Dear Commons Community,

Media sources are reporting that Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. is ready to sell off Amplify and the company will be moving away from marketing tablets to schools districts.

Chief Executive Robert Thomson said that News Corp. is in negotiations with a potential buyer for its edtech operations, according to the Wall Street Journal. The digital education division, which was launched in 2012, will take a nearly $400 million write-down, according to reports.

Amplify’s tablets had hit several roadblocks in schools that were not wired correctly for kids and teachers to use them, and the tablets themselves often came with problems.

There was a botched rollout in the Guilford County school district in North Carolina — district officials had to pull the plug on the $33 million tablet program last year because the tablets had hardware issues, according to Education Week.

Murdoch had put former New York City Schools Chancellor Joel Klein in charge of the edtech division, but officials now say they are abandoning the tablet business and won’t market to any new customers.

Tony