Lakeville Schools to Get 1,300 iPad 2s for Discount as iPad 3 Launches

The world, it seems, has iPads on the brain. Lakeville, too.

Apple is expected to announce the launch of the brand new iPad 3 on Wednesday, March 7. And just a day before, the will likely have its own iPad announcement as the School Board, during a special meeting, is expected to approve a lease agreement with Apple for 1,300 iPad 2 tablets to be used by students for classroom instruction.

The iPad 2s will set the district back roughly $800,000 and are part of a much larger technology initiative that was announced last year.

, and the goal is to increase student motivation and engagement, cultivate innovative learning and thinking, and improving career-readiness through use of technology that many people use at home, such as iPads.

“This generation is very digital,” Superintendent Dr. Lisa Snyder told  in January. “That’s the world we live in now."

The timing of the lease agreement is important, according to a story in Thisweek Newspapers. Snyder hinted that as the iPad 3 is rolled out, the iPad 2 will be available at a discount as the models are liquidated.

“As far as the difference between the iPad 2 and 3, I don’t see educational benefit of waiting for 3,” Snyder told Thisweek.

Meanwhile, the district is also working to rehab its sometimes faltering wireless Internet access throughout its schools.

As Patch reported in January, the district hopes to have wireless in each school by Aug. 1, with a focus on the teachers who were awarded iLearn grants last month. The wireless upgrades will cost $560,000, Thisweek reported.

will have more following the March 6 work session.