Federal Review Blames Lack of Resources and Planning for L.A. Schools' Failed iPad Initiative

[AlecZ]

Totally and utterly disagree 100% with this point.

You should not used a lock down and tied down echo system, basically getting young children used to one closed wall garden within a general education system.

If you have to use ANY computers, then you should use PC's Running Perhaps either Windows (if you wish children to be ready for the real world) Of Linux if you wish a totally open environment.

Not because I think PC's are great, but because it's tantamount to brainwashing at a young age, Getting children hooked within Apples way of doing things.

Totally and utterly wrong to use Apple and iOS / iTunes / App Stores in Education.

If Apple was to become more open and not tie people in, then I would of course change my viewpoint.

I don't get it. Using Apple devices is going to teach kids to be less independent? Besides, Apple gives a lot more freedom to the user than any school IT admin would. I don't like the program anyway because the iPads wouldn't end up being useful for education, and they cost a ton of money. It's better to teach kids how to use PCs (Mac, Windows, whatever).

 

[Thunderhawks]

The problem with the iPad as an "educational tool" is that iOS lacks any sort of group policy-esque control of the individual devices. Give em to the kids, but there is no way to control what they do with them.

Don't know if it exists, but some kind of an app to monitor what is on everybody's screen when teaching maybe the solution

 

[poematik13]

This whole program happened because the LA school board execs are also major Apple shareholders, so they figured that doing a giant order would boost their asset(s). Didnt really work out though.

Also, they probably were offered a kickback from whatever supplier theyd order the devices from.

 

[JeffyTheQuik]

Kids! Today we're going to go over the 80/20 rule:

You can spend 80% of your time planning, and 20% implementing, or 20% of your time planning, and 80% of the time executing.

...and here we have an example.

 

[2457282]

The problem is not the technology - whether you agree with walled gardens or not, or even whether you can manage them or not. The problem is EDUCATION.

Get teachers that know how to teach, can motivate children to learn, and actually do it. Unions can be a godsend for many worker groups, but with most teacher unions I have encountered you might as well be talking to the mafia. Once in the union and you get tenure in 2-3 years you become untouchable.

Of course its not just the teachers. You have parents that dont get involved (or cant do to their current situation). You have the neighborhood where just get through the day without being killed is an accomplishment. And you have government where the curriculum sometimes become a thing for political fodder.

Fix the system!!! Toys can come later.

 

[androidlag]

have fun getting interactive lesson plans that work on your ****ing stupid LG G tab 7 Maxx Extreme 4.0 Curved 8.0 LED Maxx Galaxy with Beats by Dre you ****ing rubes

 

[Liquorpuki]

Kids! Today we're going to go over the 80/20 rule:

You can spend 80% of your time planning, and 20% implementing, or 20% of your time planning, and 80% of the time executing.

...and here we have an example.

Thought the 80/20 rule was the Pareto Principle

 

[jeremiah256]

I'm all for electronic gadgets to complement educational lessons and important skills, but not replace them.

These kids should learn how to write first before they type on a touchscreen; they should learn to add using their fingers and their head first before punching the numbers on the calc app.

You need to sit down with a 6-10 year old today and actually see what they are doing and learning. If they are in a decent school, they're doing math and English at a higher level than I remember when I was a kid. And they need to be prepared for the work environment they'll face in 10 years, not what it is today. Even today, I can't think of the last time I had to deal with anything handwritten. From what I've seen of Common Core, the technique makes it easy to transition them to creating formulas and macros when they get older. Definitely a skill they will need.

I agree that LAUSD screwed up by going with iPads; they probably could have provided both a cheap Android tablet and a Chromebook for the same price. But whatever comes of this, those kids need computers and computer access at a young age.

 

[Thunderhawks]

This whole program happened because the LA school board execs are also major Apple shareholders, so they figured that doing a giant order would boost their asset(s). Didnt really work out though.

If that was true, how much did Apple shares go up when that announcement was made?

 

[Tiger8]

...The same kids who will take care of your old ass when you'll hit 80 and pay for your social security. You were a kid too once in the past.

Are you for real? It's sarcasm. Do you seriously think I want kids to play all day and not go to school? I went to school for 18 years of my life, if you count college and grad degrees.

 

[baruch]

Deasy

Meanwhile the architect of this failed plan, recently resigned Superintendent John Deasy, who left his job leaving many qualified teachers languishing in "Teacher Jail" wasting literally hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars in salaries while investigations do and do NOT take place. Yes this initiative failed but the bigger issue is the person at the center of this failure, John Deasy.

 

[JohnStrass]

follow the leaders

IPads for all!

I seem to recall that high-tech types are preferring that their kids have low-tech schooling.

The NY times has another view: tech is a waste of money


http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/04/t...s-questions-on-value.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0


Those of us who are tech-smart did NOT grow up in a high tech classroom.

Pencils for all !!

 

[Rocketman]

I agree that LAUSD screwed up by going with iPads; they probably could have provided both a cheap Android tablet and a Chromebook for the same price. But whatever comes of this, those kids need computers and computer access at a young age.

The cost of the pad was the lowest component of the budget. No reason to go with a less capable, more crippled device.

If there is better device management software I can see that for a large deployment, but Apple seemed to lean into that to a degree.

The problem here was internet provisioning, training on new software with no lead-up period, and gross mismanagement by a byzantine bureaucratic system known as the LAUSD.

Right near Compton, CA.

cite:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compton,_California

 

[stewy]

Why do you need controls on the iPad? Apple designed the iPad to be useful for all ages and types.

When the iPad is used in the classroom, kids will be using it to learn, not play games on it.

When the iPad is used in the workplace, workers will use it for reports, data input, and other business activities, not social media and games.

Do we really think our society is so bad we can't "trust" them?

Okay... I'm not sure if you believe what you just said but if you do "you're living in a world of make-believe. With flowers and bells and leprechauns, and magic frogs with funny little hats."

 

[MacsRgr8]

You can use Profile Manager to lock down quite a few things, we disable the camera for example unless needed for a lesson, the kids cannot install Apps, we have to again, just a few clicks and its done. Compared to managing Windows based netbooks its a breeze and a lot less hassle.

Hmm... problem is that the "enrollment profile" cannot be locked, unless DEP is used. Once the enrollment profile of the MDM is removed, all management is removed. Any user can do that, or the user can put the iPad in DFU mode and connect to iTunes.
That is how iPads are "hacked" (if you really want to call it that).

The question is really if any school should have to "lock down" these iPads. Teachers want this because they feel they have no control of these devices....
IMHO, teachers need to capture the attention of the student, not try to lock the device, and iPads can help the teacher do just that.
An iPad can help the teacher create more interactive, more fun, and more modern-style lessons which helps both.

If the teacher keeps on giving lessons like they did in the 19th century (downloader of information and being a policeman), but want to use modern means, that will never work.

 

[73b]

The problem with the iPad as an "educational tool" is that iOS lacks any sort of group policy-esque control of the individual devices. Give em to the kids, but there is no way to control what they do with them.

Our school iPads have a profile that disables the App Store and many other features. Then again, the iPads sit in a locked up case and never get used.

 

[malexandria]

If you are going to have a tablet, you should have an iPad .... they are more expensive, but they are best quality .... no one ever regretted buying quality.
:

I've regretted buying an iPad

 

[jayducharme]

How did Apple blow it?

Apple was supposed to provide support to the staff. Apparently, they didn't.

And what kind of golden opportunity was it for Apple?

It was a chance for Apple to demonstrate successful enterprise support, an area where they've been sorely lacking. If it went well, many other school districts would have jumped on the bandwagon. But after this debacle, I don't think any other school district in the U.S. is going to risk using Apple technology in that way. This was probably the best outcome ever for Google. I'd bet that most schools are going to now invest in Chromebooks.

 

[SirCheese]

:shakes cane:

Why back in my day, we didn't have these fancy smancy tablamoputerblets all playing moving pictures and throwing sound at you like some kinda high tech magic box! We watched educational crap on SLIDES, DAMNIT! You'd see a picture projected on a wall, some guy would talk about slaughtering cows on a cassette tape, then you'd hear a ding, and the teacher would press a button to change the picture. If it was good enough for me, it's damn well good enough for the rest of you bastards!

ELMO PROJECTORS 4 LYFE!

Elmo projectors? Where??? My little girl would love that!

----------

No reason to go with a less capable, more crippled device.

Stop with the ********...

 

[Renzatic]

Elmo projectors? Where??? My little girl would love that!

Here you go!

Be proud of your little girl. Most kids these days don't appreciate vintage 70's electronics.

 

[nia820]

I've been an educator for well over 20 years and one thing I've observed is that we have always been easily distracted by shiny new toys and ideas. Many times we get enamored with the stuff without any real thought as to how it will be used. I remember when "SmartBoards" were supposed to be the big thing in the classroom. We got several, then they never got used. Palm Pilots were another so-called innovation than fizzled. Even now the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) initiative has just turned into a way for kids to watch Pewdie Pie on YouTube during class and keep up on FaceBook.

In the end, it's not the stuff, it's the people.

I think are iPads are too limited for school use. But I disagree about smart boards. The school I work in has them in every class and they get used daily by teachers and students.

 

[inpinotveritas]

If you are going to have a tablet, you should have an iPad .... they are more expensive, but they are best quality .... no one ever regretted buying quality.

The point isn't buying the best tablet, but implementing a technology that's best for the educational environment. This may not be an iPad.

This is not how school districts work. They don't strive to buy quality, they strive to buy affordable because money is becoming very difficult to obtain.

I know first hand. And no, not everyone owns an iPad. In fact I would wager half of this district does not.

CA voter passed proposition 30 which has brought in revenues in excess of the projections. The money is not difficult to obtain.

[url=http://cdn.macrumors.com/im/macrumorsthreadlogodarkd.png]Image[/url]


A recent study by the U.S. Department of Education has found the Los Angeles Unified School District's $1.3 billion "iPad-for-all" education initiative, announced in the summer of 2013, had been "plagued by lack of resources and inadequate planning for how the devices would be used in classrooms," reports the Los Angeles Times.

$1.3B is a lack of resources?

 

[mabhatter]

It sounds like you're thinking they pay the normal retail price for these things. The discount my company got when deploying 500 iPads was nice. This LA deal was 5,200x larger than that.

Only about 1/3 of the money was spent on iPads. An amount for CONTENT to be developed was almost as much per student as the hardware. Also there was another 1/3of the contract dedicated to wireless networks and Internet connections at the schools.
While it was a "billion $$" contract only a small portion was actually spent and not all the hardware/spftware per location was rolled out before Microsoft/Googke fanboys started in to knife the project from within the district. Tortious interference comes to mind when the District has already "hitched it's horse" and competing vendors are still trying to sway staff after contracts are written to somebody else.

 

[phillipduran]

Because I am and always have been very interested in technology.

Does not mean I like any, and I mean ANY company that locks you down or deliberately makes things difficult to use.

I would feel the same way towards Microsoft, Sony (who have been known for it) and/or anyone else.

However, my point is Valid.

We all know, Apple makes it's money from hardware and the software ecosystem. We know it's, "locked down" and you can argue the reasons why.

We all know, when you get used to something and start investing into a closed ecosystem on any restricted platform as time goes by it gets harder and harder to leave that system, leave your apps behind and move on.

Hence why I'd say this, has no place in Education, which should be as open and un-locked down as realistically possible,

Teaching kids how to get used to iPad's is NOT a moral thing to do.

And if they were getting say locked down to say Windows RT tablets, and those tablets had no ports, and insisted you used Msoft software to sync aps and only use msoft formats etc etc.

Then I would be equally anti that for pushing onto young children with growing minds.

All or nothing world we live in eh?

Lock the iPad down like mad, so what. It doesn't paint students into the corner. The iPad is a tool. Use it for the things it does. All tasks that don't fit that tool, are done differently. If you want to paint, but the paint programs don't fit your needs, then get canvas and paintbrushes and go to town.

The iPad would be great to use for what it does great.

Morally wrong to use iPads. You can't possibly be serious. The only way that argument could even make sense to type is if you think this is the only device they will ever be able to use and even then you have at best and extremely weak argument.

 

[mabhatter]

Exactly. This should have first been tried with inexpensive tablets, as a way to have all children's textbooks, assignments (through blackboard), and other learning resources in one place. The OS should have been closed to recreational apps/etc. that would distract kids.

When the contract was DEVELOPED cheap tablets were very crappy and poor quality other than Apple's. Remember that schools pay $1000+ for Windows PCs (support and licenses aren't free) so iPads were slightly cheaper per unit along with co-developing the software.