American Institutes for Research released a study of how iPads were used in a subset of schools that adopted them. This is the first phase of Superintendent John Deasy’s $1.3 billion plan to give an iPad or similar device to every student and staff member in the district.

Things are not going well so far. AIR found a need for more technical support.

“School staffers working on the project that sent iPads to 30,490 students and 1,360 teachers at 47 campuses last year “needed to spend their time on technical troubleshooting rather than supporting technology integration into instruction in the first year of implementation,” according to a summary of the report.

“In May, AIR visited 15 schools, observing that iPads were being used in less than half of classrooms it viewed, although the devices were present in 79 percent of those rooms.

“Three of the schools, two unidentified high schools and one elementary school, weren’t using the iPads. The report notes that several schools had put the devices away in late spring 2014 “for different reasons.”

And more problems:

“A July report by LAUSD’s inspector general found 31 percent of 9,910 iPads sampled were missing, because LAUSD “was unable to provide the current location and number of iPads distributed to each school after numerous requests were made over a five-month period.”

“The missing iPads were valued at $1.6 million, according to the inspector general’s report.

“Additionally, last month Superintendent John Deasy ordered a contract to buy iPads and digital curriculum be re-bid amid concerns over favoritism.

“Emails between district administrators and Pearson representatives — an Apple subcontractor that was picked to create curriculum for LAUSD’s iPads — indicate Pearson pitches were later made part of the district’s bidding criteria, a practice that can eliminate competitors.

“Earlier this year, the school board voted to drop its iPad-only plan and spend up to $40 million to pilot six different types of laptops and tablets at 27 schools.”