It’s a bit of a setback but still a big victory for Apple: Last month the Stillwater, Minn. School Board approved a plan to put iBooks into the hands of about 2,200 students at Oak-Land and Stillwater junior high schools. Today the Pioneer Press reports that the school district and Apple have entered into a plan to get laptops onto students’ desks, but it isn’t quite at the scale that was originally envisioned.
Students at Oak-Land Junior High in Lake Elmo and all of the district’s junior high teachers will get the laptop computers, according to the Pioneer Press’ Megan Boldt, and they’ll be able to take them home. Stillwater Junior High students will gain access to laptops in school, but won’t be able to bring them home like their counterparts at Oak-Land. The reduction in the size of the program — a difference of more than a million dollars — was made after questions were raised about the cost.
All told, about 1,130 students and teachers will get Apple iBooks — a US$1.7 million project spread over five years. The money is coming from the district’s annual technology budget and a budget set for the school itself. The agreement also provides any family living in the school district with a discount on Apple products.
The Pioneer Press reports that Oak-Land will be one of four demonstration sites for Apple on student use of iBooks — the other three are Henrico County, Va., Schaumburg, Ill. and Maine.
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