In this discussion, we will look st the costs associated with using an IPad in the classroom. The biggest influence in migrating a school to the IPad is the costs associated with it. It can be a bit daunting to make this transition, even without the cost analysis in play.
Let;s look at the basic cost of the IPad. This will be a retail cost, without any school discounts or grants associated with it. It will be for a school with 500 students.
The cost of an IPad, retail, is $399.00 (http://store.apple.com/us/buy/home/shop_ipad/family/ipad2).
$399.00 x 500 students = $199,500.00!!
Almost $200,000.00 !!!!
Now this cost is just for the IPad. Let's look at the textbook.
Retail, the textbook for an IPad is $14.99 (http://appleinsider.com/articles/12/01/19/apples_e_textbooks_cost_1499_or_less_major_publishers_already_on_board.html)
Each student will have, on average, 6 textbooks, so let's do the math.
$14.99 x 6 classes x 500 students = $44,970.00
Now this includes updates to the text in case of typos, incorect information, etc. It does not include new editions of the text, so if the school wants to keep up with editions, it will cost them this amount every time.
These prices are based on retail prices. Apple has programs for the schools to get IPads cheaper, as well as the textbooks.
So there are the numbers. good luck in trying to compare these to what is actually spent in the real world on texts, considering the publichers don't release the cost of the texts to anyone, even the schools when they buy them.
Anthony,
ReplyDeleteInteresting cost analysis. It would be nice to hear from other people's experiences what kind of deals their school has gotten from Apple, or if there are grants available. Plus, with all of the added benefits of an iPad (it being more than just a textbook) I wonder if you CAN even compare "apples to apples."
Thanks for sharing,
Meghan S
Hi Anthony,
ReplyDeleteGreat Information, it is not logical that the school provides each student with an iPad. It will cost the school a lot of expenses. I think we can offer each classroom 4-6 iPads to be objective and introduce the technology to the classroom and also intensify work as a group.
Thank you for sharing
Muneer
Anthony,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your breakdown of the costs for an iPad but why must we look at it as one per student with all their textbooks loaded on to it? I know how expensive it can be to include everything on it, but what about all the added benefits of the iPad and the supplementary activities and learning experiences that an iPad can provide? Also I was curious any idea how much a textbook costs per student? Just wondering what the difference actually is, especially if you don't get the updates for a typo or anything. Thanks for sharing and getting people thinking.
~Megan B
Great breakdown of the costs! iPads do seem a bit costly, but if we went indepth a little further and maybe see the calculations over a number of years. The benefits of having an iPad over textbooks is:
ReplyDelete-it would last longer
-once you buy a program, you get free updates
-iPad is putting out new versions that are easily updated
-technology is integrated
-hundrends/thousands of applications that can go with just about every subject area.
Textbooks do have to be updated. I know schools in Volusia County can be updated every 5 years. Textbooks can easily rip andbe destroyed or lost.
I believe if you look at the "long run" it would be beneficial for schools to purchase iPads even if the intial cost is pricey.