The Los Angeles School District has approved a program that will give 27 high schools six different kinds of laptops for students.
The program is part of an effort to give all students in the second-largest school system in the U.S. access to computers, according to Los Angeles Times. The Board of Education will review contracts for the laptops on Tuesday, for which the schools will be able to spend up to $40 million on the devices. The laptops will be tested in the fall by teachers, students and administrators if they should keep using them.
"The benefit of the new approach is clear," said Monica Ratliff, member of the Los Angeles Unified school board. "Why would we treat all out students- whether they are a first-grader or a high school freshman - as if they all had the same technology needs? They don't ... To have a one-devices-fits-all approach does not make sense."
The school district attempted a similar initiative last year for iPads, after striking up a $30 million deal with Apple that would give each student across the 47 campuses of the L.A. district an iPad. However, students used their new devices for more than educational purposes, hacking past security filters to go on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other websites. This lack of educational use of the devices led to some students having their iPads taken away from them. While LA schools are currently not distributing iPads, some schools are still scheduled to receive the devices later this year, CNET reported.
Some schools have already chosen the laptops they want to use, such as the Microsoft Surface Pro 2, the Dell Latitude E7240, the Lenovo Yoga Touch, and Chromebooks. Unlike the iPad initiative, which only allowed students use of the iPad, the new program provides students with the option of a full laptop or a hybrid.
The schools have until Friday to choose their laptops. Carolyn McKnight, principal at East Los Angeles Performing Arts Magnet, chose the Levono for her school and found the computer, as well as the other choices, more impressive than the iPad, the Los Angeles Times reported.
"Students were more comfortable on the laptop because of the amount of writing and the size of the screen," she said. "It was really hard to see the whole problem on the iPad."
Negotiations were held about prices for the laptops last week. A panel was also organized for school board members to review the program.
"We are pleased that they are looking into options ... to do the best job and get the most for the money," said committee member Barry Waite. "It's never good to be stuck to one technology or device."
