Laptops Expected To Be Biggest K-12 Tech Expense in 2015

IT spending by K-12 in the United States is expected to hit about $4.7 billion for 2015. The biggest single area for technology spending will be laptop computers at $1.4 billion.

Those estimates come out of a new IT spending pivot table from IDC Government Insights, which provides estimates and forecasts for the entire U.S. education sector, encompassing K–12, higher ed and "other" education. According to the analyst firm, the guidance will be published bi-annually. The report will include details on education level, individual states, education functional areas, enrollment levels and technology segments.

The current spending guide also offered these findings:

  • California leads in overall education IT spending at $2.3 billion for 2015, followed by Texas ($1.2 billion) and New York ($1.1 billion);
  • Tablets and e-readers will grow by eight percent across all education levels and types by the end of 2015, for a total of $522 million. Spending for that category in K-12 will reach $153 million, about 29 percent of the total, an upswing driven, according to Research Director Shawn McCarthy, by "classroom use"; and
  • Spending on notebook computers peaked in 2014 at just over $4 billion across all education levels and types. That's expected to decline by nearly seven percent this year.

"IT growth among educational institutions has been spurred by a recovering economy, recovering tax bases, and an increase in the number of government education grants," said McCarthy. "While the drop in PC spending was a bit surprising last year, we expect tablet computers to have a bright future in education, particularly for use in science classes and for one-off training via apps."

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • blue AI cloud connected to circuit lines, a server stack, and a shield with a padlock icon

    Report: AI Security Controls Lag Behind Adoption of AI Cloud Services

    According to a recent report from cybersecurity firm Wiz, nearly nine out of 10 organizations are already using AI services in the cloud — but fewer than one in seven have implemented AI-specific security controls.

  • stacks of glowing digital documents with circuit patterns and data streams

    Mistral AI Intros Advanced AI-Powered OCR

    French AI startup Mistral AI has announced Mistral OCR, an advanced optical character recognition (OCR) API designed to convert printed and scanned documents into digital files with "unprecedented accuracy."

  • robot waving

    Copilot Updates Aim to Personalize AI

    Microsoft has introduced a range of updates to its Copilot platform, marking a new phase in its effort to deliver what it calls a "true AI companion" that adapts to individual users' needs, preferences and routines.

  • teenager interacts with a chatbot on a computer screen

    Character.AI Rolls Out New Parental Insights Feature Amid Safety Concerns

    Chatbot platform Character.AI has introduced a new Parental Insights feature aimed at giving parents a window into their children's activity on the platform. The feature allows users under 18 to share a weekly report of their chatbot interactions directly with a parent's e-mail address.