An iPad for every student in  Los Angeles school district!...

 

The Los Angeles Unified School District is passing out iPads to all 650,000 of its students this fall, part of a $1 billion high-tech investment. Whether that's a smart move depends on teacher training and a host of other factors, experts say.

Daniel B. Wood

America's second largest school district will be giving all its students iPads, a move that is eliciting a great range of reactions – delight from kids, excitement from teachers, and debate and concern from education analysts.
Two elementary schools within the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) were the first to distribute iPads to students on Tuesday. Forty-five more campuses (kindergarten through high school) will roll them out to all the district's 650,000 students during the next two weeks. Pre-loaded with educational software, each costs $678, more than in stores. A wireless network must be installed on every campus, as well.

The district's iPad investment is raising a host of educational and legal questions, given that students will be taking the tablet computers home. Among them are school spending rules, bond disclosure requirements for the $1 billion needed to fund the program, and the lifespan of the iPads.