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School Swaps Math Textbooks For iPads
MexiCali59 writes "Four of California's largest school districts will be trying something new on eighth-grade algebra students this year: giving them iPads instead of textbooks. The devices come pre-loaded with a digital version of the text, allowing students to view teaching videos, receive homework assistance and input assignment all without picking up a pen or paper. If the students with iPads turn out to do improve at a faster pace than their peers as expected, the program could soon spread throughout the Golden State."
Because the USA, unlike the rest of the world, is immune to the idea that investing in education and infrastructure yields tangible benefits for society!
Sure, but think of the children and how much better they will be able to learn under Lord Jobs.
"To prevent this day from getting any worse, I'll just read ERROR as GOOD THING" 1GJU8xLuDKDxEs4KLf8fAGyptoDsqvEsBT
Battery dies on your iPad - Apple gives you a new one. Yup, that's their policy. BTW, this isn't about iPads. The rest of your argument. You are completely ignoring the cost of labor. Labor costs go up faster than other costs. At some point we can't afford it either we reduce the amount of labor by investing in capital or we reduce production. We cannot sustain ever rising costs. So what do we give up - textbooks, class size and teaching quality, what? We can introduce some automation, yup that is what IT does best, and reduce the cost of labor by reducing the amount of labor we need per unit of output. Basic economics. In this case we are talking about reducing the amount of time kids need to spend with a quality teacher in person. Your teacher costs a hell of a lot more than $500 per student.
Very often, people confuse simple with simplistic. The nuance is lost on most. - Clement Mok