Madison Schools to Get 1400 iPads

Interesting.

The School District for the first time plans to buy more than 600 iPads for use in the majority of schools this spring. Another 800 iPads are expected to be in classrooms by next fall, all paid for with money from a state settlement with Microsoft.

District officials are enthusiastic about the possibilities presented by tablets, from students wirelessly sharing classroom work to replacing workbooks purchased each year with online “apps.” Other districts in Dane County and around the state are already experimenting with tablets.

In Madison, the popular computing device presents a “jumping off” moment for technology in classrooms that hasn’t happened with desktop and laptop computers, said Bill Smojver, the district’s director of technical services.

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Principals have proposed using the tablets in a variety of ways. Sandburg Elementary, which is receiving the most iPads with 105, plans to experiment with each student in four classrooms accessing a device. Other schools, like Gompers Elementary, which is receiving two iPads, are allowing teachers to experiment with use in their planning and record-keeping.

Paid for by settlement

The iPads are being paid for with part of $3.4 million from a state-negotiated settlement with Microsoft. Wisconsin received nearly $80 million in technology vouchers as part of the 2009 settlement related to a consumer lawsuit over software.

I’m not opposed to schools using iPads or other tablet devices. Frankly, it’s the world we live in and kids should learn how to use them. Furthermore, the textbook racket is very expensive and digital media can be a way to bring down costs while keeping the content current. What bothers me about this story is that it seems like there isn’t a plan for the iPads. The district got some “free money” in a settlement and decided to spend it on iPads without knowing what they would do with them. I hope that it’s just the news story that makes it appear so poorly planned.