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Maine buys 38,600 ibooks for Public Schools
Anderson Silva writes "I just found this piece of news on MacSlash, and since I live in Maine, and I own an ibook, I thought I would pass the word along: The Maine Learning Technology Endowment has announced today that Apple has won the bid to provide Maine 6th, 7th and 8th graders with Apple iBooks and Airport wireless connection points."
As long as they equip the machines with Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego, Oregon Trail, and Number Munchers, everything should be golden.
Ahhh, memories...
python -c "x='python -c %sx=%s; print x%%(chr(34),repr(x),chr(34))%s'; print x%(chr(34),repr(x),chr(34))"
Ibooks come with 802.11b, so its not an extra purchase. So the schools can actually save money by NOT putting in a large network. So they get good cheap computer, and save money on a network. Lots of people forget about other expenses on a computer lab.
BTW, some high school experiences are much better, programming, typing tests, doing actual work, being a TA and grading assignments.
Side note - Every kid should play Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego and wagon train.
As a "Real World" educational technology person, I'll toss in my 2 cents on why we think it doesn't matter what OS kids use.
In my experiance, kids can move between platforms (Mac OS 8-9, 10, Windows 9x, 2K/XP, Linux) with no problems at all. In fact at my work we in the IT group think it's better for the kids to be exposed to mulitple platforms because it assists them in learning how to deal with different things.
For the Middle School grades, a Mac makes more sense than Windows for a number of reasons.
1. iMovie - Easy as pie DV work.
2. Office 2001/X - Works better than Office for Windows
3. AppleWorks - Nice, easier to use "light" Office Suite for younger kids.
If you think giving a Middle School kid an iBook will do them little good in the "real world", that's just FUD. A computer is a computer, what a 6th grader will be using when they get to the "real world" in 6-10 years isn't going to be what they are using today. Windows, Mac and Linux have changed a great deal since 1995 (5 years ago - when a 12th grader was in Middle School).
If anything, concentrating on one OS through a child's school career will, if anything make them unable to deal with changes. In short, they will end up like the majority of thier teachers.
As for the tired old "open Apple's hardware" speech...IDE, USB, Firewire, AGP, PCI - It's as open as most PC vendors, and alot more open than offerings by Sony or Compaq.
So, what was your point again?
NetInfo connection failed for server 127.0.0.1/local
I work for a school system in Ga that will be running several pilot programs in this upcoming year. Both Dell and Apple laptops with wireless capabilities will be bought. Both companies will be providing complete solutions for these "portable labs" that we plan on implementing. We already have 3 Dell portable labs that are in place, and their success is mixed.
Our school system is very experienced in terms of technology, with every classroom consisting of at least 4 desktops and several computer labs placed throught the schools. There are approximately 50 schools in our school system with this setup. Every computer is on the network, every computer is used for educational purposes. Educational software is not compromised of Oregon Trail, Carmen Sandiego, and Word 97, as most readers tend to think.
We use over a dozen software suites (most which run on both Windows and Macintosh operating systems) that allow for students to enhance and evaluate their reading, analytical, and mathematical skills. This software allows a child to be interested in reading, and be motivated to learn new mathematical concepts. The software is varied as the grade levels progress, and new skills are picked up by the student.
With over 10,000 workstations in our network to support, adding many more laptops into the mix will allow students to be able to learn new skills while being able to work in a more comfortable environment. The initial testing will be with portable wireless labs that will several teachers to use the laptops. Pending the results of our pilot program, potentially every student will have their own laptop to use. No, the students will not get to keep the laptop, but they will be turned in at the end of the school year.
I do not think that what Maine is doing is a bad idea, but if they cannot control the situation on how laptops are distributed, how the laptops are used, and how they are implemented to enhance the learning process, their program will be deemed a failure.
"If it ain't broke, it doesn't have enough features yet"
However, even more importantly Apple is a serious player in the education market, and a lot of educational software in K-12 is made for the Mac and the Mac version is better than the Window's ports --- so this isn't as strange of a decision as it sounds.
It was an open bidding process, so Apple won this bid fair and square based on the merits of their bid (the software, the training, and the hardware).
I'm so sick of hearing: a) its not MS so its a good thing and b) Apple is small so no one should ever use them. Its very important to use the right tools for the right jobs. And, in this case Apple legitimately sounds like its the right tool for the job.
Apple's iBook is a tough little computer with all of the connectors built in so that there are no dongles & with integrated wireless networking, this deal will end up saving all the schools in the State of Maine a ton of money not needing to pull cable to each desk in each classroom in each school across the whole state.
So, Congratulations to Apple. I hope that competition like this causes them to keep making better computers and make better deals.
---
"Don't anthropomorphize computers. They hate that."
I come from an educational market. I go to NTHS and I contract work out to them maintaining their network of 300 computers for 250 students. We get how technology works in school and how it doesn't. If the technology doesn't then our school doesn't work.
Why do schools get laptops:
You can have them in a traditional classroom setup of tables or small desks. When needed they're available. When not needed they can be closed. They can also be easily checked out and locked away to charge.
Students will steal them:
Yea. They will. We have students steal keyboards and mice a lot too. It's a lot easier to make off with a keyboard or mouse on a desktop machine (that you dont even have to checkout with your name) compared to a laptop which we are required to either checkout with picture ID or car keys. We have far less theft problems with our laptops simply because teachers police them.
Things break:
I dont know how Apple is working this out but each year we lose about 15 floppy drives, 3 hard drives and motherboard or two. All we do is call HP up and give them the serial number and the replacement is there the next day. It doesn't matter how it breaks. They'll replace it for 3 years. That's why you get service plans and that's why you buy in bulk because those deals are possible. I assume Maine worked something like this out.
1. Software can be more easily licensed 'per machine' allowing the kids (with permission) to take the machines home and use the software without dealing with headaches like copied (pirated) software from school. Believe me, those 'homework licenses' are a pain.
2. There's no external mouse to be gummed up or with a ball or steal. (When I was in HS, this was a *huge* problem.)
3. No mousepads needed.
4. The electricity logistics are probably better. A desktop with a newer 15" monitor will take 3 amps or so. A laptop only takes power when it's recharging. So you don't have to mess with lots of wiring and powerbars, etc.
5. Students can use them in the classroom at their desks which frees computer lab space for other uses.
6. Easy to securely store away in the summer so they're not sitting vulnerable in a lab somewhere.
7. Built-in audio. Most desktops in schools have external speakers which are annoying for other users. A minority of them will have headphone plugs. Almost every laptop will have a headphone plug.
8. Less heat generation than a desktop with a monitor. We have a certain new lab with 70 desktops with 19" monitors at my university and it's like a sauna in that room.
Laptop Cons
1. Oops, I dropped it (or spilled my lunch on it.)
2. Easier to steal when they are passing through many students' hands.
3. More expensive for the computing power, harder to upgrade or fix in-house.
around 90% of the computing world runs M$ software
And around 100% of the Mac computing world also runs Microsoft software. Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook, Internet Explorer, WiMP, etc. The fact is that you can get just as much real-world computer experience with a Mac as you can with a Windows computer.
Sure, Windows machines have tons of software that has been developed for them. Let me ask you one thing: how many programs do you typically use? 10? 20? I bet that for just about all of the programs you use there are either similar programs on the Mac, or there is the same exact program available!
Not to mention that since MacOS X is out and doing very well, there are a ton of developers scrambling to produce programs for it. Another thing is that BSD is built-in to MacOS X. Can you say "huge world of open-source software with just a simple compile"? I knew you could.
Macs do cost a bit more than a similar IBM-clone, but they also have a ton of added-value in the extras and attention to detail which comes with the platform. More and more people have been realizing this and have been trying Macintosh and loving it. This is a good thing, since with competition all of us benefit. Would you want to be the one to advocate giving the remaining 10% of the computing world to Microsoft without a fight? I didn't think so...
Sapere aude!
http://discus.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/zforum/01/ school_king0830.htm
In this article our Mac usin' Governor gives some info on the plan. He puts the target per unit cost at $500. I wonder about the server costs.
What no one has mentioned in this entire discussion is that this is all being paid for, more or less, by a TRUST FUND. Basically, the interest from this fund is being used to purchase the laptops. If this great experiment proves to be a collosal failure, no big deal. Shut down the trust fund and spend the money that used to be in it on something else. I'm from Maine, and knowing this to be the case, it seems like we'd be pretty stupid not to try this out...
If you think the DOS CLI kicked so much ass, you should get a new G4 with OS X and use a real unix CLI.
And Macs will allow them to work with mommy's and daddy's M$ files -- even without Virtual PC.
Sounds like your Macintosh understanding is sorely lacking. Please pick up Mac OS X for Dummies at your nearest retailer.