All students in the Los Angeles Unified School District will receive free iPads by 2014, CITEworld.com reported Friday.
As part of a June agreement with Apple, 31,000 iPads will be distributed this school year and will be paid for with $30 million in tax money. All 640,000 K-12 students in the country's largest school district will have the device for use in the classroom by 2014.
“Education is in Apple’s DNA and we’re thrilled to work with Los Angeles Unified public schools on this major initiative as they plan to roll out iPads to every student across 47 campuses this fall,” Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing said in a press release.
Apple's signature tablet won't be used for "Angry Birds" or "Temple Run" however. The iPads will come pre-loaded with educational apps, textbooks and other software to aid students the LAUSD says wouldn't normally be able to afford the technology.
"The most important thing is to try to prepare the kids for the technology they are going to face when they are going to graduate," Mark Hovatter, the chief facilities executive for the LAUSD, told CITEworld.
"This is phase one, a mix of high school, middle school, and elementary students. We're targeting kids who most likely don't have their own computers or laptops or iPads. Their only exposure to computers now is going to be in their schools."