Apple's been making a big push into education in recent months, updating iTunes to allow users under the age of 13 and touting new features in iOS 7. It says the update makes it 'easier for institutions to put devices in the hands of students.'
But for many schools with student iPads deployed, the update is actually making things more difficult. Various educators across the US are reporting that iOS 7 has left their devices unfiltered when accessing the Internet away from school...
Slowly but surely, Apple has been revamping sub-section by sub-section of its website to bring the visual language, navigation and overall design in line with the flattened and cleaned up iOS 7 look and feel.
We've just received a word that Apple has redesigned the Apple and Education mini-site with a much simpler navigation and layout that revolves around larger teaser images and less text.
The mini-site strives to provide resources for teachers and parents about how Apple products can help them educate their kids...
A month after the educational concept of schools based on the iPad was first unveiled, the first seven 'Steve JobsSchools' have opened in the Netherlands. The Apple iPad is central to the groundbreaking educational effort, creating a "virtual school" with standard iOS apps tailored to meet the needs of students, parents and teachers.
While two of the schools expect to see the iPad replace text books, school schedules and traditional courses for all grades, the majority will initially start with early learners, according to the foundation promoting the effort...
Apple has altered its iTunes Terms and Conditions to permit children under the age of 13 to operate individual iTunes accounts created at the request of an 'approved educational institution,' signaling the beginning of its next big push into education.
Previously, the company restricted iTunes accounts to children aged 13 or older. But with it landing major iPad distribution deals with school districts, the Mac-maker has announced that it will be changing its policy with the fall release of iOS 7...
Last month, word got out that Apple had won a bid for a colossal tablet deal with the Los Angeles Unified School District. The district, which is the second-largest in the country, agreed to buy some $30 million worth of iPads.
Today comes more details about the massive tablet rollout. According to a new report from CITEWorld, the LAUSD plans to distribute over 30,000 free iPads to students this school year in an effort to improve education...
Taking a page from Apple's book (pun intended), Google's Play Books service will start carrying textbooks in August, giving students the choice of renting (for six months) or buying electronic textbooks, available on iOS or Android devices.
And in drawing from its Internet roots, the search monster also said electronic textbooks will be available for reading on the web, using any standard desktop web browser. The Internet giant promises a "comprehensive selection of titles" from five major publishing partners: Pearson, Wiley, Macmillian Higher Education, McGraw-Hill and Cengage Learning.
Jump past the fold for the full reveal...
Nearly a dozen schools will open in August in the Netherlands, the educational day centered around the products produced by the late Apple CEO Steve Jobs. In what creators call 'Steve Jobs schools,' children 4-12 years old will use iPads in place of textbooks and the role of teacher is turned into a 'learning coach,' according to a German magazine.
These concept schools also replace the usual structured classroom with learning tied to students's individual learning pace. Still, educators insists children in the schools won't always be in front of screens, allowing kids to be kids...
Apple again is flexing its muscle in classrooms. Every student in the Los Angeles Unified School District will receive an iPad, a contract worth $30 million. Apple has received the nod from the nation's second-largest school district as students and teachers overruled Microsoft, which argued its tablets better prepared school kids for the workplace.
In a unanimous vote, the LA school district board approved the contract to pay $678 per Apple tablet, one member telling The Los Angeles Times newspaper that the deal is "as big as they come." The contract is just the latest sign schools with tight budgets are opting for less-expensive tablets over traditional PCs for the classroom...
After Apple back in January flew its vice president for education John Couch to Turkey who meet with the country's president Abdullah Gül to discuss Turkey's $4.5 billion modernization program in which textbooks will be replaced by tablets and chalkboards by electronic whiteboards, a report Monday notes that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdoğan has now visited Apple, along with Google and Microsoft, in order to explore options ahead of the country's impending decision to purchase 10.6 million tablets for education...
When I was in high school, one of my biology finals included memorizing every bone in the hand. That is, all of the carpals, metacarpals, and phalanxes of both hands and every digit. Of course, today there is no way I remember that information. However, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I remembered more than I thought when I downloaded Essential Skeleton.
Essential Skeleton is an educational app for the iPad from 3D4Medical. The company uses a proprietary graphics engine to create lifelike digital reproductions of medical models. The skeleton in this app is fully three-dimensional, making it better than a real-life model because you don’t have to store it in your closet with your other secrets and you don’t have to pay an arm and a leg for it (my puns just keep getting better, don’t they?)...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uT8s66oXP_A
Media tycoon Rupert Murdoch and his publishing empire, News Corp, used to be strong believers in Apple's iPad and its digital publishing prowess, so much so that he greenlit a substantial investment in The Daily, an iPad-exclusive magazine.
Apple and News Corp had worked side-by-side to develop The Daily, having launched the app on February 2, 2011 during a lavish press conference at the Guggenheim Museum in New York City. Apple's online services head Eddy Cue joined Rupert Murdoch on stage, who publicly praised Apple for being “a highly disciplined company that makes beautiful products”, attributing late co-founder Steve Jobs with having "such power inspiring the people around him."
But after slashing staff by a third last summer, News Corp soon pulled the plug on the project. Enter 2013: News Corp's education division called Amplify Wednesday announced it is launching its own Android tablet mean to compete with Apple's iPad in education...
The iPad is the perfect epitome of the 21st century learning. When schools and faculties integrate these things into their workflow, anything is possible. The iPad, as you know, debuted as the first mainstream tablet and it immediately bolstered Apple's already strong and undisputed credibility in education.
Of course, the gizmo owes much of its success to a strong library of more than 300,000 apps designed specifically for it. That said, it shouldn't really surprise anyone that Apple's tablet is replacing textbooks fast and becoming an indispensable teaching tool for educators and an interactive learning aid for students.
Thursday, the company officially confirmed it has sold a cool 4.5 million iPads to U.S. education institutions alone and a total of eight million iPads to education institutions worldwide - a notable rise versus about 1.5 million iPads found in U.S. education institutions as of January 2012.
While Samsung shipped as much tablets to the entire market during the holiday quarter of 2012, the South Korean giant did not break down sales by region or industry verticals so we really can't tell how strong Galaxy tablets are in education, but our guess is they're virtually non-existent...