I think it's a great idea, however, depending on how the school allows the students to use it. Do you really think the school is allowing all those iBooks to go to each student to take home every day? HELL NO! They barely trust the kids with paper books, much less these expensive mavins.

No, most likely, they will be LOCKED down in a bunch of class rooms somewhere wher ethey are safe from the waves of people who noticed this news from stealing them.

I would.

Actually, they were letting us (I'm a student at one of the piolt schools last year) take the computers home every day... until kids where being robbed at gun point on the streets. This year I believe that they will be locked up in classrooms (but last year when they did that ENTIRE carts of them were being stolen).

I've had computers all my life(or atleast since I was 2). I think it's a good idea, and I hope MS does the same to combat it. :)

Free computers for all!

Hahaha, thats laughable. K-anything with a laptop in school is a bad idea. If you arent in college, there is NO need for a laptop in class. Although as technically advanced we are, Pen and paper still do well, and in fact is still faster at note taking then a computer will after being yelled at to "TYPE QUIETER". Yeah, so what the keys are quiet keys, but they still make noise. Then you have prissy girls who wear or have long nails that tap tap tap tap. That wont work in the classroom either. I don't understand why anyone in grade school would need a computer outside of their home or a library, or the use of one inside school should be permitted. Airport cards are used widely in schools, and the kids are only clicks away from accessing porno in their anatomy class ( dispite "protections" set forth by the firewall) explaining how it relates!

Although I guess if I were still in gradeschool and I lived there right now, I would love to have received a ibook, but I'm not, and I don't.. So it displeases me to see apple throw something like this to 30k now instead of giving it to people who could use the in the work force... Like me! who already surpassed the grade school level. Looks like I'll be a microsoft user continuously until I get my free ibook in gradeschool. ;]

Well said

My high school (Miramar High) was one of the pilot school for this last school year and it didn't go too well there. But hopefully they have made some improvements for this school year.

Don't you guys think that giving iBooks to kids in kindergarten is a stupid idea? I mean who the heck needs a computer in elementary school?

Education for the 21st Century? I guess the spawning of can't think adults is what the school districts want. I understand highschool students might need a computer to do their work but grade school?

Oh I don't know what 3 + 7 - 2 is let me open up calculator by clicking on Macintosh HD then going to Applications and double clicking on calculator and click on the numbers that look like the same one on this book.

Little kids -> very impressionable -> Apple's target audience

Hook 'em young and you've got a life long smok— I mean Apple user.

Yeah, there is only probably a need for no more 5 or 6 computers nationwide....

That's 30k potential Apple zombies. Oh noes!
But really, as ... great as it is technology-wise, ibooks aren't that strong. They could have gone with any Dell or HP PC or tablet and it would have been the same - the only difference ofcourse being the OS used. I always smell a 'payoff' for these kinds of decisions.

The other difference being the kids would break them, the software requires more support and eventually would cost the school more money. Makes sense to me.

But of course - Apple had a better deal this time. Next time 30,000 IBM-compatibles are thrown in another school, it'll be HP with a better 'deal'.

Why do I not live in Broward County Florida and why am I out of school? Seriously, that would be the best thing ever to get issued an apple ibook for school. I hope this program goes over well and perhaps Apple will gain even more support in the education community.