Katie MarsalIn August, Greater Atlanta Christian Schools will give each of its students in grades 6 through 12 a new MacBook loaded with proprietary software, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution. The computers will be paid for through the private schools' tuition, and will be accompanied by iPod touches that the students' families will be expected to individually finance.
The multimillion dollar upgrade will cost older students' families a 13.8 percent annual tuition increase, to $14,400 per year. Elementary school students will have a 7.8 percent increase, to $13,100 annually.
Laptops will be provided to all students, including those that already have computers at home. Each new MacBook will have insurance and tech support.
John Couch, Apple's vice president of education, is scheduled to visit the Greater Atlanta Christian Schools next week to talk about technology in the classroom, and to thank the schools for their purchase.
This year, Apple expanded its MacBook program in Maine, a project that is said to be the largest of its kind. As part of the deal, the state's Department of Education ordered more than 64,000 MacBooks for students and faculty in grades 7 through 12. The Maine Learning Technology Initiative has provided Apple laptops to all middle school students for years, making it the first and only state with a program that provides notebooks for every student.
Apple noted during its Q4 2009 quarterly conference call that the program has been very successful. It was said that 50,000 MacBooks were sent to the state during the September quarter as part of the ongoing initiative.
This month, Apple released a redesigned unibody 13-inch MacBook with an LED backlit display, built-in battery and glass multitouch trackpad. The polycarbonate plastic hardware is the cheapest Apple laptop at $999.
This summer, Apple noted that education sales have slowed due to budget constraints during the ongoing recession. The biggest hit has been in grades kindergarten through 12. Apple has lobbied the government on stimulus funding for local grade schools, something the Cupertino, Calif., company hopes will increase Mac purchases from public schools.
In September, Apple unveiled a new education licensing program for its software. Through the new plan, institutions can purchase annual coverage to keep their Mac software up to date. Each year, a license renewal provides 12 months of guaranteed upgrades to the latest releases of Apple software.
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13 Comments
I think this sentence needs some qualifications, as Apple regularly sells thousands of computers at a time to school systems all over the US.. It is certainly sizable by private school standards...
I think this sentence needs some qualifications, as Apple regularly sells thousands of computers at a time to school systems all over the US.. It is certainly sizable by private school standards...
I was going to say the same thing. Although I taught a private school for years. This sort of student requirement is not out of the ordinary, as the school is probably getting school/teacher computers as part of this deal too.
Tuition costs more than most colleges, adding a laptop doesn't mean anything to those parents.
I think this sentence needs some qualifications, as Apple regularly sells thousands of computers at a time to school systems all over the US.. It is certainly sizable by private school standards...
Welcome to Propaganda 101
Lesson #1: Believe nothing you hear and only half of what you see.
(Especially from MSNBC and to a lesser extent Foxnews.)What I wonder is how much Apple is paying for the slant, or is it just their preference for a certain political thinking that others of like mind tend to distort the facts in return favor fashion?
(I'm assuming the statement in question came from the original article of course, although the source of the article seems to be a very conservative paper, which could mean they don't read the more liberal mainstream media and thus didn't know about the Maine program)
Could it be the original writer and editor are just ignorant or lazy to do their online research? I doubt that.
It's a sad world where your bank gambles with your savings and the media distorts the truth.
Yes, I'll go back to bed and shut up now, my seeds of doubt have been planted.
Tuition costs more than most colleges, adding a laptop doesn't mean anything to those parents.
Whoa hold on a minute there.
I am a GAC parent, yeah one of THOSE parents, and I have an issue with the program, especially in this economy.
I'm paying approx. $1200-1400 more for tuition to support a MacBook that is lesser than than the MacBook my child currently owns. These MacBooks would be OK about 12-18 months ago, the "proprietary" software they are putting on must be pretty special. It would make more sense if they were using the newer MacBooks. So my child is forced to use inferior equipment and I have to pay for it, like it or not, I would not mind as much if it were an upgrade.
Here's what they are getting
SPECIFICATIONS
t2.13 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
t2GB memory
t120G Serial ATA Drive
tMini DVI Port
tMulti-Touch trackpad
tAirPort Extreme Card (802.11n)
tBuilt-in Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
tTwo USB 2.0 ports
tOne FireWire 400 port
tGigabit Ethernet port
tFull-size keyboard
tBuilt-in iSight camera
tBuilt-in stereo speakers
tBuilt-in omnidirectional microphone
tRemovable battery
tDVD drive
are you sure on that? It read as fulfillment next year; while I am sure it would be announced with the specs when the deal was made, the shipping units should be current standard as of a month or so before delivery.