Michigan To Purchase Record 130,000 Laptops 641
goombah99 writes "The Detroit FreePress reports that Michigan state is planning the largest single laptop purchase/lease ever, over 130,000 wireless laptops--enough for every 6th grader. And of course future purchases for each new class. The main competion is between Dell and Apple, with Apple having the edge in classroom integration experience. But price points will matter since the school districts may have to pay $25 per pupil. And the Gates foundation has a foot in the door. No word on what OS the Dell laptops would run. What would be your choice for middle school classrooms with minimal sys admin?"
My choice (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:My choice (Score:3, Funny)
Re:My choice (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:the ONLY Choice (Score:5, Insightful)
High quality versions of the applications necessary for a young student to thrive are available on every modern OS...spreadsheets, word processors, presentations, web browsers, and other internet utilities. It's even arguable that Macs have better tools for creating multimedia content for projects, which may excite the students even more.
The purpose of the laptops isn't to teach them how to maintain a computer, it's to use the computer as a tool. That being the case, why wouldn't the state choose the platform that is more easily maintained, more secure, has a lower cost of ownership, and has fewer headaches in general?
Re:the ONLY Choice-Win-studies. (Score:3, Insightful)
If Michigan had a set of specific applications in mind, then there wouldn't be much question of what platform they would pick. Instead it seems like they are following other states' lead by giving students access to laptops for general schoolwork, NOT to run specific applications. Besides, there are definitely plenty of educational software titles available for OSX. Maybe not as <b>many</b> as Windows, but quant
Re:My choice (Score:5, Insightful)
Cost to setup/aquire softtware/etc from least expensive to most:
Linux/Windows/Mac
Least Expensive to maintain from least to most:
Mac/Windows/Linux
(Remember Windows admins are significantly easier to find/hire/fire than Linux admins, plus explaining to 130,000 kids how to rpm -Uvh rpmname.rpm isn't optimal)
Re:My choice (Score:3, Funny)
Re:My choice (Score:5, Insightful)
Laptops to 6th graders
what the heck for, its going to get broken, stolen, and not used to its full potential.
all they need is a browser, and a word processor.
they could prolly get away with a palm before they need a laptop.
How many Slashdotters? (Score:3, Insightful)
I happen to think my high level of comfort and adaptability with computers greatly benefitted from my early exposure to the computer.
I also know that I WORSHIPPED that piece of crap with its cassette drive (30 minutes to load Pac Man???) like it was the most prized object in the universe.
Now the Michigan Laptop program may be a flaming-pile-of-shit, but before everyone starts talking about idiot si
Re:My choice (Score:3, Informative)
FWIW, my company spends about $65,000/month on repairs for lease replacements. And these are adult users. 6th graders are much less forgiving.
And what about battery life? A typical lithium battery
Re:My choice (Score:2, Informative)
here [macworld.com] is some non-anecdotal evidence.
Re:My choice (Score:3, Funny)
Need any help?
Here's an artical about (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Here's an artical about (Score:2, Informative)
Ibooks for all (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Ibooks for all (Score:3, Insightful)
That's opinion, not fact. My school runs Windows 2000, and I have *never* seen a *single* computer crash. Nor have Word, Excel, or PowerPoint ever crashed on me. Perhaps it's because they have a fixed environment and don't mess with it - but, nonetheless, Windows XP (or 2000) can be made rock solid with proper administration.
"and doesnt have to have a legion of anti-virus software packages installed on it to keep the machine safe"
They run Norton corpoate version. It's s
Re:Ibooks for all (Score:3, Insightful)
Loaded statement. This can be said of almost any commercial OS.
Re:Ibooks for all (Score:3, Insightful)
How about without proper administration? Mac OS X has the advantage there - it's secure out out of the box and it doesn't have viruses attacking it. There's already been a massive deployment in Maine and that hasn't attracted the virus writers - or if it has, they haven't been successful.
These kids' laptops won't get locked down. They'll be
Re:Ibooks for all (Score:3, Insightful)
What, that it's secure out of the box or that it doesn't have viruses attacking it?
What about the student who decides to delete a bunch of files or download a program that messes up their system.
Why would they let them [apple.com] do that?
"These kids' laptops won't get locked down."
Why not?
Because they're laptops, they're meant to move with the kids among classrooms. And probably go home.
Believe it or not, it is very unlikely that a student would run into a virus that wouldn't be caught by def
Physical access == root access (Score:3, Informative)
For Windows NT:
Tools/devices needed: 3.5" USB floppy drive and a 3.5" disk
Software: NT Password Boot Disk [eunet.no]
1. Download floppy image of NT Password Boot disk, write to a floppy
2. Boot from floppy
3. Change the local administrator's password
4. Log in as Administrator and add you to the local Administrators group
For MacOS X:
1. Power on
2. Hold Apple+S during the startup chord
3. Release keys after text screen appears; wait for the shell pro
Re:Ibooks for all (Score:3, Insightful)
In addition, it's a Mac. It just works, Apple gives phenomenal educational discounts, and with OS X, the kids can *opt* to learn a UNIX-like (well, BSD, really,) environment without having to muck about with installing something new and potentially wiping out their hard drives.
Re:Ibooks for all (Score:2, Interesting)
Dell with Linux. (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Dell with Linux. (Score:2)
As with everythng, your milage may vary...
Durable enough? (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Durable enough? (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Durable enough? (Score:3, Interesting)
From the article (emphasis mine):
"No wider than an entry-level ThinkPad but much thicker and heftier, the $4,500 GoBook MAX is a waterproof, vaporproof, shockproof piece of field equipment."
Hmmm, I wonder why the state wouldn't consider these?
Re:Durable enough? (Score:4, Funny)
the only thing i would ever consider other than the thinkpad is a PowerBook - and thats purely because that thing is so beautiful I would have sex with it if it had a pair of tits!
Re:Durable enough? (Score:4, Informative)
When I was in grade 6, I would have lost my head if it wasnt attached to me.
How the hell are they going to insure these lappies arent stolen?
"Give me your lunch money....errr.....laptop! Or I will give you an ultra-mega-uber-wedgie!"
Hoards of kids handing their laptops over to bullies will follow.
How can a grade 6 student be responsible for a laptop.
Re:Durable enough? (Score:3, Insightful)
There is a large university in San Antonio that issues laptops to its students with a $50 deductable. If the laptop is lost or stolen the student pays the $50 deductable and gets another one. Street price on them was around $250.
Doesn't take a genius of a student to subtract the two numbers and end up $200 richer after a police report and a couple of days.
Same thing goes for any kind of insure
Re:Durable enough? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Durable enough? (Score:4, Informative)
Office for OSX is far far nicer than horrible Office XP/2003 for Windows. It's like everything on Mac that MS makes - IE is another example. IE can support transparent PNGs on Mac, but it can't on Windows.
Anyway, Apple are supposed to be preparing a new office suite for mac os X (have you seen keynote? I'd die for a *nix port of that), and it will be mighty good. Apples track record for inhouse software has been excellent so far. Final Cut Pro, Keynote, Safari, OSX... the list goes on.
Who needs an OS (Score:3, Funny)
No decision at all: should go with Apple laptops (Score:2, Insightful)
Guess (Score:5, Funny)
I'll give you a hint. It starts with a 'W' and ends with an indows.
what? (Score:5, Interesting)
That can't be a serious statement.
I hope Apple wins and these kids get iBooks with an airport card. I have a G4 Powerbook and my girlfriend has a 900mhz iBook, and I have to tell you, I'm not really sure where my extra $1000 went.
Re:what? (Score:5, Funny)
A Slashdotter with a girlfriend.
And he's missing a thousand bucks.
Ahem.
I think we can all connect those dots.
Just how much are those web-cam "girlfriends" per-minute, anyway?
Re:what? (Score:3, Funny)
A Slashdotter with a girlfriend.
And he's missing a thousand bucks.
Ahem.
I think we can all connect those dots.
His girlfriend's laptop now has a lot of RAM and external storage? What else would you do with a thousand bucks?
I'd buy Macs... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:I'd buy Macs... (Score:3, Interesting)
In a business, you'd be right. That is not the case with schools.
The Macs will cost less because of the lower IT staffing requirements.
Schools don't really have the luxury of being able to float bonds like businesses (or even municipalities), It is far more feasible for a school to budget more money for an IT staff each year than it is to get more money up front.
Unfortunately, that's the same reason many school IT administrators will go with Windows. Less sta
Re:I'd buy Macs... (Score:3, Insightful)
- It runs on all of their hardware, so they don't have to get rid of their Pentium 166 boxes to standardize on a single OS. Try running Mac OS X on a PowerMac 200mhz with no USB.
- It has very good centralized management tools
- It doesn't lock them into a single hardware vendor. My discrict standardized on HP, but only because a signifigant portion of my town works for HP, so they get huge discounts on hardware
- It doesn't require ret
Does this really make sense? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Does this really make sense? (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Does this really make sense? (Score:5, Informative)
Oh, and to answer the main question in this thread... they'll probably run whatever OS a majority of Michigan schools are already running. If the kids are learning how to use XP in the computer labs, it's the most practical (though not necessarily the best) solution to stick XP on the laptops too, for consistancy's sake. As beneficial as it would be for kids to leave middle school knowing how to use both XP and OSX or Linux, it ain't gonna happen.
Re:Does this really make sense? (Score:3, Informative)
It makes plenty of sense [freep.com]. Or was that cents?
Re:Does this really make sense? (Score:3, Informative)
There are 3 distinct groups in the teachers:
-No idea. These people have had such fun as 'ripping DVD/CD combo out of chasis because it won't open' and 'oops, my LCD screen has fell off'. That's about 50% of the teachers.
-The 'I'll use it way too much' group. Enjoy shitty powerpoint presentations? Well, these people h
Saxophones? (Score:3, Insightful)
And this is all passed onto the parents, and not paid for by the school!
As for depreciation, you haven't tried re-selling an instrument after 4 years that was t
But Why? (Score:4, Insightful)
Isn't Michigan having a budget crunch like every other state?
Re:But Why? (Score:2)
These soldiers will be used when fighting countries like Iraq to hacksor and the enemies will run away in ph33f.
Cuz after all...what country is worth living in when it can be pwned by 6th graders?
My choice... (Score:5, Insightful)
I dunno... maybe a blackboard, some chalk and a couple of erasers. Paper, pens and pencils would be apropos. Textbooks I hear have a pretty low TCO.
Biggest Criteria (Score:2)
Misguided Spending (Score:5, Insightful)
over 130,000 wireless laptops--enough for every 6th grader
Great. Now every 6th grader may not be able to write a coherent sentence or multiply two fractions, but they'll be able to point-and-click their way to the job of their dreams.
Computers aren't the solution, but tools to help aciheve one.
Re:Misguided Spending (Score:3, Funny)
tools to help aciheve one
See? Look what affect computers have had even on me!
Re:Misguided Spending (Score:2)
nobody ever proposed scrapping traditional schooling - kids will still be taught the theory of math(s), English, science etc... just the medium through which it is taught has changed - which your second statement regarding solution/tools pretty much backs up...
Re:Misguided Spending (Score:2)
At least they will know where India is on the map and be able to get plane tickets through MSExpedia [expedia.com].
Mod parent up! (Score:3, Insightful)
What's next, getting graded on your choice of on-slide animation effects and transition effects?
I'm glad I'll be dead before we've had more than two generations of these clowns, the spiral into ignorance and incompetance won't be pretty.
That has to be good news... (Score:2)
MY choice? (Score:3, Interesting)
Dell (Score:3, Informative)
-J
Bad for Apple, Bad for Comps in Schools. (Score:3, Interesting)
This effects more then Apple though, this effects the whole computers in classrooms issue. When the go with MSDELL, and it ends up costing a lot more then they realized, other schools will not be as likely to fallow suite.
Sys admin requirement (Score:2)
I'd probably choose Win(insert version here) with the ability to quickly Ghost the hard drive. It's easy to get ahold of a teacher/friend of a teacher/whoever that has some Windows trouble-shooting experience. What can't be fixed gets Ghosted (do those backups to a central machine or a CD-R). Linux may be more secure in a number of ways, but quickly finding someone to fix the problem loc
Re:Sys admin requirement (Score:3, Insightful)
===============
Laptops for 6th graders? (Score:2, Insightful)
Apparently the state has too much money to spend, either that, or someone in state government has a 6th grader or two.
6th Graders with Laptops. (Score:5, Insightful)
In some of my old CS classes, I remember COLLEGE students playing games or watching movies during the lectures. I can forsee a similar problem with the younguns.
What OS? It should probably be "Schoolnix"
Minimal sys admin (Score:2)
What a waste of tax dollars (Score:2, Insightful)
Other Considerations (Score:2, Interesting)
First of all, there is no mention of what OS they will run, and if they do run Windows, which they most likely will, who will be responsible for patches, updates, virus definitions. Will the kids learn to defrag. their own hard drives? Can they take them home? What about monitoring? Does the school have keyloggers or keep track of cookies, history files? What if the student uses the computer
OS Choice (Score:2, Funny)
Easy administration. Easy distribution of new apps...just make a new CD and distribute it. Put the
etc...
I wouldn't buy the laptops. (Score:2, Insightful)
These kids have the rest of their lives to spend in front of a keyboard and screen. Give them a few more years of relief before they get chained up.
What a stupid trend (Score:5, Insightful)
My choice for school kids is pen and paper and good teachers.
Why spend so much money on technological gadgetry with 2/3 years of life when that money could be better spent on smaller classes, more personalized education and fighting illiteracy?
What's more, one thing I strongly believe is that computers destroy what makes kids kids : the ability to imagine and dream. Computers and televisions presents them with pre-chewed images that prevents them from developing their imagination, and pretty much turns a lot of them into passive technology consumers. The last thing we need is that crap to pervade into schools. There's time enough for kids to get into technology later, even touch it a little now and then as introductory classes when they're younger, but really schools should be sanctuaries of things simple, to let kids' brains be free and allow them to learn the basics properly.
Re:What a stupid trend (Score:3, Insightful)
I'm sorry; that's horseshit.
While you may decry the state of television programming, or the rampant amount of porn on the net, these
Re:What a stupid trend (Score:3, Insightful)
No kidding. When I was younger I was struggling to learn Pascal, run a BBS, and played MUDs for fun, loving every minute because it was like reading a book that was different every day.
The only thing that turns people into "consumers" is
Re:What a stupid trend (Score:3, Informative)
The pervading attitude is akin to "teach kids about car maintenance by getting them to clean the bodywork".
Kids should be taught how the things work (not down to fetch/execute cycle level) in terms of hard drives, networks, and maybe some simple programming (but not anything which makes it too easy).
They're not... (Score:2, Informative)
Pros and Cons (Score:3, Interesting)
---------------
Pros: Lack of virii, easy remote administration, friendly interface, Office suite, flexibility, able to network easily with other Macs and (slightly more difficultly) with Windows or Linux/Unix
Cons: Some people won't touch a Mac because they're predisposed into thinking it sucks.
Linux
--------
Pros: Lack of (numerous) virii, relatively easy remote administration, stable, cheap, flexible, able to network with other computers running Linux/Unix Windows, Mac
Cons: Slightly more difficult, espeically troubleshooting
Windows
-------------
Pros: "Everyone" uses it, likely least infrastructure changes, perhaps some familiarity
Cons: Unstable (don't even talk to me about XP, it's just as bad), open to virii and numerous other vuln's, potentially difficult troubleshooting (believe me, I've worked with other college kids' computers in the dorms)
Verdict
----------
Who cares as long as it's not Windows! Though with the recent debacle with Dell's mandatory license agreement, the Macs might be the better option.
iBook (Score:2)
Of course on mine I run Gentoo, but I think OS X would be fine for the students; at least until next year...
CB
Why!? (Score:2)
Why, oh why would you do this? I fail to see what placing a laptop in the hands of a student would do, aside from give them a very expensive projectile. I'm a geek. I think computers are neat. They're great tools, but they're not a magic cure for bad teaching, and, more specificially bad teachers.
Memphis City Schools tried a similar program through the 1990's, called the 21st Century Classroom. Certain Schools became "21st Century Schools," where EVERY room was a 21st Century Classroom. They ha
Maine (Score:3, Informative)
Minimal (zero!) sys admin choice: (Score:2)
Wouldn't it be great ... (Score:2)
Obvious (Score:2)
Gentoo. No X - command-line only. They get enough eye candy when they watch their Super Pokemon Power Rangers. Let's see, theyre in sixth grade, so we can expect them to know a little bit of yacc...
Lowest Bidder (Score:2)
Michigan should look at:
1. System administration costs (there are plenty of studies already out there)
2. Upgrade cycle
3. Life expectancy of the product
These three things will change how "affordable" each option is. I would argue that you get more laptop for the money with Apple - and on top of that you will get better ROI with Apple because o
Could be an interesting test case. (Score:2)
By the way, what's this delusion about "no word on which OS the Dell's would run." That's because it's such a non-issue it's not even worth mentioning. Ok, I like Linux, you like Linux, but does anybody really think there's snowball's
Appropriate? (Score:2)
choice? (Score:4, Insightful)
MacOSX, of course.
It's Unix-based and is widely acknowledged to have the best user-interface.
The UI means less problems of the "how do I do...?" kind.
The Unix-based means you can actually lock it down so that the user can't terminally fuck it up. At worst he loses his home directory.
Linux would be 2nd choice, as it has the Unix advantage, but not quite the slick interface.
Windows would be 3rd choice. It has neither, but is widely used, so the kids will find it again later in life.
*BSD and other less well-known OSs come later, mostly due to their obscurity and the lack of a wide selection of software. Also because even with the "minimal admin" goal you will need some admin work done, and that means you need to find people who can handle the machines. Easy to find for windos, Linux, MacOS (in that order). No so easy for NetBSD, Plan9 or LispOS.
Ah - to be in 6th grade with a laptop... (Score:4, Informative)
Back when I was in 6th grade, in 1976, I think we might have had portable manual typewriters as the bleeding edge technology. I didn't see a computer, outside of video games, until 1980.
Back then life was simple - you just had to remember stuff and use your brain - and you actually went to the library if you wanted to find out about something - or for entertainment in the form of Fiction. The librarian would be there as a guide to help you with difficult searches - and the card catalog would suffice in most cases. As a result, there was this built-in filter (as a result of having limited access at a measured pace) that allowed you to focus on what was important.
Now there is terabytes of crap we have to sort through to get to the kernel of truth on the net. The counterpart of the knowledgeable librarian are few and far between, and information has to be taken with more than a grain of salt.
While I applaud providing computing resources to children - I think it is more important to now start looking at ways of taking those resources to the next level beyond simple hierarchies of filesystems - to a real collector and recorder of critical knowledge for everyone, tailored to their specific neural wiring. I think that will be the next great leap in computing - and now that we have machines capable of making it a reality, we will see it happen.
Information is not static - lets build applications that take that idea to its fruition.
as a michigan taxpayer... (Score:5, Insightful)
as far as an OS choice, i'm going to burn any chance i might have of being moderated up here by suggesting windows xp. apple still doesn't really have a robust and easy to adminsiter means of locking down large numbers of systems and handling application delivery that would be required by this environment, nor does linux without a significant amount of research and development. while the software may be free, most of your local middle school admins (and i've worked with a number here in west michigan) don't have the first clue about managing linux (and barely the second clue on managing windows). this means that there'd be a large investment in outside contractors. of course this might mean some juicy support contracts for anybody that _does_ have these skills locally... hrmm.. maybe linux is a good idea after all
i'd also image that m$ is going to give a signifcant licensing break to the state to indoctrinate the students into the m$ shining path - i wouldn't be at all surprised if they gave away the windows licenses for free. before you act shocked, keep in mind that apple has been giving steep discounts to schools for decades for just the same reason.
Won't someone PLEASE think of the teachers?! (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Won't someone PLEASE think of the teachers?! (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Won't someone PLEASE think of the teachers?! (Score:3, Informative)
Their job is to talk to children, they're accountable to no one, and they work only 3/4 of the year
Christ, you're probably trolling, but if not you're a fucking clueless moron. If you think teaching is nothing more than "talking to children," you've got your head so far up your ass it can't be extracted. I know many teachers, and they ALL work 60 to 80 hours a week. It takes a lot of work to keep up with cirriculum changes, develop lesson plans, create assignments
How about some books? (Score:4, Insightful)
Perhaps they can start with some easy-to-digest classics of the Western canon, like Aeschylus, Swift, Twain, Shakespeare, etc., and then move on to the more difficult philosophical works of Donne, Rosseau, Locke, Jefferson, Hamilton, etc.
Most of this stuff I didn't get to read in high school because the standards were too low even in AP classes, and that's just too bad. Perhaps with fewer computers and less bullshit, and more books, better teachers, and school choice, students would actually come out of 12th grade knowing something and not requiring remedial education for their first year in college.
Must suck.. (Score:4, Funny)
My choice... (Score:3, Funny)
Fisher-Price. Anything with Barney or Pooh-Bear on it.
No people in favor? (Score:4, Insightful)
But I have to ask - how many of the people responding even HAVE kids?
Everyone slams 6th graders like they couldn't handle a computer if it killed them. When I was in 6th grade I already had two computers. Now that was the 80's so I was unusual then, but NOW? They already know more about the computers than most adults.
If you treat them like they are too young and immature to have a laptop - then they will be. If you teach them and allow them to learn - they will grow and expand. Children expand to fit their environment. Too many people treat children like they are stupid because they are young. Lack of experience is NOT THE SAME as lack of knowlege. Kids are AMAZINGLY smart. And they will never GET the experience you all want them to have, if you never ALLOW THEM TO.
6th graders are perfectly capable of keeping laptops.
And why not start using technology in the classroom? As long as it is just a TOOL - and not the focus of the course, it is fine... What if people had said the same thing about pen and paper? "We already have chalk and slate. We don't need any new gadgets. Kids won't be able to learn." Technology moves forward, we should use the technology as a TOOL to move forward as well.
Give kids some credit - they need to learn and grow sometime!
Oh yeah, and in my opinion the iBook is more durable than most Dell offerings.
6th Grade is where it all happens (Score:3, Insightful)
While there, I was involved in a project designed to bring technology into the classrooms. The key sides of every arguement was:
1. Kids don't need it.
2. We only need one per class room.
3. Every kid needs a laptop to be successful.
Of course, each one had its own woes of "Where does the money come from," and "How do we prevent them from goofing off?"
Well, the reality is this - any system, when administered properly, can be locked down. That means they have a large choice - Mac, Windows, Linux, Novell for Windows. It's all in the planning. If they make the correct roadmap, they will require less TCO to maintain it.
Someone here asked why we would buy soemthing that losses it's value overnight, but you are looking at it for the wrong reasons. Will it be able to play HalfLife 2? Probably not, can the encylopedia be updated with the latest content from the web, showing how California elected another actor for Governor? Why yes, it can...
Technology is the future - I'm not saying that they don't need to learn to read and write, but that is what elementary school is for. I don't know about you, but I learned to read and write in cursive well before the end of third grade (hell, maybe sooner).
Vocabulary can still be taught, literary works of art can be read (this content won't change), and RIAA can get involved to provide instruments to children after they sue the parents.
And - if you made it this far - no one ever said these kids were taking them home and running around with them. That's what home directories and mapped drives are for. You should be able to sit down at any machine, log in, and do your work with the standard set of tools (office, adobe or macromedia suite, internet explorer).
You see, laptops are simply an effective use of space in an already overcrowded school environment. I can easily stash 30 laptops in a cabinent faster than I can move 30 desktops and monitors out of the way. That is why they have choosen laptops.
Better watch out - your kids will have this luxury too!
--
Sound In Motion DJs - Official Music Provider of the San Jose Sharks! [simdjs.com]
Dear god no! (Score:3, Insightful)
iBooks + OSX + WiFi + AppleCare (Score:3, Insightful)
Overpurchase by 5% on the units. You won't have a care in the world for three years, repair wise compared to anything else.
Viruses? Feh.
TCO? Much lower.
Networking is self-configuring if you just RTFM.
Airport base stations judiciously placed. Secure the hell out of them, though - each school building will have a big 2.5GHz target painted on it from day 1.
An Xserve for each building, or use your existing servers (in the other articles, the wintel IT people are freaking about the added something or other.
As for the guns or butter arguments - they already have chalkboards, chalk, books, pencils, paper.
The average per pupil expenditure in the US is around $10,000 per year. If a $1200 iBook (that's their target price - easily done for an 800+airport+applecare in volume) lasts 3 years. I know. I bought a 500 the week they came out 2.5 years ago and it's still running circles around anything else from that long ago.
So the cost is $400 per year per student. That's 4%. try and reduce class size with that sort of increase. No can do.
Arg! (Score:3, Insightful)
seriously, folks (Score:4, Insightful)
Now, there's this. Laptops for 6th graders. What braindead politician came up with this one? For one, a 6th grade kid is usually not responsible enough to take care of his bicycle, let alone a commercial electronics device with sensitive equipment that costs 5 times as much. They'll be broken within days as they put them in their laptops and lug them about.
That is, if they last for more than day to begin with. As someone else has mentioned, kids like money. Unless these kids are hardcore geeks, careful, and can run like a bat out of hell, chances are these laptops will a) be stollen or b) be sold within the first couple days. A laptop that is seen as primarily for writing reports and papers, is big (for their age) and heavy, and has to be lugged around is not something that a kid would want, when they could sell it and buy, say, two or three years of the most trendy clothing and toys. These are middle schoolers we're talking about, here.
What's more, they're 6th graders. I don't know if you guys remember 6th grade or not, but the majority of 6th graders in my school were affraid of the upper classmen (7th and 8th), because there were always a few that would pick fights, and there was always the chacne that your stuff would be stollen. I'm sure some 7th or 8th grader that didn't get a laptop will want one, and know just where to get one.
Re:Let's prep these kids for the real world (Score:3, Insightful)