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Los Angeles may halt iPad rollout because students are using them for fun

Los Angeles may halt iPad rollout because students are using them for fun

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ipad smart cover
ipad smart cover

A Los Angeles high school has halted the use of iPads at home after students bypassed restrictions on web browsing. The school-issued iPads are part of a deal with Apple where 47 campuses across Los Angeles will issue as many as 640,000 iPads by the end of 2014. After just a week since the first roll outs commenced at Theodore Roosevelt High School, 300 students have figured out how to remove restrictions on the iPads to install apps and browse the web freely.

Several other schools are also reporting the same problems. Students appear to have bypassed simple restrictions by removing a profile installed on the devices to let them use them for fun alongside work. The Los Angeles Times reports that police chiefs are urging the district to delay further iPad roll outs across Los Angeles. "I want to prevent a 'runaway train' scenario when we may have the ability to put a hold on the roll-out," wrote LA Unified School District Police Chief Steven Zipperman in a leaked memo. The initiative is designed to supply all students in Los Angeles with iPads, but the embarrassing start means IT administrators will have to provide solid restrictions before students are allowed to use the iPads at home again.