Apple has partnered with the Teach for America program and donated 9,000 first gen iPads to teachers that work in impoverished and dangerous schools. The donated iPads come from customers that gave to Apple’s public service program during the iPad 2 launch.
Many consumers opt to resale their used Apple devices when a new generation is released, but the people that gave to Apple’s public service program have helped to give iPads to teachers working in low-income communities throughout the US.
The school year has begun, and students everywhere are starting to hit the books. For the busy student, keeping track of one’s academic schedule is essential.
On the Mac, iPad and iPhone, iStudiez Pro is the best school planner available. The three apps sync with one another wirelessly to keep all of your assignments and info up to date on all of your devices.
One of Apple’s education profile stories has caught some heat for highlighting how Mac products are teaching a new generation of journalists the trade.
Some question whether those would-be Woodward and Bernsteins at the Missouri School of Journalism should be pledging allegiance to Apple, one of the world’s most powerful companies.
Many of us first encountered Apple Computers in schools, but Apple’s once dominant position in the educational market has seemed to fade over the last decade. Now Apple’s setting out to do something about it, as they’ve just released a brand new sub-$1000 iMac aimed for schools and institutions.
As iPad use continues to grow, assessing how we use them becomes an important topic of study. This includes what kinds of tasks we use the tablet for, and ergonomic issues related to using the device.
Boston University is launching a study this fall among children of military members in an effort to help improve their math skills and teach healthy computing. They are currently looking for additional iPads to help in their efforts.
A 9-year-old girl with sight problems has swapped out magnifying glasses and other clunky equipment for an iPad.
Holly Bligh, of Melbourne Australia, has albinism, which affects her vision. To read, teachers had to make photocopies with enlarged text for her or she had to use a magnifying glass or other devices to read.
The University of Kentucky’s Patterson School of Diplomacy has launched an 18 month trial evaluating the value of Apple’s iPad in professional graduate education. The entire school – students, faculty and staff – will use the iPad for tasks ranging from graduate seminars and courseware to admissions and student recruitment. The goals are both practical and forward thinking:
“With Facebook and Twitter empowering opposition movements in Iran and Tunisia, and the U.S. drawing a line in the cyber-sand in defense of Internet freedom, effective statecraft today demands mastery of new communication tools. 21st century diplomacy increasingly has a digital and high-tech edge – diplomatic training must too,” said retired Ambassador and Patterson School Director Carey Cavanaugh.
Approximately 50 Patterson School students, faculty, and staff began the iPad trial in February, and another 35 students are expected to join once the 2011 entering class is chosen.
HubbleSite – (Free) iPhone – Education
Today’s must-have iOS application is HubbleSite, the online home of NASA’s Hubble space telescope. For over 20 years Hubble has orbited the Earth, beaming home images of celestial splendour; now you have access to the world’s most remarkable Hubble images at your fingertips, to enjoy on your iPhone anytime, anywhere.
Cast your eye over a vast collection of spectacular sights from the Hubble archives and vote for the images that you find the to be the most astounding. Download a selection of wallpapers for your device, all of which have been chosen and edited to deliver beautiful results on the iPhone & iPod touch with a Retina display. Read a compilation of amazing facts about the Hubble telescope’s history and the scientific discoveries it has revealed, from the age of the universe to the mysterious force known as ‘dark energy’ – all within the official Hubble iOS app.
For anyone interested in space and the universe around us, HubbleSite should be the next application you download from the App Store.
It’s Education Week on CultofMac.com. How’s Apple doing in schools these days? What are the best education apps? Is iTunes U worthwhile? Join us as we learn more about Apple in Education.
Cedars School in Greenock, Scotland, has become the first school in the world to deploy an iPad to every child in the age groups it serves (roughly 5 to 16 year-olds). We’ve mentioned this effort before, so Cult of Mac decided to check in on the project again for our Education special and see how they’re doing.
“The iPad has become far more embedded in our school day than I ever thought it would become,” Fraser Speirs, the architect behind the project, wrote on his blog.
This is the RM Slate, an 11.6 inch multitouch tablet running Windows 7, priced at £399 (about $630).
![Cherokee Nation language school students [photo: cherokee.org]](https://www.cultofmac.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/iPhone-Kids_LG179514361lg.jpg "Cherokee Language Now Available for iPhone and iPod touch")
Surviving for centuries and advancing across cultures, the Native American Cherokee language has gone digital and is now available for iPhone and iPod touch handhelds running iOS 4.1:
The Cherokee Nation has been working with the software developers at Apple, Inc. for several years to incorporate the tribe’s unique written language, called the Cherokee syllabary, into new technology offered by the software giant. Cherokee is the first Native language to be featured on Apple, Inc. devices, and one of about only 40 languages overall.
“People communicate differently today,” said Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chad Smith. “Including our language on the iPhone and iPod makes it accessible to more people, especially our youth. This is critical to the survival and growth of our language.”
[Cherokee Nation]
Email, text messaging and other apps now have access to the language as a native part of the operating system. The Cherokee Nation website contains instructions for how to use the Cherokee syllabary (and how to type on the ᏣᎳᎩ keyboard).
[via Times Record Online]
Four school districts in California have teamed up with publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in a pilot project to test the use of iPads in math education. 400 iPads will be distributed among six schools in the program for use in algebra classes:
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt today announced a year-long pilot of the first-ever full-curriculum Algebra app for the Apple iPad. The pilot also represents the launch of HMH Fuse™, a new mode of curriculum delivery where interactive platforms and mobile devices bring learning to life for students by moving beyond the one-way experience of a print or digital textbook.
Through the revolutionary iPad environment, students can receive feedback on practice questions, write and save notes, receive guided instruction, access video lessons and more with the touch of a finger. The app’s multi-dimensional functionality combines instruction, ongoing support and intervention, allowing teachers and students to customize learning and meet individual needs.
The schools involved include Washington Middle School and Hudson K–8 in Long Beach Unified, Kings Canyon Middle School and Sequoia Middle School in Fresno Unified, Amelia Earhart Middle School in Riverside Unified, and Presidio Middle School in San Francisco Unified School District.
The iPad is a natural platform for use in education, it’s a magic sheet of paper which can display text, graphics and video, test students, provide internet access and facilitate student-teacher interaction. Many colleges and universities have already begun exploring its possibilities. I don’t doubt it will find a strong niche in grade school as well.
[via SlashDot]
Perhaps in a bid to become the world’s leading iCollege, Abilene Christian University will publish an edition of the school paper designed for iPad.
The Texas institution — where the IT studies department was rechristened iSchool — started equipping freshmen with iPhones and iPod Touches back in 2008. The iSchool also started prepping iPhone devs of the future with a 2009 programming course.
Since 2007, they’ve also published the twice-weekly school paper dubbed “The Optimist” (a commentary on future journalists?) for the iPhone.
“The faculty as a whole and the department discussed it, and we said we have to do this,” Dr. Cheryl Bacon, chairwoman of the department of journalism and mass communications told The Daily Orange. “It’s just too good of an opportunity to pass up.”
Better late than never: Oxford and Cambridge have joined scores of prestigious universities around the world making lectures available for free on iTunes.
So far, iTunes U offerings from Oxford include J. Craig Venter on genomics and and intro series about the university narrated by noteworthy alum, ex-Monty Pythoner Michael Palin. It will expand to 150 hours.
Rivals Cambridge allow users to download over 80 Naked Scientists “enhanced podcasts” (not sure we want to think about what the enhancing involves) by Dr. Chris Smith.
Oxford Vice Chancellor John Hood said, “We hope that this service will make Oxford’s diverse range of audio and video material more widely accessible to applicants, alumni, supporters of the University, and the intellectually curious.”
