Buying the iPads is good. Going grossly over budget is not.
They are only over budget for the pilot. They get the money back when they buy the agreed upon volume of units. It should not be a surprise to anyone that you have to actually buy in bulk to get a discount. Well, everyone except LAUSD.
That is just the way it works in government budgeting. They knew it was going to go over budget but if they asked for the true cost of the project, it would be rejected so they make up a number that is substantially lower just to get it passed. Then later they ask for more money due to cost overrun. Sort of like the saying: "It is easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission."
Same thing with the California high speed rail project. I'd expect that budget to triple before they break ground,
An utterly incompetent IT department bought too much of something… then were too stupid to manage the device properly, leading to an effing RECALL, and then redistribution, wasting time, money, and harming education.
Bureaucracies (entities that spend other peoples money and don't produce it themselves as a result of their decisions) never get a budget correct. So, what more do any of us expect anyway. Everything is proceeding normally. Normally means, when they mess up, they blame someone else...it is never their fault.
Wait till kids start getting jacked for their iPads. It happened in our school district to the point the schools had to take them away from the kids then re-issue them for in school use only.
i do not see the logic in giving students iPads. A Chrome Book would make more sense IMO. Basically the kids need acess to the internet, Google Docs would let them write reports, term papers, create presentations, spreadsheets, etc... Sure you can still hack the Chrome Book to run Linux but having a keyboard on a dirt cheap device for kids who are going to loose, break, have stolen, etc... an IPad is not what they really need.
I believe that iPads can be a great asset to education, and I wish that such devices existed back when I was a kid in school. It sure beats carrying around a bunch of heavy, old books, with obscene scribbles all over the pages.
This story isn't really about iPads at all though. The takeaway that I get from the story is that this is simply yet another example of gross incompetence, extreme negligence and the potential criminal misuse and waste of taxpayer dollars, perpetrated by clueless and lazy bureaucrats working for an inept and amateurish government, where there is practically no accountability for anything.
I agree with you. It's about incompetence in the school system not the value of iPads as teaching aides. Everything I've read says the iPad improves learning thru the whole spectrum of Autistic kids to Medical Students.
I also have to agree with AndrewB26 that I'm sure there are abuses where kids are just messing about on them...but that can and has to be managed by adults, parents and teachers.
TV, video arcades were in the same boat as were the cell phones/texting prior to the iPhone and as video games are too. Don't forget about GameBoys and PC's in the child's room.
Something tells me that the articles facts are a tad off. Like how they imply that Apple reneged on a volume discount because they weren't buying enough at a time. Apple has every reason to want this to succeed so they aren't likely to be like 'hey you can have a discount but only on after you pay full price on the first X units'
The cost overage is likely from the cases (which may not have been considered in the original price math) or infrastructure changes needed at some schools etc that weren't thought of at the time. Or even the whole pullback when the kiddies figured out how to kill the MDM. They may have had to buy new product to solve that. And then there was what materials the kids were using during that time.
Lots of reasons other than Apple connected stuff that could have caused it to run over
I would hope that they already had a comprehensive plan to add value to their curriculum with demonstrably tangible results before deciding to blow a BILLION dollars on iPads. If the kids just end up dicking around with them, the money would have been better spent on more teachers and scanners to catch kids carrying guns/knives.
1. The money is from a bond agreement voted and approved by LA tax payers for educational tech. If they don't spend it on something like this they legally can't spend it on salaries or non tech related building maintenance/improvements. Not without a vote from the taxpayers and they could vote to end the bond.
2. The issue of kids 'dicking around' is why the MDM was out in place and many folks around here cried foul over that, saying it was better to let the kids do whatever when they aren't on campus. To restrict them is to stifle their freedom of speech, learning about things they want that might not be on the schools agenda etc.
That is just the way it works in government budgeting. They knew it was going to go over budget but if they asked for the true cost of the project, it would be rejected so they make up a number that is substantially lower just to get it passed. Then later they ask for more money due to cost overrun. Sort of like the saying: "It is easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission."
Same thing with the California high speed rail project. I'd expect that budget to triple before they break ground,
I would hope that they already had a comprehensive plan to add value to their curriculum with demonstrably tangible results before deciding to blow a BILLION dollars on iPads. If the kids just end up dicking around with them, the money would have been better spent on more teachers and scanners to catch kids carrying guns/knives.
I've got two kids with me from Japan, studying in English because their (wealthy top international surgeon) father believes they will have better opportunities in working life if fluent in English. They're on school vacation right now, but if they could drag themselves away from dicking with their iPads to actually learn something for just five minutes perhaps they'd stand a chance. As it looks to me, they waste too much time playing trivial games and will fail their exams miserably.
Children today don't need any encouragement to cling onto whatever electronic device they are obsessed with and waste the days away. Dishing them out in school is lunacy. We need to 'de-normalize' this obsession with gadgets.
Thank you for the well-thought out comment. Technology is by far NOT the most important piece of education. Used properly, it can be leveraged to students' advantage, but it's at least as likely, from what I've seen, to be misused and a drag on education instead. Lots of thought needs to be put into how, where, when and why these devices are used, and unfortunately, most educators don't have the cross-domain knowledge to understand all the pieces to this puzzle.
I did see the later comment as well, about the funds being designated for technology. Understood. But regardless of that, there should have been a small pilot program in just one or two of each level of school (elementary, middle, high) where these devices were going to be used in BEFORE spending hundreds of millions of dollars. Really stupid on the part of the district.
Wait till kids start getting jacked for their iPads. It happened in our school district to the point the schools had to take them away from the kids then re-issue them for in school use only.
This is LA. Kids were jacking and getting jacked for expensive shit long before the district tight to give out iPads.
Comments
Does not compute.
Buying the iPads is good. Going grossly over budget is not.
They are only over budget for the pilot. They get the money back when they buy the agreed upon volume of units. It should not be a surprise to anyone that you have to actually buy in bulk to get a discount. Well, everyone except LAUSD.
That is just the way it works in government budgeting. They knew it was going to go over budget but if they asked for the true cost of the project, it would be rejected so they make up a number that is substantially lower just to get it passed. Then later they ask for more money due to cost overrun. Sort of like the saying: "It is easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission."
Same thing with the California high speed rail project. I'd expect that budget to triple before they break ground,
They’re over budget. Yep.
An utterly incompetent IT department bought too much of something… then were too stupid to manage the device properly, leading to an effing RECALL, and then redistribution, wasting time, money, and harming education.
But no, it’s Apple’s fault they’re over budget.
They’re over budget. Yep.
...
Bureaucracies (entities that spend other peoples money and don't produce it themselves as a result of their decisions) never get a budget correct. So, what more do any of us expect anyway. Everything is proceeding normally. Normally means, when they mess up, they blame someone else...it is never their fault.
Wait till kids start getting jacked for their iPads. It happened in our school district to the point the schools had to take them away from the kids then re-issue them for in school use only.
I disagree. I don't want Apple donating products unless they are getting a direct material benefit for their efforts (tax write off, for example).
If they were to foolishly "make an exception" here, there's no telling where it would end.
Apple is a business, not a charity.
Wait till kids start getting jacked for their iPads.
What does that mean? I understand "hijack" and "carjack" but "getting jacked" isn't a colloquialism with which I am familiar.
No, that is indeed a thing. If someone gets "jacked" it's generally understood that it means something was stolen.
How old are you?
Google is coming out with Google Play for Education sometime in the next few weeks. Already in testing.
http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/08/move-over-ipad-here-comes-google-play-for-education/
I believe that iPads can be a great asset to education, and I wish that such devices existed back when I was a kid in school. It sure beats carrying around a bunch of heavy, old books, with obscene scribbles all over the pages.
This story isn't really about iPads at all though. The takeaway that I get from the story is that this is simply yet another example of gross incompetence, extreme negligence and the potential criminal misuse and waste of taxpayer dollars, perpetrated by clueless and lazy bureaucrats working for an inept and amateurish government, where there is practically no accountability for anything.
I agree with you. It's about incompetence in the school system not the value of iPads as teaching aides. Everything I've read says the iPad improves learning thru the whole spectrum of Autistic kids to Medical Students.
I also have to agree with AndrewB26 that I'm sure there are abuses where kids are just messing about on them...but that can and has to be managed by adults, parents and teachers.
TV, video arcades were in the same boat as were the cell phones/texting prior to the iPhone and as video games are too. Don't forget about GameBoys and PC's in the child's room.
The cost overage is likely from the cases (which may not have been considered in the original price math) or infrastructure changes needed at some schools etc that weren't thought of at the time. Or even the whole pullback when the kiddies figured out how to kill the MDM. They may have had to buy new product to solve that. And then there was what materials the kids were using during that time.
Lots of reasons other than Apple connected stuff that could have caused it to run over
1. The money is from a bond agreement voted and approved by LA tax payers for educational tech. If they don't spend it on something like this they legally can't spend it on salaries or non tech related building maintenance/improvements. Not without a vote from the taxpayers and they could vote to end the bond.
2. The issue of kids 'dicking around' is why the MDM was out in place and many folks around here cried foul over that, saying it was better to let the kids do whatever when they aren't on campus. To restrict them is to stifle their freedom of speech, learning about things they want that might not be on the schools agenda etc.
That is just the way it works in government budgeting. They knew it was going to go over budget but if they asked for the true cost of the project, it would be rejected so they make up a number that is substantially lower just to get it passed. Then later they ask for more money due to cost overrun. Sort of like the saying: "It is easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission."
Same thing with the California high speed rail project. I'd expect that budget to triple before they break ground,
And that is different than private business, how?
Private businesses aren't spending taxpayer money.
Also, businesses go bankrupt. The government ruins the economy.
Google is coming out with Google Play for Education sometime in the next few weeks. Already in testing.
http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/08/move-over-ipad-here-comes-google-play-for-education/
Brought to you by Carls Jr.
And that is different than private business, how?
In addition to what iaeen said, people in private business get fired for incompetence like this.
I would hope that they already had a comprehensive plan to add value to their curriculum with demonstrably tangible results before deciding to blow a BILLION dollars on iPads. If the kids just end up dicking around with them, the money would have been better spent on more teachers and scanners to catch kids carrying guns/knives.
I've got two kids with me from Japan, studying in English because their (wealthy top international surgeon) father believes they will have better opportunities in working life if fluent in English. They're on school vacation right now, but if they could drag themselves away from dicking with their iPads to actually learn something for just five minutes perhaps they'd stand a chance. As it looks to me, they waste too much time playing trivial games and will fail their exams miserably.
Children today don't need any encouragement to cling onto whatever electronic device they are obsessed with and waste the days away. Dishing them out in school is lunacy. We need to 'de-normalize' this obsession with gadgets.
Thank you for the well-thought out comment. Technology is by far NOT the most important piece of education. Used properly, it can be leveraged to students' advantage, but it's at least as likely, from what I've seen, to be misused and a drag on education instead. Lots of thought needs to be put into how, where, when and why these devices are used, and unfortunately, most educators don't have the cross-domain knowledge to understand all the pieces to this puzzle.
I did see the later comment as well, about the funds being designated for technology. Understood. But regardless of that, there should have been a small pilot program in just one or two of each level of school (elementary, middle, high) where these devices were going to be used in BEFORE spending hundreds of millions of dollars. Really stupid on the part of the district.
This is LA. Kids were jacking and getting jacked for expensive shit long before the district tight to give out iPads.