Observer Podcast: Checking In With Homestead Heritage, SXSWedu and Technology Adoption In Schools

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For this episode, staff writer Patrick Michels and I returned to the Observer’s basement recording studio (read: fallout shelter) with freelance writer Alex Hannaford to discuss the reaction to “Heritage of Abuse,” a controversial piece written by Mr. Hannaford for the March issue of The Texas Observer. Patrick Michels goes over the highlights of SXSWedu, the education arm of the South by Southwest family of events. We also look to comments left on our Facebook page discussing whether Texas schools should buy iPads for their students.

During the episode, Patrick Michels references this post from The Education Business Blog about how much it actually costs to implement iPad programs in schools. He also mentions a piece by former Observer staff writer Abby Rapaport about mega-publisher Pearson‘s outsize influence in Texas.  

We included a couple of sound clips for this episode from Apple’s iPad Textbook trailer and a video called “Slander: Homestead Heritage Responds.”