Murdoch's Tablet Computers for Schools

NPR's Morning Edition has a broadcast here on a new tablet computer that Murdoch has developed for schools.  He says that he needs the revenue for it to support his publishing empire.  The comments are very negative.  Very few people seem to trust Murdoch as far as education goes.  Personally:  I'm horrified.

Oh wow. I agree completely with most of the comments so far.

And I do have some questions about these Murdoch tablets. Do they have an Internet browser on them? Surely one of the major pluses of giving tablets to kids is the whole world of information this opens up for them.

Second question: Do these tablets support the kindle and nook apps? If kids were given tablet computers and accounts at an online bookstore, then they might be great. Avid readers need lots and lots of books to develop--and often books that school libraries don't carry, such as series books, science fiction, mysteries, etc. Instead of paying Murdoch fees, put money into kids' book accounts and let them download books they are willing and anxious to read. Reading scores would soar.  And any tablets would work.

I taught for 37 years. From what I can tell from this broadcast, these Murdoch tablets are solving problems that don't exists. I had great discussions with my classes; I didn't need them to have computers to do this.  It takes two minutes to take attendance, and is a chance to greet students.  Plus I have a visceral reaction to using these tablets to support his media empire. Our local school districts are going to be supporting Fox news?