LAUSD and iPads

Oh, this whole thing just fries me. They have $434 MILLION for these useless things that have to be maintained, updated and wrestled with, but no money for a PE teacher at every school? Or an art teacher? Children learn with their hands on, building things, moving their bodies. That's how they build the neural pathways for future growth. Not by sitting on their butts drawing their pointer fingers over something they have to watch.

This is all about putting corporations before kids. Jesus. This whole thing makes me want to homeschool.

LA will give all 640,000 students a $678 iPad by the end of 2014
Electronista
July 26, 2013
"The bulk of the total cost is the $678 per iPad fixed cost, which will come pre-loaded with Pearson e-textbooks and other educational apps that make up the remainder of the money.

Read more: http://www.electronista.com/articles/13/07/26/apple.contract.will.kick.off.with.31000.ipads.covers.all.k.12.students/#ixzz2ajY1UGlo"
Apple to replace LAUSD iPads if broken, stolen or damaged
LA School Report
July 30, 2013
With a link to the contract, which also details the Pearson software on the iPads

Low Income schools getting first wave of new iPads
LA School Report
July 31, 2013

Controversy Awaits $30m iPad Vote
LA School Report
Note at the writing they thought it would be only 31,000 iPads for $30million, which actually only covers the frist 49 schools.

"The district received 13 bids for the contract, three of which were found to be within “competitive range.”  Superintendent John Deasy defended the decision to go with Apple. ”It is the best product that went through the bidding process,” he said.

"However, the LA Times‘s Steve Lopez pointed out that Deasy appeared in an Apple video in January of 2012, promoting the use of textbooks on iPads."