The Madison, Wisconsin School District plans to buy more than 600 iPads for use in the majority of schools this spring. Another 800 iPads are expected to be in classrooms by next fall, all paid for with money from a state settlement with Microsoft, reports the “Wisconsin State Journal” (http://macte.ch/xOT22).
Pending School Board approval Monday, the iPads will debut in 20 elementary schools, 10 middle schools, and Memorial, Shabazz and West high schools by mid-March. The iPads are being paid for with part of US$3.4 million from a state-negotiated settlement with Microsoft. Wisconsin received nearly $80 million in technology vouchers as part of the 2009 settlement related to a consumer lawsuit over software, notes the “State Journal.”
In December the School Board approved a plan to divide US$2.1 million of the settlement among the schools with each getting $85.09 per student. Some schools chose to spend that money on iPads while others spent it on laptops, smart boards, projectors or other technology upgrades. The district plans to spend an additional $442,000 of settlement funds on iPads, which it can buy for $479 apiece, says the “State Journal.”