Apple's ConnectED Program Has Helped Over 32,000 Students

[MacRumors]

Apple today announced that its ConnectED program, which saw the company donating $100 million in products to schools and teachers across the country, has impacted the lives of more than 30,000 students.

As of the 2016-2017 school year, there are 32,145 students at underserved public schools who have received iPads from Apple to bolster their education. Teachers have received more than 9,042 Macs and iPads and Apple has helped to install 189 miles of internet cable in schools.

Along with equipment, Apple sends Professional Learning Specialists to schools around the country to help administrators, teachers, and students get the most out of the technology.

The latest school to join Apple's ConnectED program is the Carver Elementary School in Indianola, Mississippi, the 66th ConnectED school. Carver Elementary School has 701 students, all whom now have iPads with educational-focused apps to work with.

Apple joined ConnectED, a $750 million corporate educational initiative announced by President Obama, in 2014 and has since remained committed to providing underserved schools with cutting edge classroom equipment. Other companies involved in the ConnectED initiative include AT&T, Verizon, and Microsoft.

Article Link: Apple's ConnectED Program Has Helped Over 32,000 Students

 

[pat500000]

Were they ipad pros?

Kids would be asking for apple care plus.
"Excuse me, mister. My ipad bent......"

"sorry kid, you don't have AC plus...by the way..didn't you get that for free through school? Yeah, you don't get AC plus."

-kid shows him the serial number of the ipad
"Mister, who are you fooling?"

kids will have it all....nothing wrong with educational purpose.

 

[blacktape242]

underserved public schools? sounds like the tax system isn't working right since they fund the crap public school system. and who suffers? the kids, good for apple to help.

 

[rmanbike]

Indianola, Ive been their, very small town in the middle of cotton fields. Providing Professional Learning Specialists is the key for initiatives like this to work. Good work!

 

[Z400Racer37]

Incredible benevolence, and I think it's fantastic, but it's going to take more than a change in medium to fix education. Get the government out, and allow for new ideas and methods to enter as well.

 

[DigitalCK]

$3,110.90 per student.

 

[CultMasterEd]

$3,110.90 per student.

You're not factoring in the support for teachers, the school and the infrastructure. Also, I doubt the students will be allowed to keep the iPads so it's more of an investment into the school so they can continue to provide.

 

[DigitalCK]

You're not factoring in the support for teachers, the school and the infrastructure. Also, I doubt the students will be allowed to keep the iPads so it's more of an investment into the school so they can continue to provide.

Irrelevant. The goal of the program is to impact as many students as possible. The teachers (and their equipment) are as much of a tool as the products given to the students.

The measurement of this should be how many students did they impact (as the headline sentence of the story conveys).
Remains $3,110.90 per student.

 

[CultMasterEd]

Irrelevant. The goal of the program is to impact as many students as possible. The teachers (and their equipment) are as much of a tool as the products given to the students.

The measurement of this should be how many students did they impact (as the headline sentence of the story conveys).
Remains $3,110.90 per student.

For now, that is true, but that also includes all the infrastructure, training and hardware to make a difference. As time goes on, and more students make use of what has been put in place with little to no additional funding, that cost will drop drastically.

 

[Zirel]

"189 miles of internet cable installed in schools"

What's a "internet cable"?

Is this "internet cable"?

 

[Porno]

that's what stockholders like to hear

 

[CrystalQuest76]

This program will and is creating a large number of participants of the apple eco-system. This will increase the likelihood of future loyal customers that will spend lots of money buying apple products and services. This program will have long term positive consequences on apple's profit.
[doublepost=1470866402][/doublepost]

underserved public schools? sounds like the tax system isn't working right since they fund the crap public school system. and who suffers? the kids, good for apple to help.

Public schools in the United States do not get to pick and choose the students they are required to teach. They have to teach the high-achieving gifted child as well as the developmentally-disabled child. Public schools are dependent on taxes raised from local property taxes and hope for additional funds from the state. If the school is in a poor area, there is not likely to be wealthy parents that can fund a PTA that pays for funding short-falls that cover for paper for handouts or up to date text books. Unlike many other nations, adults talk about educators with disrespect and contempt that is then passed onto their children that makes it very challenging for the teachers to then manage and teach those little monsters. Adults need to bread less so that there will be fewer children that are required to be taught and fewer children in the classroom to manage and educate.

 

[blut haus]

hate to be a negative nancy, but when I worked in higher ed the schools we threw money and ipads at ended up calling it a waste of time and money. You can't just throw tech at a problem and expect it will fix itself.

 

[CrystalQuest76]

hate to be a negative nancy, but when I worked in higher ed the schools we threw money and ipads at ended up calling it a waste of time and money. You can't just throw tech at a problem and expect it will fix itself.

Saw that as well. The teachers that were expected to integrate the technology in their classrooms and lessons need to be taught techniques and be provided practical lesson plan examples of how to utilize the new tools. It is also helpful for them to view demonstrations of the technology use cases.

 

[evsterstech]

Saw that as well. The teachers that were expected to integrate the technology in their classrooms and lessons need to be taught techniques and be provided practical lesson plan examples of how to utilize the new tools. It is also helpful for them to view demonstrations of the technology use cases.

This is the reason Apple included a minimum of 17 days of professional development to help make sound tech integrations into their instruction.

 

[Kajje]

189 miles of internet cable. Like that's a something. Why did this number made it to the infograph?

We did a quarter of that last year. But then again, our team is just 3 people.

 

[pat500000]

hate to be a negative nancy, but when I worked in higher ed the schools we threw money and ipads at ended up calling it a waste of time and money. You can't just throw tech at a problem and expect it will fix itself.

I know LA district schools had been facing these kind of issues....so i hear you.

 

[autrefois]

underserved public schools? sounds like the tax system isn't working right since they fund the crap public school system. and who suffers? the kids, good for apple to help.

Incredible benevolence, and I think it's fantastic, but it's going to take more than a change in medium to fix education. Get the government out, and allow for new ideas and methods to enter as well.

This sort of initiative is the very least Apple & other big companies should do, considering they are the main source of the problem. They and their execs leech off of society, making obscene amounts of money while often paying little or no taxes, watching communities suffer and children go without basic necessities.

Roads don't build or fix themselves, and schools don't fix or pay for themselves. Companies depend on infrastructure and public services like schools to run. In spite of this, they and their shareholders try to make sure that as little money as possible goes to the government and crumbling schools as possible.

A fundraiser to buy off a politician here, a threat of moving jobs abroad there, and they get what they want. They can suck the life out of entire communities, states, and countries in their never-ending quest for profit. And then they're praised as heroes when they do things like force teachers to use their own proprietary technology they've donated, even though millions of students can't buy basic supplies. Their teachers, who have very little job security and dismal salaries, often pay for supplies out of their own money. Apple helping kids by providing Macs and iPads is a rather self-serving project; it's advertising for Apple both through media stories like this and through the teachers and kids who use the technology. They are creating brand loyalty among minors and training future employees.

When the Apples of the world throw money at this or that problem, they should not be treated like warm-hearted saviors of humanity. I'm not saying this program did no good. But if some people are going to praise Apple as being incredibly benevolent, I think it's only fair for there to be a voice of dissent.

 

[sw1tcher]

hate to be a negative nancy, but when I worked in higher ed the schools we threw money and ipads at ended up calling it a waste of time and money. You can't just throw tech at a problem and expect it will fix itself.

Yup. Complete waste of taxpayer money.

https://www.macrumors.com/2015/04/15/la-school-district-ipad-deal-refund/

This is the reason Apple included a minimum of 17 days of professional development to help make sound tech integrations into their instruction.

Where was Apple and their "professional development" when the LAUSD paid millions of dollars to equip their students with iPads?

From https://www.macrumors.com/2015/04/15/la-school-district-ipad-deal-refund/ :

When the school district entered into a contract with Apple, it paid approximately $768 per iPad, which included approximately $200 towards a three-year license for math and English curriculum from Pearson that was meant to replace many textbooks and other learning tools. The materials went largely unused by the district due to technical problems and the quality of the software.

"As you are aware, LAUSD is extremely dissatisfied with the work of Pearson," according to an April 13 letter signed by general counsel David Holmquist. "While Apple and Pearson promised a state-of-the-art technological solution ... they have yet to deliver it."

Despite demands to fix the problem, the letter said that "the vast majority of our students are still unable to access the Pearson curriculum on iPads."​

 

[NightFox]

"189 miles of internet cable installed in schools"

What's a "internet cable"?

189 miles of internet cable. Like that's a something. Why did this number made it to the infograph?

We did a quarter of that last year. But then again, our team is just 3 people.

189 miles of "internet cable" is typically what you find behind your desk when you're trying to reconnect an ethernet, USB, ThunderBolt or DisplayPort cable that you've just accidentally dropped down there. It's specially designed to snag every type of connector ever developed.

 

[MikeyMike01]

"189 miles of internet cable installed in schools"

What's a "internet cable"?

Is this "internet cable"?

0/10 would not read again

 

[zulkiflim]

This is sad...

Just proves that when you are "undeserved" you get forced with an Ipad.
If you have a choice, you would return the Ipad for Mac books.

https://www.macrumors.com/2016/05/23/apple-replace-ipads-macbooks-classrooms/

Crappy Apple, hobbling the kids....Crappy move.
But hey its free, so the poor kids become guinea pigs

 

[HJM.NL]

I don't understand the infographic...

4.434 (hours)/32.145(students)= 0.1379 (hour). Thats the time unwrapping an iPad per student

Meaning they unwrapped it from the paper and never touched it after

 

[S.B.G]

Good to see Apple and other tech companies contributing in some way to the education of the kids. Students today have access to so many tools and information that I didn't ever imagine would be possible when I was growing up.

 

[wolfaaron]

My elementary grade siblings both have iPads in their classroom. They get to take them home once or twice a week to do homework or to practice something. I tried several of their programs and really liked them. I was just born a couple years too early and so I graduated with just paper and pencil. They can learn more in less time through interactive homework and they also waste less paper.