Summary: From high-speed internet to access to computers, today’s classrooms are more connected than ever. But in Los Angeles’s Unified School District, there’s a whole lot more in the works. Last month, Apple won a $30 million contract to distribute iPads to schoolchildren in Los Angeles County, and the school district recently announced that by the end of next year, all 640,000 students in the district will get their own iPads. The tablets will come loaded with a Pearson Courses app, Apple’s iWork and iLife suites, and a wide range of educational third-party apps. The chief facilities executive for the Los Angeles Unified School District has emphasized how important it is to give kids access to the technology they’ll face once they graduate, and that the first wave of iPads will be targeted at kids who most likely don’t have their own computers or iPads. In today’s connected world, everyone will need to master technology early to succeed later in life, which makes this partnership a win-win all around.
