A school district in North Carolina just placed an order for 131 iPod touches to be used to help kids with their readin’ and writin’. The money to buy the Apple devices came from a combination of grants and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, also known as “the stimulus.”
The move has already created controversy. “Why should we spend all this money on iPods?” To that I’d answer, well, the iPod touch is nothing if not a small computer, and one that costs less than buying a full-size desktop. (What, are you going to buy a bunch of kids a netbook? Not that’s a waste of money.) People also didn’t like the idea that, since the iPod touch doesn’t have a user-replaceable battery, the school district is essentially buying a device that simply won’t work in just a few years’ time.
But seeing as though the iPods are being purchased with what amounts to free money (in the form of grants and the stimulus), I really don’t see how people can complain. Didn’t we all play Reading Blaster and Math Blaster in our elementary school computer labs? The iPod touch could probably run a 3D version of Math Blaster.
A computer is a computer is a computer. Cálmate.