Here is an interesting bit of information on the iPods from WOOD's Rick Albin-
Democrats talked about bringing technology to education during a press conference with House Speaker Andy Dillon last week. In that discussion, the idea of buying iPods or mp3 players for students came up.
But quickly, the question "How can the state afford to buy iPods for students when there isn't enough money to go around right now?" was asked.
In reality, there was never a plan to buy all students iPods. There is a $38 million line item to pay for technology, far less than it would take to buy mp3 players for 1.65 million students.
If I'm not mistaken- and someone please correct me if I'm wrong about this- the iPod story broke with the Detroit Free Press in this Kathleen Gray/Dawson Bell write-up about the press conference-
Also on the table, and playing a more prominent role Thursday, were expensive new programs, including $100 million for investments in Michigan's downtowns and a $38-million proposal that would provide iPods or MP3 players for all Michigan students to use as learning tools.
The Detroit News made no mention of iPods in their story, so I have to believe it started with the Freep, although the News did run a scathing editorial the next day that reinforced the idea.
So, my apologies to Mr. Dillon, although it would have been nice to a) have the press conference up on the web for all to see, or, b) have a statement from the House Dems clarifying exactly what was said.
After watching the full video of Granholm's "put the cuts on the table" press conference in February, I'm beginning to understand how the press chops up quotes to use out of context to fit their narrative. It would be very handy if we could see these things in their entirety and call them out when they do stuff like this.
Seems the Freep is turning into a righty blog that would make RedState proud. Perhaps we should start questioning them as a source for information if they make errors of this caliber.
UPDATE: From the front page of today's GR Press-
State Rep. Tim Melton, D-Pontiac, said he has been unfairly criticized for the plan, which he says focuses more on teacher training than buying the popular hand-held devices, which hold music, video and data and are used by some colleges, including Grand Valley State University.
Melton, chairman of the House's Education Policy Committee, dismissed reports that he wanted the state to buy an MP3 player for each of the state's 1.7 million students as an exaggeration. But he said the state needs to push the use of popular technology to keep up with colleges.
Dawson Bell, please report to the principal's office. Dawson, to the principal's office immediately. Thank you.