Thousands of MacBooks en-route to students in southern U.S.
Nearly 8,000 Apple MacBook computers are currently being distributed to students in Louisiana and Kansas as part of new learning initiatives aimed at better preparing students for college and helping underprivileged children gain access to modern technology.
On Tuesday, the Kansas City school board launched the largest ever distribution of notebooks in the metro area, having agreed earlier this year to purchase Apple MacBooks for all of its 5,000 high school students to use at school and at home.
The project aims to better prepare students for higher education, as school officials believe that students who do not have access to computers at home will wind up far behind their peers by the time they get to college.
The school district paid Apple approximately $6.4 million for notebooks, which are equipped with software to prevent students from viewing pornography and come with several anti-theft measures already built in.
For instance, all the notebooks have stickers clearly identifying them as the property of the Kansas City, Kansas public school system. The stickers won't come off without virtually destroying the laptop, district officials say.
Should thieves find a way around the stickers, a GPS tracking device can be used to help locate the stolen computers. And if all else fails, district officials say they can also use a remote device to destroy the hard drive inside the notebooks.
Parents pay only a $25 insurance fee to lease the MacBooks, which are valued at $1,300 each. If parents can't afford it, students can work off the fee doing community service.
Meanwhile, Louisiana's Maplewood Middle School will be the first of 54 schools in the state to receive notebooks through the Turn On To Learning education initiative. Fifty students and four teachers at the school received nearly $70,000 worth of Apple technology last Wednesday.
The initiative aims to provide MacBooks to two classes of sixth-grade students in each school district in the state. Apple is said to have developed a "digital backpack" notebook package specifically for the program, which include MacBooks with wireless capabilities that allow them to be connected to overhead projectors.
In total, 3,530 students and 153 teachers in Louisiana will be receiving the notebooks and along with Apple software, which the state purchased from Apple for approximately $5 million. The state will also provide the same notebooks to district personnel, state colleges of education, and technical centers to provide a network of support.
On Tuesday, the Kansas City school board launched the largest ever distribution of notebooks in the metro area, having agreed earlier this year to purchase Apple MacBooks for all of its 5,000 high school students to use at school and at home.
The project aims to better prepare students for higher education, as school officials believe that students who do not have access to computers at home will wind up far behind their peers by the time they get to college.
The school district paid Apple approximately $6.4 million for notebooks, which are equipped with software to prevent students from viewing pornography and come with several anti-theft measures already built in.
For instance, all the notebooks have stickers clearly identifying them as the property of the Kansas City, Kansas public school system. The stickers won't come off without virtually destroying the laptop, district officials say.
Should thieves find a way around the stickers, a GPS tracking device can be used to help locate the stolen computers. And if all else fails, district officials say they can also use a remote device to destroy the hard drive inside the notebooks.
Parents pay only a $25 insurance fee to lease the MacBooks, which are valued at $1,300 each. If parents can't afford it, students can work off the fee doing community service.
Meanwhile, Louisiana's Maplewood Middle School will be the first of 54 schools in the state to receive notebooks through the Turn On To Learning education initiative. Fifty students and four teachers at the school received nearly $70,000 worth of Apple technology last Wednesday.
The initiative aims to provide MacBooks to two classes of sixth-grade students in each school district in the state. Apple is said to have developed a "digital backpack" notebook package specifically for the program, which include MacBooks with wireless capabilities that allow them to be connected to overhead projectors.
In total, 3,530 students and 153 teachers in Louisiana will be receiving the notebooks and along with Apple software, which the state purchased from Apple for approximately $5 million. The state will also provide the same notebooks to district personnel, state colleges of education, and technical centers to provide a network of support.
Comments
Should thieves find a way around the stickers, a GPS tracking device can be used to help locate the stolen computers. And if all else fails, district officials say they can also use a remote device to destroy the hard drive inside the notebooks.
I want to hear more about this GPS feature.
And when it will be available BTO on all Macs.
The school district paid Apple approximately $6.4 million for notebooks, which are equipped with software to prevent students from viewing pornography and come with several anti-theft measures already built in.
[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]
That's interesting. I love how they're more interested in preventing students from looking at porn then preventing them from looking up weapons or researching other violent acts. Surely that would be more of a priority.
And also, I would like to be able to remotely destroy the hard drive on my machine. From my cellphone. At the touch of a button. And not just destroy, like a head crash, but full pyrotechnics, with explosive shrapnel. And a video of the effects.
That's interesting. I love how they're more interested in preventing students from looking at porn then preventing them from looking up weapons or researching other violent acts. Surely that would be more of a priority.
The parental controls of course.
http://www.apple.com/macosx/features...lcontrols.html
These machines will be personalized in about 10 minutes with stickers, etchings, and markers just like the textbooks. So then smashed and trashed, will they issue new ones next year? People, especially kids, don?t respect things they don?t pay for. Maybe school system should sell them to the students at a 75% discount.
Although I agree with you that they will most likely be destroyed since the students have no investment in them, it states in the article that there is an option to do community service to cover the $25 lease fee. I'd say that if someone cannot afford $25, they surely cannot afford 75% of $1300 = $975.
I think perhaps a more viable solution and one that may already be set up in the lease is that if the students destroy the notebooks, they are required to pay for it, either by paying the full cost or by doing community service to cover the full cost.
Although I agree with you that they will most likely be destroyed since the students have no investment in them, it states in the article that there is an option to do community service to cover the $25 lease fee. I'd say that if someone cannot afford $25, they surely cannot afford 75% of $1300 = $975.
I think perhaps a more viable solution and one that may already be set up in the lease is that if the students destroy the notebooks, they are required to pay for it, either by paying the full cost or by doing community service to cover the full cost.
A 75% discount is $325. If they pay that they will be more likely to take care of the machine and it will last a number of years.
A 75% discount is $325. If they pay that they will be more likely to take care of the machine and it will last a number of years.
Sorry for my error in reading what you said, I thought you meant 75% of the cost, either way, for someone who has trouble affording $25, $325, 13 times more, is not going to be feasible.
Sorry for my error in reading what you said, I thought you meant 75% of the cost, either way, for someone who has trouble affording $25, $325, 13 times more, is not going to be feasible.
It looked like only a few were "dirt poor". The others would just forego the new iPod.
Yeah, I would like to know about that GPS system.
And also, I would like to be able to remotely destroy the hard drive on my machine. From my cellphone. At the touch of a button. And not just destroy, like a head crash, but full pyrotechnics, with explosive shrapnel. And a video of the effects.
I would pay DOUBLE the current cost of a MB for this functionality!!! In fact, I'd like my car fitted out with something like that. And my iPod! I'm seeing an aftermarket company in-the-making!
That's interesting. I love how they're more interested in preventing students from looking at porn then preventing them from looking up weapons or researching other violent acts. Surely that would be more of a priority.
Actually, whether it's porn, weapons, or the latest makeout secrets, they'll find whatever
they want to find. Adult filters and such can't stop the all-powerful force known as 'human
curiosity'. Sad that the media includes silly statements like this -- like the big grown-ups
are really protecting their fragile minds from anything.
This is why apple needs a cheaper notebook. If the macbooks started at 800 bucks or something, you'd probably see many more schools just on things like this.
Like the eBook? Cracka, please... Apple does not need to go down that road again.
Actually, whether it's porn, weapons, or the latest makeout secrets, they'll find whatever
they want to find. Adult filters and such can't stop the all-powerful force known as 'human
curiosity'. Sad that the media includes silly statements like this -- like the big grown-ups
are really protecting their fragile minds from anything.
Well it is Kansas after all. For a while, state education officials
tried to "protect" students from hearing about evolution.
Hmm... that's a hard security measure to defeat.
Let's see... I could put another sticker on top of it! Poof, security measure defeated.
Windows is only maintained by inertia. The day the Mac market share reaches 20%, Windows will fade away in three years. A gigantic leap ahead for humankind!
Does anyone else agree with this?
May I have some reasoning behind it?
> The stickers won't come off without virtually destroying the laptop, district officials say.
Hmm... that's a hard security measure to defeat.
Let's see... I could put another sticker on top of it! Poof, security measure defeated.
Haha nice first post.
Welcome to the forums
I love how they're more interested in preventing students from looking at porn then preventing them from looking up weapons or researching other violent acts
It is funny that they bring up the porn issue...There was a story on Wral.com (in Raleigh, NC) about a student who had a school issued Macbook and created a video with his girlfriend using the built in iSight camera.
http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/2005911/