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

[The Escapee]

"...32,145 students at underserved public schools..."

That's a staggering 0.064% of the ~50,100,000 US K-12 population.

This program is noting more than feel-good window dressing, and a waste of citizen tax dollars. It is also a waste of Apple sales and marketing resources.

 

[tevion5]

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.

Steve Jobs himself said almost the exact same when interviewed about classroom technology in the 90's. No amount of fancy toys will make up for a lack of a strong curriculum and good teachers.

And he was also a white board fundamentalist when it came to his own group sessions.

 

[Z400Racer37]

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.

You socialists are amazing. On one hand, you contend that the private sector could never provide services like roads and schools, and proceed to effectively monopolize the space by force through taxation, and then on the other you say that Apple owes you because they use the infrastructure and resources that you commanded by force. Amazing.

Neither Apple nor their execs 'leech' off of society. They have money precisely because they created value in excess of the resources which were required to produce that value. That's what a profit is in a free market.

As for profits derived from political favors? That buying off of politicians you speak of? That's a function of YOUR Socialism. In a proper government, these politicians don't have power over the economy, and therefore nothing to sell. Which means there is nothing for those 'greedy evil businessmen' to buy. You want to advocate for Socialism, then stop evading the inevitable negative consequences of such a self-contradictory politico-economic system. Own the whole thing, and all it's consequences, and not just the things you favor, or just stop talking. Only frauds pick and choose.
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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.

Exactly. Method and content are the two fundamental essentials of education. The mediums through which these things are delivered can change, but it will mean nothing if content and method are not addressed.