Minnesota school district set to roll Apple's iPad out to 40,000 students

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  • Reply 21 of 26
    kibitzerkibitzer Posts: 1,114member
    The sad thing about all of these comments is that none of them - mine included - are coming from educators who work with students in the schools day-to-day. But hey, never let ignorance stand in the way of a good opinion.
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  • Reply 22 of 26
    blastdoorblastdoor Posts: 3,855member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Kibitzer View Post



    The sad thing about all of these comments is that none of them - mine included - are coming from educators who work with students in the schools day-to-day. But hey, never let ignorance stand in the way of a good opinion.

    I'm not a teacher, but my mother and sister are, and I do research in education about the effectiveness of various interventions/programs, including technology.

     

    So.... speak for yourself. 

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  • Reply 23 of 26
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by jfc1138 View Post

     

    That number is odd (billion) the original news release said $30 million and there was a further $115 million contemplated (which I gather is what has been halted) topping out at a possible $500 million.

    Also noted in the earlier AI article.

     

    Perhaps a lifetime total project cost? [eta: yes, that includes, per the L.A. Times linked-to piece, $500 million in internet and other infrastructure investments that aren't Apple related]

    From your article:

    "School board members were made to understand that the initial $30-million contract was expected to expand to about $500 million as the project rolled out over the next year or so. An additional $500 million would be used to expand Internet access and other infrastructure issues at schools."

     

    Oh and there's zero mention of "kickback" in any actual coverage, just communications dating back two years being seen as the usual "appearance" of a conflict.

     

    "

    In addition, the report said that past comments or associations with vendors, including Deasy, created an appearance of conflict even if no ethics rules were violated.

    "

     

    "kickbacks" would not only be an ethics violation but a huge criminal one as well.


    Apparently the other $500 million was for IT infrastructure and roll out throughout the district, it doesn't state who is responsible for that portion. 

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  • Reply 24 of 26
    kibitzerkibitzer Posts: 1,114member
    blastdoor wrote: »
    .

    So.... speak for yourself. 

    I did. I said that I'm no expert and that most of the opinions I've seen here so far display a similar lack of professional credibility. I'll grant that your earlier post on this thread makes more sense than others, in that you set forth the issues to be addressed without being judgmental. Carry on. I'll be more interested in any more insight to the educational applications of technology that you can contribute from actual experience.
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  • Reply 25 of 26
    mcdavemcdave Posts: 1,927member
    boeyc15 wrote: »
    IMO those cheap arse chrome books seem to be pretty good fit for schools.
    boeyc15 wrote: »
    Agreed, for kids at school... typing(no cursive, shows how old I am),   reading, research etc. what else is needed? And not nearly expensive as an ipad. Google has student accounts, master account etc,

    FYI - Consider the source....

    http://www.omgchrome.com/chromebook-sales-1-million-q2-2014/

    Web technology is a solution to nothing. I guess it makes sense to plug our kids into the Googleverse early so their perception of the 'world' can add to Google's revenues like everyone else.

    McD
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  • Reply 26 of 26
    jfc1138jfc1138 Posts: 3,090member

    Beyond whatever sort of "teaching tool" pads etc. may be, the e-book replacing the printed textbook is rather inevitable. Easier for children to carry, no more "one size fits all" based on a dominant state to two's demands (yes Texas I'm looking at you), cannot be physically damaged like a paper book so were it deemed still current an e-book can last a lot longer, and be far easier to update instead of replacing the entire physical book and so on.

     

    So school districts have other reasons related more to the "old" tech of textbooks rather than some revolutionary new instructional mode to transition to electronic books. As I see it. Evolution not necessarily revolution, no matter how they're deciding to sell the sizzle.

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