| To: Riechers who wrote (65483) | 4/25/2012 1:18:37 PM |
| From: John Koligman | Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 92499 |
| |
Tax dollars are already buying iPads - in ever increasing quantities.... School districts, the Air Force, etc. The link at the bottom is actually a site that tracks these datapoints...
"Oppenheimer noted that the San Diego school district purchased 10,000 iPads in the quarter, and plans to buy over 15,000 additional iPads in the June quarter for its middle and high school students.
"iPad continues to open doors for new customers with whom Apple previously had no relationship," Oppenheimer stated. "As we enter the K-12 institution buying season, we're hopeful that iPad will be a popular choice."
Photo credit: Keri Wiginton, St. Petersburg Times.
Oppenheimer also noted that the iPad is gaining momentum outside of the education market as well, specifically noting a project by the US Air Force to deploy thousands of iPads as electronic flight bags.
He added that other large firms, including international construction contractors Bechtel and Balfour Beatty, are "using iPads in the field for project management and viewing blueprints. And thousands of iPads are being deployed as mobile sales tools" by companies including Roche, Amgen and Bayer.
Oppenheimer also noted that IT and business managers were seeing the value of their own custom development targeting iOS devices, stating that "the majority of Fortune 500 companies who have approved iPhone on their networks are members of the iOS developer enterprise program, and are actively deploying in-house applications to their employee base."
Oppenheimer also stated that Apple's channel inventory of iPads had actually decreased in the quarter, later noting that the new iPad "is on fire, we're selling them as fast as we can make them."
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SCHOOL LEAPING INTO DIGITAL AGE, ISSUING AN IPAD TO EVERY STUDENT Cathedral Catholic would be first in region to go schoolwide
$350 Technology fee per student that will cover the cost of renting an iPad as well as service and support
CARMEL VALLEY — Cathedral Catholic High School plans to put iPads in the hands of every student and teacher next fall, becoming the first school in the region to do so.
Cathedral’s decision to embrace digital learning began five years ago when officials initially looked into acquiring notebook computers for students. The school shifted its focus to Apple iPad tablets about a year ago and purchased 200 of the tablets to test out this year in classrooms to make teachers more familiar with the technology and figure out teaching methods they’ll employ.
Parents at the private parochial school will be paying a $350 technology fee that will cover the cost of renting an iPad as well as service and support for their student, said Principal Mike Deely. At the end of the contract period, students will have the option of buying the devices at a discounted price.
The iPads will be used by the school’s 1,700 students as well as 110 teachers and support staff.
On average, Cathedral parents typically spend between $800 to $1,000 buying textbooks every year. Deely said the textbook expense likely will be cut in half because teachers plan to substitute less-expensive digital textbooks for many texts they now use.
“We figured out a way we didn’t have to add to tuition,” Deely said. “Instead of $100 for science books, they will spend $14” for electronic versions.
Several schools in the region are introducing iPads and digital tablets in the classroom, giving students the tools to access the Internet and explore digital textbooks. But none have introduced the devices schoolwide as Cathedral is planning, said Greg Ottinger, director of online learning for the county Office of Education.
Deely said teachers have been very involved in preparing for iPads during the year, picking out books they no longer are going to use in their classroom and doing lessons on the devices with their classes.
Cathedral staff members also have talked frequently with their counterparts at a Catholic school in Santa Ana, Mater Dei High School, which issued iPads to its students a year ago.
There were concerns about students losing or damaging the devices, but that hasn’t been a problem.
“We’ve had only one iPad broken out of 200. It was an accident; he dropped it and the screen broke,” Deely said. “Most kids are pretty safe with them, because they care and they are really excited to use it.”
Using iPads in school may help increase student engagement with subjects because students can watch videos or create presentations on subjects they are learning about, said Matt Baier, an American government and economics teacher who has helped train teachers on technology at Cathedral.
Having the devices in class also will allow teachers to instruct students — many who already use such social media tools as Facebook and Twitter — on how to be good digital citizens and use technology appropriately, Baier said.
karen.kucher@utsandiego.com
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ipadpilots.k12cloudlearning.com  |
