Education Use of Apple iPad Growing

Story first appeared on Bloomberg News

Julie Garcia handed Apple Inc. (AAPL) iPads to students in her seventh-grade pre-algebra class on a recent morning before showing the pupils how to use the tablet to graph data, hunt for correlations and record how-to videos.

A math instructor at Innovation Middle School, Garcia is one of the first to use some of the more than 25,000 iPads the San Diego Unified School District bought from Apple this year.

Garcia said it is the "cool factor" as she looks over the room of students tapping energetically on tablets.

For districts around the country, though, it’s the price as much as the cool quotient that could draw them to a new, smaller version of the iPad that Apple will unveil tomorrow at an event in San Jose, California. Apple has long been a leader in education, and schools began embracing the iPad soon after its 2010 debut. Yet as fiscal budget shortfalls crimp spending all the more, schools in growing numbers are warming to the handheld devices as an alternative to more expensive laptops.

Now schools, as well as consumers, are about to get another big price break: The smaller iPad may cost as little as $249, according to Barclays Plc. That compares with $499 to $829 for the current iPad.

Beyond the school market of course, Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook will use the device to try to widen Apple’s lead over Amazon.com Inc. and Google Inc. and fend off a more recent threat from Microsoft Corp. in the market for tablets, which NPD DisplaySearch predicts will more than double to $162 billion by 2017. Cook will unveil an iPad with a 7.85-inch screen diagonally, people familiar with its development said in August. The current iPad has a 9.7-inch screen.

iPad Shift

Yet Apple executives plan to make a point of highlighting the iPad’s educational capabilities at tomorrow’s event, according to a person with knowledge of the planning. Little wonder. Education spending on information technology, including hardware, was about $19.7 billion in the 2010-2011 period, according to the Center for Digital Education.

Educators’ bet on tablets mirrors a trend in the broader consumer-electronics market, where consumers are buying iPads instead of traditional personal computers. PC sales in K-12 fell 8 percent in the U.S. last quarter, the third straight decline, Gartner said.

James Ponce, the superintendent of the McAllen Independent School District in Texas said they are moving away from desktops and laptops to tablet devices.

School Sales

The education push is part of a strategy put in place under co-Founder Steve Jobs, before the iPad was introduced in 2010. While Apple has a history of selling Mac computers to schools, the company realigned its education sales force to emphasize iPads, a person familiar with the changes said.

Innovation Middle School has traditionally used Lenovo Group Ltd. (992) computers because Macs are too expensive, said Harlan Klein, the school’s principal.

The new iPad comes at a critical time for Apple. Its shares have dropped 13 percent since reaching a record on Sept. 19, two days before the company released the iPhone 5. Sales of the smartphone have been constrained by supply constraints. Apple is also facing fresh competition in tablets from Microsoft (MSFT), which on Oct. 26 will release the Surface, its first foray into hardware. Apple had about 70 percent of the market in the second quarter, compared with Samsung Electronics Co., which had 9.2 percent, and Amazon’s 4.2 percent, according to IHS ISuppli.

Courting Educators

To woo educators, Apple’s sales staff meets regularly with school administrators and procurement officers across the U.S. The company has sales staff assigned to work with schools in particular regions of the U.S., and pays for district officials to visit Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, California, to learn about new products.

The company will need to set the new iPad’s price right to woo cash-strapped districts.

Vineet Madan, a senior vice president at McGraw-Hill Cos. (MHP) education unit said there would be a real aggressive uptake in the K-12 market when tablets get into the $200-$300 range.

To save money, San Diego’s school district bought iPad 2s after Apple dropped the price of that model when the newest version was introduced earlier this year.

Training Teachers

Drawing on funds raised through a voter-approved bond measure, the district spent about $370 on each iPad, which comes pre-loaded with various educational applications, Browne said.

Besides budgetary constraints, a major challenge for schools is training teachers and managing all the new equipment and software. If a teacher wants to use an iPad math application, synchronizing a classroom of devices and monitoring all the students’ work can be time consuming. In San Diego, a team of eight employees helps train teachers and manage new technology.

Touch Screens

In southern Texas, Ponce of the McAllen Independent School District reached out to Apple soon after the district decided to get away from buying laptops and desktops, which he said were expensive to maintain and unappealing for many students. Apple was at the table helping craft the district’s strategy for integrating technology in classrooms, he said.

The work resulted in McAllen buying about 25,000 iPads, paying Apple about $3.5 million a year as part of a financing deal the district worked out with Apple. About half the district’s technology budget is now going to Apple, Ponce said. Students are using iPad applications to test for vocabulary, make presentations and compile class notes.

While some teachers have resisted the new technology, many are adapting because they see students are increasingly fluent with touch-screen-based technology, said Courtney Browne, a technology resource teacher at San Diego Unified School District.

What is the Best Student Laptop?

Houma Today

“What’s the best laptop?” I get this question a lot. Unfortunately, the answer isn’t simple.

Much depends who’s using it and for what purpose. This time of year, laptops are being scooped up by grads. Many schools and majors list general computing requirements. This is a great place to start for the right machine specifications. In addition, that alone might help you settle the whole Windows vs. Mac dilemma.

Here’s some of what’s available this year.

Macs

Mac users have things fairly easy. Any current Apple notebooks should meet general use requirements. The entry-level MacBook ($1,000) has an Intel Core 2 Duo processor. It also has 2 gigabytes of memory and a 250GB hard drive. A 13-inch LED-backlit screen, built-in webcam and DVD burner round things out. Wireless networking is standard.

Go with a MacBook Pro, if you can afford it. The base model ($1,200) has many of the same features. However, memory is doubled to 4GB. There’s also a backlit keyboard and a slot for SD cards. And the aluminum body is more durable.

Windows

Things are more complicated with Windows computers. Many manufacturers make Windows laptops in a variety of form factors. Specifications vary widely. There are also a few different versions of Windows.

First off, watch out for netbooks. These small, inexpensive laptops often use Intel’s Atom processor. They have small monitors and keyboards. They’re also less powerful than a standard laptop. Students need a full-fledged laptop.

I recommend Windows 7 Home Premium or Ultimate. Go for a machine running the 64-bit version. It will be able to support more memory for faster performance. It will also handle multiple open programs better.

Select a dual-core processor like Intel’s Core 2 Duo or AMD’s Turion II. Newer processors may have more than two cores. These top-of-the-line processors are often a waste of money. Most students won’t need anything that powerful.

For 64-bit Windows, go with 4GB of memory. With 32-bit Windows, don’t pay for more than 3GB of memory; it won’t be supported above that level. I recommend a roomy hard drive; 250GB is probably good for most.

A DVD burner can also be helpful. Wi-Fi and an Ethernet port are mandatory. They should come standard. Look for plenty of USB ports and a large keyboard. Small keyboards can make typing uncomfortable.

A large screen is nice. That’s particularly true if you want to add a TV tuner card for watching TV. But if you’re carrying this around, balance size and weight with screen size. A six-pound computer can be a real back-breaker.

Expect to pay at least $600 for a machine meeting these specifications.

Claim educational discounts

Your student should qualify for educational discounts. You can save $100 or more on the price of a laptop. But, it still pays to comparison shop. Start with the school’s bookstore. Manufacturers like HP and Apple also offer discounts directly. You can also try sites like JourneyEd, AcademicSuperstore and Gradware.

Educational discounts also apply to software, printers, discount laptops and other extras. For example, students can get Adobe’s Photoshop CS5 Extended for $199. That’s a savings of $700 off Adobe’s regular price. Check with the computing department before buying software. Some schools have licensing agreements with software companies. You may be able to get software for $10 or so.

Be prepared to show proof of enrollment to get the discounts.