Educators working on the side for Apple: report
Published: 7 Jan 13 17:03 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/45474/20130107/
Local education officials in Sweden are moonlighting for an Apple-supported project which promotes the company's products in Swedish schools, leading to concerns the extra gig presents a conflict of interests.
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According to an email reviewed by Sveriges Radio (SR), Apple representatives say the company has invested "substantial sums" in the project, calling it a Swedish version of the Apple Professional Development Programme for K12 Education.
A review by SR found that public servants in several Swedish municipalities receive additional income from Tänk Om - and the list of people with potentially conflicting interests includes teachers, principals and IT coordinators.
"You should be buying the best education materials, not the ones tied to your income," public administration profssor Olle Lundin at Uppsala University told SR.
"This clearly risks denting the public's trust in the system."
To make matters worse, it appears that several educators feel pressure to stay silent on the matter despite niggling doubts.
A principal, who wanted to remain anonymous, told SR that both Apple and Tänk Om had been in contact after they questioned whether it was appropriate for educators "to sit on two chairs," the Swedish expression for a person who has potentially conflicting interests.
Apple refused to comment on the dilemma when contacted by SR, stating it had no official spokespersons.
Experts told SR that Apple currently commands around 40 percent of the market for school computers in Swedish, which is estimated to be around 1 billion kronor ($153 million) annually.
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Is it a monopoly by Apple?
The same things goes for police.. How do they expect to keep an honest police force that is responsible for our safety paying them such misery?
Such a shame it has come to where you now shove a Ipad onto a kid to learn, just like placing a TV infront of a child instead of proper interaction where they can ask questions and be corrected in a proper manner.
The argument between Windows PC and Apple will always continue,the argument about school budgets,however, should have never been allowed to start.The statement "This clearly risks denting the public's trust in the system." is somewhat absurd. Anyone who knows anything about data knows the system has been well and truly train wrecked!
Purchasers of school equipment should have no personal financial interest in the placement of the order and it is parents who should choose whether their child below 13 years of age has a WinPC or Apple.
Notwithstanding the prevalence of Apple products in our house, I feel uneasy about the fact that an App (education or otherwise) will only appear on an Ipad once it has been approved by Apple.
Who's to say that in a few years, some over zealous creationist at Apple, stops the distributions of an educational app that advocates evolutionary theory. At the very least, let users decide what educational App they can download. Google Android gives its users the freedom to download Apps from "non-Market sources".
I'm not trying to start a flame war, merely trying open a discussion as to whether a company the preaches complete control over what may be used on its devices should have a major role in our children's education. Let Apple participate by all means, by remove their right of veto.