, Jack, because that was extremely persuasive.