ADD 'EM TO THE LIST: Saint Paul Public Schools, in Minnesota, is about to make a major investment to give every middle a high school student a device, and supply one device for every three students in elementary school. This comes after the district spent $4.3million for an online management and collaboration platform custom designed by Dell that will give students access to assignments, tests, and ability to chat with their peers, while giving teachers the ability to track performance, grades, and collaborate with colleagues. This platform is set to roll out in 2015.
This online platform is not the only services Dell is providing to Saint Paul. In a follow up piece, Twincities.com outlines how Dell also won contracts to provide servers ($27,000) and Internet firewall ($284,000). Devices are next. The district has already spent $700,000 on 600 devices from both Dell and Apple computers--but expects to spend more from a $9 million levy raised in 2012. With so many Dell purchases already made, TwinCities.com reporter Mila Koumpilova asks: Is St. Paul leaning too heavily on Dell?
