Last month, word got out that Apple had won a bid for a colossal tablet deal with the Los Angeles Unified School District. The district, which is the second-largest in the country, agreed to buy some $30 million worth of iPads.
Today comes more details about the massive tablet rollout. According to a new report from CITEWorld, the LAUSD plans to distribute over 30,000 free iPads to students this school year in an effort to improve education…
“Students in the Los Angeles Unified School District will receive 31,000 free iPads this school year under a new $30 million program launched by the district. The goal is to improve education and get them ready for the workforce with new technology skills they are not getting at home.
The first 31,000 iPads are only the initial phase of the program, which plans to buy and distribute iPads to all 640,000 students in the nation’s second-largest school district by late 2014, Mark Hovatter, the chief facilities executive for the LAUSD, told CITEworld.”
Apparently, the first deployment phase is already underway in 49 of the district’s 1,000+ schools. Each student is getting an iPad pre-loaded with educational apps and digital textbooks that will help them complete their schoolwork.
The decision to buy the students iPads came after a long review process. Twelve proposals came in from vendors, including Apple, Samsung, and Microsoft, which were meticulously analyzed by a team of 30 people, says Havatter.
As it makes inroads into enterprise and government sectors, Apple continues to show interest in the education field as well. Last year, the company hosted a New York event where it launched iBooks 2 and a new Textbook initiative.