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Tech Giants Donate $750 Million In Goods and Services To Underprivileged Schools
mrspoonsi sends news that a group of major tech companies has combined to donate $750 million worth of gadgets and services to students in 114 schools across the U.S. Apple is sending out $100 million worth of iPads, MacBooks, and other products. O'Reilly Media is making $100 million worth of educational content available for free. Microsoft and Autodesk are discounting software, while Sprint and AT&T are offering free wireless service. This is part of the ConnectED Initiative, a project announced by the Obama Administration last year to bring modern technology to K-12 classrooms. The FCC has also earmarked $2 billion to improve internet connectivity in schools and libraries over the next two years. Obama also plans to seek funding for training teachers to utilize this infusion of technology.
So, Apple's donating stuff which costs them money to make (hardware). O'Reilly is giving stuff which doesn't cost them much, if anything (incremental cost). Kudos for that freebie, but Microsoft and Autodesk are likely making a profit with a "discount" on things with virtually no incremental cost. They probably consider it like advertising - they expect to make even more from future sales. Sprint and ATT are somewhere in between.
"National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
I remember back in the 80s with Apple IIes everywhere. I liked my c64 at home, but Apple IIe were maybe the first computer some kids could put their hands on. Since I was just a kid, I didn't appreciate that at the time. So instead of being a mentor to lift other people up in their computer skills, I just wanted to play what little games there were and program little programs. I think a lot of us might have so much computer skills in relation to others that we don't give a first thought to just hosting a class in the local library. I'm sure a lot of us could help people not get scammed as easily on the Internet at least. Or maybe someone could make aps for education.
I waxed philosophical on maybe we should teach more over just using ourselves, but Apple has a long history of donating tons of computers. Whether or not you think it was a smart move to invest in their own future, it definitely put computers in kids hands who maybe never touched one before.
God spoke to me
Apple is giving away HARDWARE and Microsoft is offering a discount on software.
I'd be ashamed to work for Microsoft right now.
Get free satoshi (Bitcoin) and Dogecoins
I don't get it. Why not tax corporations properly and legislate against their exploitation of tax havens? With more government revenue you can properly fund the education system without having to rely on the condescension of corporate largess. The G-20 is meeting soon. Sounds like an ideal time to reform international tax law.
How about we just have Apple (and many other mega-companies) pay taxes at a reasonable rate then we won't need to fund education from "charity" (plus don't forget that the $100M is tax deductable, so it part of another tax loophole. Details here: http://www.americansfortaxfair...
These gifts and grants are nice, but without long-term funding of support staff this is what happens:
http://www.njspotlight.com/sto...
You can't simply push tons of technology into schools and forget about it. The "light the fuse and run" approach never works. You need a staff of technology people who will train staff, maintain and repair the tech, and integrate the technology into the curriculum.
Without adequate support, these systems will simply collect dust and end up in a storage locker.
Somebody lied to you.
http://data.worldbank.org/indi...
You'll notice that the US spends more than practically any country, and gets among the worst results. If you look at our own spending over time vs results, again you'll see that as budgets have increased, results have gotten worse. Spending more to do more of the wrong thing doesn't help.