Case Study: The LAUSD Common Core Technology Project · iPad Pilot Programs: Apart from the LAUSD...

Case Study: The LAUSD Common Core Technology Project

A Market Insight by Frost & Sullivan

A G l o b a l G r o w t h C o n s u l t i n g C o m p a n y

©2014 FROST & SULLIVAN| 2

Case Study: The LAUSD Common Core Technology Project

Table of Contents

Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 3

Commentary on Tablets for Education Market ........................................................................ 3

Explanation of the Common Core Technology Project (CCTP) ............................................... 7

Overview of the Key Challenges in Project Rollout ................................................................ 15

Key Takeaways for Tablet Vendors ....................................................................................... 19



Introduction

The extensive and continually growing use of mobile technologies globally represents a significant opportunity

in education. Mobile learning is the product of learning with mobile technologies and devices, and although in

the early stages of development, many significant participants including teachers, students, and school boards

are beginning to realize the potential of mobile learning and how it can enhance teaching and learning as a

whole. It is important to understand that mobile learning involves more than just incorporating new technologies

into already existing academic strategies and structure. To be able to maximize its utilization, mobile learning

requires a holistic paradigm shift that will indefinitely change the way students learn and teachers teach. The

major factors that are contributing to a more rapid move towards mobile learning are: first, the increasingly high

demands for student achievement, and second, an understanding of the growing digital skills students need to

be able to compete in this new 21st century global economy.

The United States of America has always been at the forefront of revolutionary educational initiatives. This is

clearly observed through the US government and its initiation of several national programs that support and

promote mobile learning alongside a number of state and provincial programs that have come about. There are

many impacts, trends, and challenges that can be identified from each of these programs to further improve on

the efforts of mobile learning as each program will vary widely among individual schools, districts, and states.

The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is the second largest across the entire United States of

America. It currently enrolls more than 640,000 students in kindergarten through to 12th grade at over 900

school and 187 public charter schools. In early 2013, hundreds of device manufacturers, content providers,

textbook publishers, security companies, and even non-profits organizations approached the Los Angeles

Unified School District Board to bid and hopefully participate in LAUSD’s billion dollar technology contract to

spearhead mobile learning in LAUSD. The project, Common Core Technology Project (CCTP), was initially

proposed as a new technology education plan that aims to put a computing device—whether it is a touch

screen laptop or a tablet—into the hands of every student and educator by the end of 2014.

This white paper evaluates the current condition of tablets in the education market alongside providing an

analysis on the LAUSD Common Core Technology Project as a whole as well as key takeaways for tablet

vendors wanting to benefit from the opportunity. This analysis is further illustrated by key insights derived from

the parties involved or affected by this program.

Commentary on Tablets for Education Market

Tablets have recently become the vehicle for a new trend in education, where students use handheld devices to

interact with courseware. An increasing number of educational institutions are adopting mobile learning

methods and are overwhelmingly opting for tablets over PCs. All the major tech participants—Apple, Amazon,

and Microsoft—are looking to expand their role and offerings into this lucrative market. When compared to



laptops or desktop PCs, it is clear that tablets offer a cheaper, more portable, and more intuitive alternative to

mobile learning.

The integration of tablets into classrooms has not been as robust as the adoption of tablets by institutes of

higher education and its students. A recent study conducted by the Pearson Foundation in 2012 illustrated that

tablet ownership among college students had more than tripled since March of 2011, with one quarter (25%) of

the students in 2012 now owning a standard tablet as compared to only 7% the previous year, as more college

students are embracing technological advances to enhance their learning capabilities. Furthermore, 63% of

college students agree that tablets will replace textbooks over the next five years. The data also revealed that

90% of college students who own a tablet believe it is a valuable tool to use for educational purposes. In this

digital age of instant access, an important factor in a student’s keen interest in digital textbooks and tablet

adoption is the accessibility it gives them to have instant access to a vast database of related material

alongside the access to online communities to share material, ask questions and interact with their tutors,

instructors, lecturers and course-mates easily.

It is important to note that tablets have clearly taken off in the higher education market, with students as well as

institutions taking part in the adoption of devices and mobile learning initiative early on. The trend is slowly

beginning to filter its way down to high school and elementary school environments with content providers

designing content to be more interactive with already existing lesson plans alongside being a digital textbook,

document viewer, and productive note-taking and administrative tool.

Exhibit 1 provides the key trends in the integration of technology in classrooms.

Exhibit 1: Key Trends in the Integration of Technology in Classrooms



IT Spending is Rising: The Center for Digital Education highlighted that in 2013, the federal education

budget rebounded. The Department of Education (DOE) requested a $71.2 billion budget for FY 2014,

an increase of $3.1 billion, or 4.5%, over the FY 2012 level. This is expected to have a positive impact

on the United States of America’s education system. California schools and universities, for instance,

will receive a $4 billion boost. Despite school budget cuts, officials are spending more money on

technology than ever before. Traditional educational publishers are devoting more attention and budget

to the digital world.

Hardware Spending is Rising: The Center for Digital Education further reports that there is a clear

move to channel funding into technology and the bulk of that spending (55% to 60%) in schools (K-12)

is on hardware alongside software (18% to 22%), network/telecom (17% to 19%), and professional

development (3% to 8%) spending.

Digital Textbooks are Emerging as an Increasingly Preferred Feature: Project Tomorrow reports

that 27% of middle school and 35% of high school students use digital textbooks. More than 58% of

college students prefer digital reading to print textbooks for classroom usage. The Federal

Communications Commission (FCC) further reports that the US spends more than USD 7 billion

annually on textbooks and, therefore, digital textbooks would be an immense cost saving initiative to

take up.

iPad Pilot Programs: Apart from the LAUSD Common Core Technology Project, which gives

emphasis on the adoption of iPads in the school district, several other districts across the country have

adopted similar pilot programs to test the potential of mobile learning for their community. Examples of

some districts include McAllen (Texas), San Diego (California), and Chicago (Illinois), as illustrated in

the figure below.

Exhibit 2 provides K-12 schools and universities integrating tablets as of February 2013.

Exhibit 2: K-12 Schools and Universities Integrating Tablets as of February 2013 (Source: LA School Board)



Growing Worldwide Adoption: Ambitious projects in Asia, mainly in South Korea and Singapore,

seek to use mobile technology to make education more personalized and collaborative. For example,

South Korea has launched a nationwide initiative to shift from paper to digital textbooks by 2015. The

government wants textbook content to display on a variety of mobile devices including larger-screen

tablet computers.

Promising Case Studies: A Learning Untethered Case Study involved equipping a 5th grade class of

27 students with 7-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab devices at a cost of about $200 per student. Despite a

number of technical issues, the results were overwhelmingly positive with greater student engagement.

As illustrated above, mobile technologies—primarily tablets—are a key component in implementing successful

mobile learning initiatives. However, based on feedback gathered from educational experts on this subject

matter, it is stressed that as much as this is a technology initiative, it is more so an educational program that

involves a large paradigm shift for teachers and students. Tablets are used as tools to enhance the broader

learning and teaching experience for all parties involved.

Exhibit 3 provides the top contenders for classroom tablet.

Exhibit 3: Top Contenders for Classroom Tablet



Explanation of the Common Core Technology Project (CCTP)

LAUSD falls under the jurisdiction of the California State Government, as illustrated in the figure below. It is the

second largest across the entire United States of America and currently enrolls more than 640,000 students in

kindergarten through to 12th grade, at over 900 schools, and 187 public charter schools. The CCTP is a new

technology education initiative being driven by the LAUSD.

Exhibit 4 provides the organizational structure for the CCTP.

Apple iPad

•Apple has sold almost one million iPads to high schools and colleges in Q1 2012. The company has made a concerted push to interest the education market and the attempt to offer digital school textbooks with iBooks 2 and iTunes U is a big part of that.

•Obvious drawbacks to the iPad are the price and the closed nature of Apple’s ecosystem. On the other hand, there are a lot of high quality educational apps, and the iPad is easy to use. The cost could be reduced by investing in older generation iPads or even considering the new iPad Mini.

•Apple got a head start in the tablet market with the iPad and the education sector is no different. Whether it can maintain that lead remains to be seen.

Amazon Kindle

•The online retailer has been selling Kindle devices to US schools at bulk discounts. Considering they are already break-even devices with relatively low price tags, cost saving could be a huge incentive for schools and colleges.

•Kindle trials have been running in more than one hundred schools in Florida and Texas.

Microsoft Surface

•The Microsoft Surface may be the newest tablet to market, but it has some clear advantages over the competition.

• Its detachable keyboard covers solve the typing issue present with standard touch tablets. Touchscreens are best for consumption, but students need to learn typing skills and they need to be able to actually work on their tablets.

•There’s also the native support for Microsoft’s Office suite of software, which is still the standard in most workplaces and educational establishments around the world.

Google Nexus 7 & Other Android Tablets

•A cost-effective option due to rising varieties by different vendors

•Can get a relatively powerful 10.1-inch Android tablet for a few hundred dollars and the Google Play Store offers a decent range of educational apps. Ambitious educators and school systems could also develop their own apps and integrate directly into school services more easily than they could with an iPad.

Barnes & Noble Nook

• Its line of Nook e-readers and tablets are very similar to the Kindle range in terms of functionality and price. Barnes & Noble also offers discounts tailored services for educators, customized school accessories, and charging carts designed for classrooms.

•Nook trials have been undertaken in a Colorado high school and Chicago Public Schools also purchased some Nook readers.



Exhibit 4: Organizational Structure for the CCTP

The CCTP is laying the foundation to provide an individualized, interactive, and information-rich experience for

every student. There are many key components to the project, including providing each teacher and student

with a mobile device, creating systems to distribute content and configure devices easily and remotely (called

mobile device management), provide every student with an individual online account (called identity

management), email, software to enable sharing content easily among teachers, students, and parents (called

a learning management system), and professional development of teachers to facilitate the transition.

The District has been strategizing to improve the infrastructure to accommodate 21st century teaching and

learning technology for the past three years. The decision to implement Common Core State Standards in

LAUSD expedited the timeline. Early pilots of 1:1 classrooms in the District have already been recorded to show

improvements in student attendance, engagement, and achievement. By scaling up this transformational effort

to every K-12 classroom in LAUSD, the District (Los Angeles) hopes to accomplish the following critical

objectives:

1. Equip educators with tools to advance student learning in the classroom

2. Support the Common Core State Standards, including student engagement with a digital curriculum,

interactive supports, and computer adaptive assessments, and

3. Close the digital divide by ensuring that every student has access to 21st century classroom technology.

Evaluation of the CCTP project is organized around three key components that include instruction/curricular

content, infrastructure, and devices, as illustrated in the exhibit below.

Exhibit 5 provides the key components of the CCTP plan.

California State Government

LAUSD (Los Angeles Unified School District)

Board of Education

Superintendent

(John Deasy)

District Strategies: CCTP



Exhibit 5: The Key Components of the CCTP Plan

The following five factors are important measures in ensuring the sustainability and longevity of the CTP:

1. Funding

2. Logistics

3. Connectivity

4. Content

5. Security

1. FUNDING

LAUSD receives its funding from a combination of local, state, and federal sources. In 2013‒14, LAUSD's

General Fund received $6.07 billion for the 2013‒14 budgets. The percentage of funding received from each

entity is illustrated in the exhibit below.

Exhibit 6 provides the percentage of funding received by LAUSD.

Instruction / Curricular

Content

(Pearson)

Infrastructure (LAUSD)

Devices

(Apple)

IMPLEMENTATION

FACILITATION



Exhibit 6: Percentage of Funding Received by LAUSD

The District is leveraging school bond funds that were approved by voters to invest in facility and technology

upgrades to fund the CCTP. As this money cannot be used for the District’s payroll, the District is using this

funding avenue to improve the technologies available in classrooms. The project is estimated to cost USD 1

billion ($500 million for devices, plus an additional $500 million for internet infrastructure upgrades, raised

through construction bonds).

The per-unit cost the District negotiated includes a great deal more than just a device. The original budget

estimate was $650 per device with the actual negotiated price totalling $768, as detailed in the exhibit below.

Exhibit 7 provides the actual negotiated price for the device bundle.

Exhibit 7: The Actual Negotiated Price for the Device Bundle

Brief Cost ($)

Device Bundle

* Device Bundle includes 32GB iPad (4th gen w/retina display), case, configuration/integration/delivery services, extended warranty, buffer pool, educational apps, Pearson content, Apple TV (1 per 20 students)

699

Tax 63

E-Waste 6

Total 768

Keyboard (estimated average cost per bundled device is calculated by purchasing 469,003 keyboards at a cost of $20-30 w/tax divided by 636,704 devices)

15–22

Average rebate per bundled device (after purchasing $400M worth of devices, a discount of $13.5M was received. $13.5 million was divided by 636,704 devices to arrive at the average rebate per bundled device)

(21)

Each device being delivered to the classroom pre-loaded with a digital curriculum (including e-textbooks)

aligned with the Common Core State Standards; security configurations, including protective covers that keep

State 85%

Federal 12%

Local 2%

Other 1%



devices safe from damage, embedded with the District's logo, bar codes, and internal tracking systems that will

allow police and/or District officials to recover the devices if they become lost or stolen; and comprehensive

hands-on professional development provided for teachers and administrators. The District reported that it was

able to secure low prices for all these items as a package due to the high volume being purchased.

The LAUSD has, however, stressed that the Bond funds used for the CCTP are considered a one-time

investment to provide a much-needed upgrade to the education and technology infrastructure. The District will

sustain the use of devices as well as digital curricula and assessments through regular ongoing costs in future

years much in the same way it pays for the costs of purchasing, warehousing, and distributing textbooks today.

Apple announced in June 2013 that it received the Los Angeles School Board of Education’s approval to begin

a massive rollout of iPads to its students across the school district starting in the fall of 2013. The $30 million

commitment for iPads is the first phase of a larger rollout for the country’s second-largest public school district.

In the agreement signed between Apple and the Los Angeles School Board of Education, Apple will provide

iPads that include the Pearson Common Core System of Courses delivered via a new app as part of the

integrated solution. Apps such as iWork, iLife, and iTunes, in addition to a range of educational third-party apps,

are also included.

2. LOGISTICS

Logistically, the CCTP is being rolled out in phases. The Board of Education had approved a Phase 1 in early

2013 and Phase 2 in late (Nov) 2013. Phase 1 was a pilot program to deploy and assess the merits of the

transitional program at 47 LAUSD schools. The 47 schools selected to participate in the pilot phase of the

program were selected based on various criteria.

1. Thirteen are “Schools of the Future” schools, where innovative administrators have already

demonstrated success with equipping classrooms with technology.

2. Twenty nine are schools that were identified by the Office of Civil Rights as schools where students

have the greatest need of access to modernized instructional content.

3. Five are Proposition 29 charter schools that are co-located with schools that fell into one of the first two

categories.

Based on what was learnt from the Phase 1 pilot program, the District approached the Board again to request

funding for additional phases and was granted approval to move forward with Phase 2 in November 2013.

Phase 2 of the CCTP consists of the following resolutions:

1. Nearly 40 schools will receive tablets in spring 2014, giving priority to schools based on need

Estimated purchase of more than 24,500 iPads at 38 Schools



2. Every remaining teacher and principal across the District will receive tablets and a related training

orientation, currently scheduled for completion by April 2014.

Estimated purchase of more than 28,300 iPads

3. Schools lacking technology will receive shared tablet carts, so students can participate in field tests of

the online Smarter Balanced Assessments, currently scheduled for spring 2014. The assessments are

aligned with the new Common Core Technology Standards in English Language Arts and Mathematics.

Estimated purchase of 67,500 iPads in more than 1,900 carts with keyboards

4. Keyboards will be purchased for students in grades 2-12 and half of the students in K-1 participating in

Phases 1 and 2

Estimated purchase of more than 48, 700 keyboards

5. In the recently approved amended resolution, up to seven high schools can voluntarily participate in a

separate laptop pilot (currently up to one non-Phase-1 high school per Board District).

Additional details to be determined

6. Phase 3 will be voted on by the Board at a later date

Should the Board of Education approve a third phase of the program, all 28,000 teachers and 656,000 students

in LAUSD will receive the fully loaded devices by the 2014‒15 school year. A phased rollout schedule will be

implemented in alignment with the instructional strategy and vision and will also take into consideration school

site infrastructure readiness, as illustrated in the exhibit below.

Exhibit 8 provides the phased rollout schedule for implementation of CCTP.

Exhibit 8: Phased Rollout Schedule for Implementation of CCTP

Phase 1

Planning, Readiness and Demonstration

• Includes solution architecture, procurement activities, staffing, demonstration projects, and initial implementation of infrastructure

•Timeline: March 2013 ‒ July 2013

Phase 2

System-Wide Demonstration

• Includes additional schools plus staffing and administration for full rollout

•Timeline: July 2013 ‒ July 2014

Phase 3

District Wide Rollout

•Full rollout to all District schools

•Timeline: July 2014 ‒ December 2014



3. CONNECTIVITY

The advantage of the new digital curriculum is that roughly 90% of it does not require an Internet connection to

function. Thus, students are still able to learn even when not connected to a network.

Exhibit 9 provides the CCTP infrastructure upgrade costs.

Exhibit 9: CCTP Infrastructure Upgrade Costs

Brief Cost ($ Million)

Wireless Upgrades 326.3

Web Filtering for Home Use 5.2

Core Network Upgrade 34.7

Total 366.2

Recognising that this is an age of connectivity, the District is partnering with community-based organizations

and other public agencies to help get more families online. This is mainly in line with the fact that levelling the

playing field and closing the digital divide is a major strategic goal of this initiative.

4. CONTENT

Key content participants include both Pearson and Apple. The following is a detailed understanding of what

each of these participants are supplying to the overall curricular resources for the CCTP.

Pearson Common Core System of Courses for ELA and Math

o Provides opportunities for teachers to differentiate instruction for students that are at, above, or

below grade level

o Built around themes and competencies (language arts) and concepts/practices (mathematics)

o Supplemental until full implementation

Apple Apps on the tablets allow creativity, collaboration, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills to

flourish and support project-based learning

o Harte Prep students use CoachMyVideo in PE to instantly see the statistics of their

movements and body angles

o Ms. Wolfe at Valley Academy of Arts and Sciences uses Socrative to collect daily exit tickets

from her 9th grade English students

o Students at Animo Westside film each other acting out the SAT words of the week and then

add music and titles in iMovie to create a video

In addition to Pearson’s and Apple’s introductory professional development, LAUSD will provide professional

development on specific apps, classroom management, and digital citizenship. The District will also support

schools in establishing learning communities earlier, even before students get devices.



Furthermore, for spring semester in Phase 1 schools, instead of implementing the entire Pearson course,

teachers will implement selected units of study in order to customise content for each specific classroom type.

5. SECURITY

Providing a high quality education in a safe and nurturing environment continues to be a strategic goal of

LAUSD. LA School Police is taking the lead in ensuring students' safety by building on existing methodologies

to protect students from surrounding dangers. Within this framework, they are following a five-part strategy

related specifically to the CCTP:

1. A cyber security awareness campaign is aimed at teaching students and families to use technology

responsibly, keeping their devices, their information, and themselves safe from harm. It also ensures

compliance with the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA).

2. Community outreach starting with internal communications and public service announcements to be

broadcast over the airwaves by October 2013. These will focus on the facts related to protecting

devices and students.

3. Application of Technology Innovation: the District has invested in a modern solution that enables the

LA School Police to:

a. LOCK devices, thereby ensuring they are being used appropriately for educational purposes.

b. FREEZE devices: disable their use if they fall outside the boundaries of authorized use for

LAUSD purposes, and

c. TRACK inventory, so they can locate precisely where the iPads are, should they go missing or

get stolen.

4. Los Angeles School Police Department is collaborating with a Law Enforcement Working Group,

which includes 12 law enforcement agencies, including the LA County Sheriff's Department, and all

municipal law enforcement agencies that have jurisdiction over schools.

5. LASPD is also reaching out the local prosecutors to make Relevant Arrests and press charges when

necessary to ensure the protection of youth as well as the District's capital investments.

Exhibit 10 provides an overview of the key challenges in project rollout



Overview of Key Challenges in Project Rollout

Exhibit 10: Overview of Key Challenges in Project Rollout

1. Timeline

The technology program was rushed by district leaders and is the result of a failure to plan

Outcome: The initial problem, from the public and contractors’ perspective, was the timeline. The iPad idea first

surfaced in November 2012 as a proposal to spend $17 million in bond money coming to the district. There was

a small pilot in spring 2013 that individuals involved are saying is far from enough.

Commentary from Parties Involved: An LAUSD contractor that spoke with American Education Writer, Anya

Kamenetz, commented that, from an IT and security standpoint, it would be tough to pilot something in just a

few months, let alone start phase 1. There is a strong disbelief in people involved as to how people in the

district didn’t raise red flags to say, are you sure this project is being streamlined and launched in the best

possible way.

Official Commentary from LAUSD: Once the Board of Education approved funding for Phase 1, LAUSD

employees worked day and night for over six months to launch the project in August 2013. The District has

stressed that Phase 1 is a pilot phase and that is welcoming the challenges it has met as a means to improve

on the structure, implementation, and execution of future phases.

2. Security

There has been widespread “hacking” of tablets, security breaches and wireless failures

Outcome: Nearly 300 students were able to "hack" through the security filters on their district-issued devices in

order to access Facebook, Twitter, Pandora, and other unapproved websites when using the devices outside of

school.

Commentary from Parties Involved: A Board of Education member and employee unions conducted surveys

of teachers and administrators. The comments were recorded anonymously. Below is the feedback related to

this challenge.

1. TIMELINE 2. SECURITY 3. RESPONSIBILTY

4. TRAINING & PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

5. DEVICE 6. CONTENT



Comment #1: The system keeps going down, which makes it impossible to utilize the iPads in the way that the

district desired.

Comment #2: Nearly three-quarters had problems connecting or sending and receiving data quickly.

Comment #3: More than half cited problems with security, applications, signing on, and storage.

Official Commentary from LAUSD: LAUSD has officially commented to stress that thus far not one student

has hacked into a device, compromised security, nor has any wireless system failed to function. They have

conceded, however, that some enterprising high school students were able to switch the settings on their tablet

in order to access non-educational content outside the District’s firewall. Of the 20,000 tablets that have been

provisioned to date, less than 2% were impacted. Even so, the District has reported that it was alerted to the

situation early on and was able to learn immediately when students made such changes, which enabled it to

appropriately take control of the situation.

The LAUSD has had ongoing conversations with students about the reasons for their actions and what they

needed from their learning environment. Future software releases have been reported to include better

safeguards against student tampering and to provide the school district with new ways to ensure that only

District-issued applications are used.

3. Responsibility

There is no district-wide policy stating who is responsible if a tablet is lost or stolen.

Outcome: When the first group of campuses received the tablets in the fall of 2013, more than 300 students at

three high schools almost immediately removed security filters so they could freely browse the Internet. All of

these students had to surrender the tablets. Questions quickly arose about whether parents are responsible if

the devices are lost or stolen. The price of the tablets—$768 apiece—and the curriculum licensing fees also

became issues.

Commentary from Parties Involved: During the initial pilot, it was highlighted that students weren’t allowed to

take the iPads home. When they started going home, teachers quickly discovered that checking the devices out

at the end of the day, and checking them back-in in the morning, used up precious classroom time. Parents,

meanwhile, don’t want to be held liable for the loss, breakage, or theft of the devices.

Official Commentary from LAUSD: The technology project is an opportunity for the District to engage

students in lessons on responsibility. The District has always held every student accountable for treating

District-issued property with respect, including everything from textbooks to art supplies to calculators. Tablets

are no different. Even so, as part of its Cyber Security Awareness Campaign, each student is expected to sign

a statement acknowledging his or her obligation to use the technology responsibly and to keep the technology

protected and safe.

Under California law, parents are responsible for District property held in the possession of their children, which

includes technology devices. District leaders have made it clear they will only hold students and parents

responsible when loss or damage is the result of willful negligence. Furthermore, the District has built



safeguards into the program to prevent loss or damage, including equipping tablets with covers and tracking

systems to help recover lost or stolen tablets.

On the issue of safety, the District has stressed that it does not want student safety to be jeopardized as tablets

are introduced in schools. The Los Angeles School Police Department is collaborating with twelve other law

enforcement agencies across Southern California to ensure our students stay safe and that any potential

criminals are taking a very high risk for very little reward should they intend any harm to our students. Public

outreach is a major part of this initiative.

4. Training And Professional Development

Under-prepared teachers and staff

Outcome: There was a lack of training, professional development, and overall, a failure to recognize the human

resource needs created by a big device rollout like this one.


Kamenetz, commented that teachers were not trained in the system to manage the devices. Nobody at the

school was trained. A couple of people from the district came to offer help and they had somebody at the school

who was the de facto tech person, explaining to teachers how to use the device after it had been deployed. It is

strongly believed that none of the other teachers were trained on the mobile device management system.

A lack of training is also believed to be part of the reason that students found it so easy to turn off the security

controls to surf the Web and access sites such as Facebook, YouTube, and Pandora due to many teachers not

being familiar with how the controls worked.

Official Commentary from LAUSD: VLC (Virtual Learning Complex) Facilitators will provide targeted technical

training and support during the rollout. The Office of Instruction will integrate device training into teacher

Professional Development for the overall preparation, transition, and implementation to the Common Core State

Standards.

5. Device

The tablet program is a waste of money and the district forgot to buy keyboards.

Outcome: Los Angeles is paying a reported $678 apiece for these Apple iPads, higher than retail, although the

price does include some educational software. That compares to as low as $250, retail, for a budget laptop.

iPads don’t have a reputation as durable machines and notably, they don’t have keyboards. Sure enough, just

after Labor Day, the school district announced that they may be spending up to an additional $38 million on

wireless keyboard accessories.

Furthermore, the district’s contract with Apple, it turns out, is for only three years, even though the initial request

for proposals called for a five-year agreement. The shift saved LAUSD nearly $282 million, but it means that the

warranties and replacement guarantees for each iPad, the district’s license to use Pearson’s curriculum, and

the training and support offered by both companies will all expire in July 2016.




Kamenetz, questioned the device that was selected for overall use as the touch screen pad does not have a

built-in physical keyboard, which is an essential skill to master in this new tech-based economy. The iPad is

more interactive and intuitive, leading to content that would be less type intensive. Furthermore, using the iPad

would require the District to additionally purchase keyboards as an add-on device that would lead to an overall

increased cost.

Official Commentary from LAUSD: The Common Core State Standards call for every student in every grade

to use technology proficiently just as they are expected to master high standards in English language arts and

math. The only way LAUSD could make this happen is to put the technology into the hands of every student.

The District has conceded the fact that upgrading this technology comes at a cost. Fortunately, LAUSD are able

to use the technology portion of $7 billion in capital bonds to invest in this necessary transformation. As learning

materials become increasingly digital, the District will reinvest the money it used to spend on textbooks in more

advanced learning technologies, which—unlike traditional textbooks—can be updated in real time with new

discoveries or new methods of learning as well as offer students the interactive experience they need to be

prepared for 21st century life.

The District has always had a plan to purchase keyboards as part of the CCTP. The importance of physical

keyboards pertains to standardized tests that students will ultimately take online. It is important to know that the

District will not administer these tests until the 2014‒2015 school year. As such, the District is taking the time

necessary to be strategic about keyboard purchases to ensure they meet technological requirements and are

purchased in the most cost-effective manner possible.

LAUSD has mentioned that although they would have loved to have a 10-year guarantee, it is not provided

throughout the industry, and it would have been too exorbitant to do so. They carried on highlighting that they

will have to re-evaluate and make some arrangements to have the curriculum continued past 2016. Whether

the deal will still be with Apple and Pearson was not mentioned.

6. Content

Curriculum prompts new concerns in LAUSD CCTP

Outcome: There is widespread confusion and concern among classroom teachers that a new common-core

curriculum from education publishing giant Pearson—which comes preloaded on all the devices and is meant to

eventually be the primary instructional resource in the district—is being rolled out despite being far from

complete. The LAUSD is unable to say how much it costs, and the district will lose access to content updates,

software upgrades, and technical support from Pearson after just three years.

Commentary from Parties Involved: Mr. Aquino said that rolling out the new curriculum in phases would allow

LAUSD educators and content-area experts the opportunity to test Pearson’s materials and offer feedback.

Official Commentary from LAUSD: In addition to holding students to high standards in English language arts

and math, the Common Core State Standards adopted by all school districts in California mandate that students

in all grades be familiar with and proficiently use technology, the Internet, and digital tools. The software that is

loaded onto LAUSD tablets is aligned to the Common Core State Standards. The software includes lessons



and activities that teachers can integrate into the classroom setting. Moreover, the e-curriculum is designed so

that roughly 90% can be accessed off-line, so a student does not need to be connected to the Internet at all

times in order to learn.

LAUSD isn’t just purchasing devices. Mr. Mark Hovatter, Chief Facilities Executive for LAUSD, described how

the district forced a marriage between Apple and the education publishing giant Pearson, resulting in a package

deal that means each new tablet will come preloaded with Pearson’s brand-new Common Core System of

Courses. The intent, said Mr. Hovatter, is to completely and dramatically change the way instruction is delivered

to the students.

Key Takeaways for Tablet Vendors

In November of 2013, the Los Angeles Unified Board of Education discussed the future of the CCTP project

and the future of the hardware for this project.

Based on responses to a recent survey of teachers and principals, Monica Ratliff, the chair of the Common

Core Technology Project Committee, stressed that the most common feedback she receives from high school

teachers is that students at that level need laptops more than iPads (or tablets in general). She further went on

to question the board’s stand on the assurance that an iPad can do everything a laptop can do.

Monica Ratliff further went on to propose that the district reexamine forms of technology and curriculum in use

throughout the district, including charter schools like KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program) schools that are now

using Google Chromebooks, and Francis Polytechnic High School, which uses the Springboard curriculum.1 2

Once the current program is complete, the LAUSD Board of Education has stressed that the district plans to

seek new bids for hardware and software for upgrades, starting in 2016.

In line with the LAUSD Common Core Technology Project, the federal government has, for the last 8 months,

been spearheading an initiative called ConnectED. Its main goal is to provide high-speed broadband and stable

Wi-Fi networks to 99% of American schools and students within the next 5 years alongside investing towards

improving the skills of teachers to ensure they have the support, resources, and tools needed to use new

education technology. Furthermore, the initiative also calls upon partnering with leading technology companies

in America to encourage private sector innovation in the education field and mainly focus on producing feature-

rich educational devices that are price-competitive with basic textbooks.

1 KIPP, the Knowledge Is Power Program, is a nationwide network of free open-enrollment college-preparatory schools in under-resourced

communities throughout the United States. KIPP schools are usually established under state charter school laws and KIPP is America’s largest network of charter school. 2 SpringBoard was created by the College Board, the company known for the SAT test and Advanced Placement courses and tests. The

program uses engaging, fun activities to improve critical thinking skills and promises to prepare more students for Advanced Placement and college-level classes.



As of February 2014, the Federal Communications Commission has set aside a down payment of $2 billion

towards connecting more than 15,000 schools and 20 million students with high-speed broadband over the next

two years. In addition, some of America’s biggest tech companies have decided to join this effort, with

commitments worth more than three-quarters of a billion dollars.

The exhibit 11 below illustrates seven of these partnership commitments in details.

Exhibit 11: ConnectED Initiative Partnership Commitments from Leading Tech Companies in the US

Company Category Partnership Commitment

Apple Computer Hardware

& Software

Will donate $100 million worth of iPads, MacBooks, and other products

along with content and professional development tools to enrich learning

in disadvantaged US schools across the country.

AT&T Telecommunications Pledged more than $100 million to give middle school students free

Internet connectivity for educational devices over their wireless network for

three years.

Autodesk Computer Software Pledged to make its 3D design program "Design the Future" available for

free in every secondary school in the US—more than $250 million in

value.

Microsoft Computer Hardware

& Software

Will launch a substantial affordability program open to all US public

schools by deeply discounting the price of its Windows operating system,

which will decrease the price of Windows-based devices. Furthermore,

they will provide 12 million free copies of Office to schools all over the US.

O'Reilly

Media

Digital Library

(O’Reilly Media)

To partner with Safari Books and make more than $100 million in

educational content and tools available for free to every school in the US.

Sprint Telecommunications Will offer free wireless service for up to 50,000 low-income high school

students over the next four years, valued at $100 million.

Verizon Telecommunications Announced a multi-year program to support ConnectED through up to

$100 million in cash and in-kind commitments. This commitment will help

train educators to use all these new tools in all 50 states.

The CCTP spearheaded by the LAUSD is a case in which the deployment for product, software, and soft skills

were met with a lot of challenges. However, the overall concept of deploying tablets in education (schools and

higher education) has received a great amount of acceptance from all relevant segments nationally and

worldwide, as can be seen from the support offered by the federal government to improve technology tools and

infrastructure in schools.



The device usage can be different for students in school and colleges and may generate a need to convert the

tablet into a laptop using accessories like keyboard. A nationally recognized digital initiative is undertaken by

the Mooresville Graded School District in North Carolina that issues a MacBook (laptop) to every child across

the district in grades 4–12 for use at both home and school. With this, the device would be become suitable not

only for content consumption but also for content creation.

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