Ohio Board of Education Switches from Paper to iPads, Saves $25,000
The Ohio State Board of Education is distributing iPads to all 19 members — and giving them two hours of training this weekend on how to use them.
My first question: Who needs two hours of training to use a tablet?
“We have a great deal of varied experience around that table when it comes to technology,” Ohio Department of Education spokesperson Patrick Gallaway says.
Second question: In this season of budget austerity, does the state need to be spending money on iPads for state board members? (The iPad2 starts at $499, and $499 x 19 members = $9.481.)
Gallaway says the Department of Education will actually save about $25,000 a year by providing background information to board members online and giving them iPads to access it with rather than printing and mailing the information. Plus, the iPads gets the board members in touch with the technology that many schools are using, he says:
“We need to make sure that our State Board members are best equipped to understand the technology that is being incorporated and used in many of the schools around Ohio. In the future this is going to be even more important – as we talk about the new online assessments, etc. They will have a better understanding of some of the resources that will be involved.”
Third question: I’m a taxpayer. Can I have one too?
No.
