AGREED!
It's one thing for a public school to provide a computer lab. It's quite another for a public school system to force the general population to pay for an iPad for EVERY student that crosses the threshold of those learning institutions. ( many of which are not TEACHING our children )
Will the school system be going out to bid for the different computer manufacturers? Or has Apple been given "Favorite Son" status? I have a feeling it will be business-as-usual and the public will pay through the nose.
I work as an IT Director and CTO of a company that provides systems for the disabled. Will my company be given a chance to bid on systems for children with disabilities with a more suitable tablet computer?
The funny thing is...these computers become personal property and turn into game pads eventually. And what happens when one is accidentally dropped? Is the child SOL? Or does John Q public get the cyber screw for another iPad. If I were the Apple regional Marketing Manager I would be elated with the new found business opportunity. If I was a Maine resident, I'd be looking for a new state to reside in.
Just take a look at actual textbooks, Tom. When I was in high school about 10-15 years ago, we were the “golden” class in that we always got the newest textbooks. I did my best to keep my book in good condition, but oftentimes those books become completely tattered, beat up, wet, torn up, written-in, etc. Now a book will weather a rainstorm pretty well. The pages will get wrinkled, but in general, the book is useable.
There’s really very little tolerance on an electronic device. Kids will throw them in the bookbags, sandwiched between a math and science text book. If it’s raining on the walk home, that device will get wet. If the batteries die, they’re not immediately replaceable, and how many kids are actually going to keep tabs on the charger or have access to USB ports to charge?
Computers in a lab are one thing. Give the kids a login with an Active Directory setup, let them log into their desktops and play whatever is given to them, but a mobile digital device is just silly, esp. for anyone younger than 10.