Dive Summary:
- Broadacres and Cimarron Elementary Schools were the first to deploy iPads Tuesday in the Los Angeles Unified School District's massive, $1-billion push to issue a device to every student.
- Prior to the deployment, Broadacres had no wireless Internet and few working computers, and Cimarron's computer lab was too small for a full class, so the deployment is expected to level the playing field for the two low-income schools.
- The move is meant to upgrade not just technology, but teaching and achievement, as well; critics have expressed concern that the deployment was rushed, with teachers having little time to train on both the devices and the new state standards.
From the article:
... DeCoursey had three days of training on both the iPad and the state's new learning standards, which she's supposed to teach with the devices.
That pace concerns Brandon Martinez, a professor at USC's Rossier School of Education.
"Having an iPad for personal use is not the same as using it to instruct students," Martinez said. "Before you put any kind of technology into the hands of students, the teachers have to be fully trained and capable of using it to teach." ...
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