More than half of students in Palatine-Schaumburg Township High School District 211 will have new iPads next year, leased with $1.13 million diverted from classroom computer purchases and lab upgrades.

The school board decided to lease up to 7,000 Apple iPads after a successful six-month pilot program with 37 teachers from nine different academic departments and 1,400 students using the devices as part of their daily curriculum.

"Teachers recognized that the iPad devices allowed the students to create their own knowledge and to access countless original sources beyond a single text," said Dan Cates, associate superintendent for administrative services. "Students were using the devices to create and share original work that was not comparable to the previous paper-and-pencil exercises that had defined the learning task for years. Students who never or rarely read anything were reading."
- See more at: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/loca ... JC75Q.dpuf

7000 iPads. I guess that there were no homeowners in that taxing district that could have used some tax relief.
"Create their own knowledge" was another thing that stood out to me too. This whole thing is silly.

What a waste of taxpayer money to be giving this kind of tech to kids. They're gonna tear those things up anyway.

Let's file this away next time a referendum comes around and the school district is playing poor and threatening to lose arts and music classes or teachers in general because they simply don't get enough money to give our kids educations.

7000 iPads. I guess that there were no homeowners in that taxing district that could have used some tax relief.
"Create their own knowledge" was another thing that stood out to me too. This whole thing is silly.

What a waste of taxpayer money to be giving this kind of tech to kids. They're gonna tear those things up anyway.

Let's file this away next time a referendum comes around and the school district is playing poor and threatening to lose arts and music classes or teachers in general because they simply don't get enough money to give our kids educations.

When I was in school, if we wanted to communicate after school we got on top of the chimney and sent smoke signals...and we liked it.

So what happens when they "break." Who is responsible for paying for that?

So, you have a laptop and a cell phone already. How much marginal value does an iPad bring? I would say not much. I don't see them used much in business application. Except taking orders at Chipotle.

If your kid doesn't have access to a decent computer, he/she is already doomed to a life of failure. No sense wasting money on those kids.

(I'm not being serious, but I am).

So what happens when they "break." Who is responsible for paying for that?

In our elementary district, the parent is responsible for damages deductible which is on the order of 350 dollars.

This is some bullshit...

Do iPads ever malfunction during the course of normal usage?

That really bothered me as well. Is this part of the "everybody's right" mentality, or just someone using an incredibly poor choice of words. I have little faith in the latter.

50% must have their own Ipads aleady?

It just sounds like some terrible, bought-in-bulk Franklin-Covey book. Create Your Own Knowledge: The Nine Steps To Dynamic Reimagination Initiatives.

a bucketful of stupid

None of the above. It's called self-directed learning, it's the Holy Grail of modern pedagogy, and it's best achieved through the use of differentiated instructional technology. This thread is a bucketful of stupid.

I thought we established this Learning thing is overrated! MBA's are basically not worth anything and it is a wonder anyone gets them! Whoever does is an idiot! Experience is all that matters! All thos kids should go get jobs today!

we should send them to war first, so they can become veterans earlier and guarantee themselves a job at Wal-Mart