k-12
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Amazon offers teachers a place to sell resources they create
Amazon has opened a storefront and publishing platform for people to buy and sell K-12 educational materials. People who create such resources can upload them for others to purchase.
‘Code with Google’ helps bring coding into the classroom
Most American students aren't learning how to code in elementary or middle school -- and if they are, it's likely they reside in an affluent school district. Google hopes to bridge the gaps in computer science education with Code with Google, a free coding curriculum that teachers can use to introduce their students to the basics of coding.
Help NASA name its Mars 2020 rover
NASA's Mars 2020 rover is beginning to take shape. Earlier this month, crews installed some of its legs and six of its wheels. Now, the vehicle needs a name, and for that, NASA is turning to students. Beginning in fall 2019, NASA will run a nationwide "Name the Rover" contest open to K-12 students in the US. The spacecraft will need a name by July 2020, when it's expected to launch.
Adobe offers schools Creative Cloud licenses for $5/year
Adobe has been slowly moving its apps and services to the cloud since 2013. If you use any of the company's creative products — like Photoshop, Illustrator or Lightroom — you probably already purchase them via a subscription, which can run anywhere from $10 to $83 per month for an individual. Now, Adobe is making the full suite of Adobe Creative Cloud apps for K-12 schools to $5 annually per license (with a minimum purchase of 500 licenses per school or 2,500 per district).
The first Chrome OS tablet comes from Acer
There have been many Chrome OS devices with touchscreens, but there haven't been pure tablets. You've always had an attached keyboard as a fallback -- until today, that is. Acer has unveiled the first Chrome OS tablet, the Chromebook Tab 10, and there's nary a keyboard to be found. The 9.7-inch slate is aimed at squarely at education, where the all-touch input and light weight (1.21 pounds) could make it a better fit for younger students. Appropriately, there's a bundled battery-free Wacom stylus that lets kids draw and take notes.
littleBits and Pearson bring electronics kits to US schools
The littleBits team has long been eager to teach kids about the joys of building electronics, and it's taking that commitment to its logical conclusion. It's partnering with Pearson on the STEM Invention Toolbox, a kit that teaches students at varying grade levels how to design electronics and understand scientific concepts. They can craft circuits that save energy, for example, or a communication device for astronauts. The aim is to learn by doing, and encourage kids to "think beyond the text" -- they're not just memorizing facts or performing canned experiments.
Sprint will provide home broadband to 50,000 students in the US
Through its ConnectED program, the White House is aiming to connect 99 percent of students with high-speed broadband in the next five years. One year in, Sprint's making an important contribution to the initiative, announcing plans to bring broadband to as many as 50,000 students' homes. It's just the latest effort from a major company to improve educational resources in the US, with Microsoft having discounted the cost of Windows for public schools and Apple, Autodesk and others donating devices and software. Today select schools can apply to receive up to four years of Sprint Spark connectivity, with the program to coincide with the start of the school year in August.
Bing's kid-friendly search is now available to every grade school in the US
Your kid's in-school web searches may soon be much safer and smarter: Microsoft has just expanded availability of its Bing school program (now Bing in the Classroom) to all K-12 institutions in the US. The move lets any school fill out a form to remove ads, get daily lesson plans and keep adult content filters switched on. As part of the launch, Microsoft is also making it easier for parents to both check if a school is using Bing and see how close it is toward earning free Surface tablets through search credits.
Bing for Schools pilot begins, lets users earn tablets for classrooms
Now that back to school season is upon us, Microsoft has launched its promised Bing for Schools in a pilot phase. The test lets more than 800,000 K-12 students search Bing ad-free while receiving daily learning activities, improved privacy and automatic adult content filtering. Schools wanting to join the pilot can apply today. Those who have long since graduated can pitch in, too: Microsoft has launched a program that lets Bing Rewards members contribute their credits toward Surface RT tablets for their preferred schools. All you need to know is available through the source links; we're just wondering where Bing for Schools was when we were kids.
Sony K-12 initiative puts the Xperia Tablet S into schools
The selection of tablets in education has been narrow, especially for teachers that want support after the hardware is on their doorstep. Sony figures that it can widen the field through its K-12 Education Initiative. The effort gives schools a discount on the Xperia Tablet S, but that's just the start: they have access to Education Ambassador, an online resource for incorporating Android tablets into the classroom, as well as 50GB of free Box storage and a year's worth of Kaspersky security services. Sony is already taking orders for schools waiting to hop onboard; if they're willing to try a company that's relatively untested in education, they may get a better deal than they expect.
Doodle 4 Google 2013 challenges kids to dream big, describe their best day (video)
Google loves inspiring kids to go wild with ideas in its annual Doodle 4 Google competition, and that tradition is carrying on for 2013. This year's just-started drawing exhibition asks American kids to visualize what they imagine would be their best day ever -- no mean feat, as you'll see in the video after the break. The K-12 student who wins on the national level may find all that daydreaming worth the effort, however, as the top prizes are about as grand as they were for 2012. Along with seeing their drawing become the homepage doodle for a day, the top-ranking child gets a $50,000 technology grant for their current school, a $30,000 college scholarship, a Chromebook and a Wacom tablet to foster that now-obvious creative talent. Budding young artists need to get their entries to Google's real or virtual doorsteps by March 22nd; we have a hunch the winner's best day ever will be May 23rd, when millions of searchers will catch a glimpse of that early magnum opus.
Bloomberg: Apple event to focus on education
Tomorrow's Apple event might bring one thing in addition to a new, smaller iPad -- it might bring millions of new sales for the device to cash-strapped school systems around the country. Bloomberg reports that the iPad has made huge inroads in the education market where the Mac couldn't. In many cases, school systems that would have preferred Macs simply couldn't afford the "Apple Tax" and bought systems from Lenovo, Dell and other manufacturers instead. When the iPad arrived, those schools suddenly had a way to buy Apple gear at a much lower price point. It's expected that Apple will make education a focal point of tomorrow's event as a result. Bloomberg notes that the educational IT market accounted for US$19.7 billion in sales in 2010-2011, and with school systems dropping desktops and laptops for mobile devices, Apple has a sterling opportunity to increase sales in the market. Many educators believe that a device priced in the $200-$300 range would drastically increase purchases of the iPad in schools. Since the launch of the third-generation iPad earlier this year, many school systems have embraced WiFi iPad 2s, which are available on educational discount for as little as $370 loaded with educational apps.
New National School Speed Test hopes to help all K-12 students get effective digital learning
With 99 percent of the nation's K-12 schools hooked-up to the internet, you'd think online learning was an educational staple. Sadly, it's also estimated that some 80 percent of those connections can't provide the 100Mbps per 1,000 students bandwidth the State Education Technology Directors Association recommends. That's why NPO EducationSuperHigway has announced the National School Speed Test initiative, with the goal to take actual stock of the state of internet connections in our schools. The NSST hopes to measure the internet capabilities of every K-12 school, and identify those that are lagging behind. Educational staff and students can also help out by checking their own school's speeds on a dedicated website (linked below). The results of the NSST will be open to the institutions themselves, districts and state departments of education, enabling them to better plan upgrade strategies for the future.
Kno textbooks arrive on Android with the Galaxy Note 10.1, take on a social side
Kno's post-hardware textbook platform has called the iPad its only tablet home for more than a year; it's about to spread its wings. Starting with a bundled presence on the Galaxy Note 10.1, Kno is an option for K-12 and college students who'd rather go the Android route. While all the 3D, note-taking and navigation features remain the same, there's an obvious selling point in supporting the S Pen (and hopefully other pens) to more directly put thoughts to virtual paper -- or, let's admit it, doodle in the margins. All of us, Android and otherwise, get a new Social Sharing component that lets us crib each other's notes before the big exam. We're still waiting on Kno for other Android devices as well as the already-promised Windows 7 support, but it's hard not to appreciate at least a little more variety in our digital learning.
Kno starts offering K-12 textbooks on tablets, scores industry-first deal with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (update: not as exclusive)
Kno's tablet textbooks have only ever been available to the college crowd; the younger among us have typically had to get a comprehensive digital education from either the tablet maker's own solution, like Apple's iBooks 2, or less-than-integrated options. A new deal for K-12 books is giving the students, if not necessarily the teachers, a fresh alternative. Parents can now rent books for home studying at prices under $10 per title. They're not state-specific books, but their Common Core roots will keep learners on the same (virtual) page as classmates while adding Kno's usual 3D, links, notes and videos. Just to sweeten the pot further, Kno says its current catalog centers around a pact with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt -- a publisher that hasn't offered K-12 books on any tablet platform until now, according to Kno. The initial focus is on iPad, web and Windows 7 readers, although Android-loving parents looking for that at-home edge will have to wait until sometime "soon" to leap in. Update: Although we were told otherwise at first, it's not true that Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has never offered K-12 books on a tablet before: we've since learned that the publisher posted Social Studies textbooks for the iPad in May. The Kno deal is still significant as a rare cross-platform offering. %Gallery-161862%
iTunes U opens up limited accounts to K-12 teachers
During its Q3 2012 earnings conference call, Apple revealed that the quarter was its best yet for educational sales of the Mac and the iPad. To capitalize on this expansion into education, Apple updated iTunes U and now allows K-12 teachers to create private courses for their students. Previously, teachers could add their lectures to Apple's repository, but only if their school or institution was enrolled in the iTunes U program. Now, all K-12 teachers can sign in with their Apple ID and create private courses using the free iTunes Course Manager web app. Public courses, however, still require school or institution enrollment. Teachers can add traditional course material like a syllabus, handouts, and quizzes. They can also add audio and video recordings of their lectures and point to reference material that's available in the iBookstore, App Store and iTunes. The app is solely for disseminating course content and not management as there is no grading or attendance features built into the app. Teacher can send a code or the URL of the course to students, who can enroll in the course and access content via the iTunes U app on the iPad and iPhone. They can read the course material and even take timestamped notes when listening to a lecture. Interested teachers can read more about iTunes U on Apple's website. [Via AllThingsD]
San Diego school district purchases 26,000 iPads
San Diego Unified School District is improving its classroom technology by purchasing 26,000 iPads for use in its schools, according to San Diego's 10News. The iPads will cost the district US$15 million and is funded through Proposition S, a money reserve available to help schools purchase up-to-date technology. The iPads will be used by 5th grade, 8th-grade and high school students in 340 classrooms. This program is thought to be one of the largest deployments of iPads within a K-12 school district. A smaller scale iPad pilot program just finished its first year in the Ashburnham-Westminster Regional School District in Massachusetts. In this pilot, 83 iPads were provided to all Kindergarten classrooms. A similar Kindergarten program was implemented in Auburn, Maine. Results from both programs are early, but encouraging.
HCL intros trio of Android 4.0 tablets aimed at Indian classrooms
HCL, previously known for launching those budget-friendly MiLeaps, is now getting ready to take its low-cost approach to the tablet market. Earlier today, the Indian outfit announced a trifecta of ICS-packed slates, all of which are aimed squarely at the education sector. Aside from running the freshest version of Android, these 7-inch (800 x 480) slates feature an unspecified 1GHz CPU alongside 1GB of RAM, 4GB of internal storage (expandable via microSD) as well as full and mini-USB ports. Additionally, the K-12 and HE MyEduTabs are being bundled with bonus educational content, including free NCERT books and an extra SD card on the former. The trio is set to hit the shelves later this month in India, with the ME U1 priced at 7,999 rupees (approximately $162), while the K-12 and HE are 11,499 and 9,999, respectively. [Thanks, Rakesh]
Khan Academy releases iPad app
MIT alum Salman Khan has an ambitious plan. He wants to provide anyone, anywhere with a quality education. To that end, he's created a website with over 2,700 K-12 lectures spanning math, history, science and more. Now he's bringing all this online learning to the iPad with his new Khan academy app. In keeping with Khan's philosophy of learning, the Khan Academy app and all its resources are available for free. The app lets you login to your Khan Academy account and track your progress as you work through the courses. You can also download videos and playlists for learning on the go and follow along with subtitles that'll help you navigate through each lecture. You can grab the Khan Academy app for free from the iOS App Store.
Tomorrow's Apple event to focus on digital textbook publishing tools, says Bloomberg
We've already seen some rumors about what Apple has in store for its education-minded announcement in New York City tomorrow, and now Bloomberg is out with a report of its own that backs up some of those earlier rumblings and offers a few new details. Citing two people with knowledge of the announcement, it says that the main focus of the event will be a set of tools that will "make it easier to publish interactive textbooks and other digital educational content." That not only includes tools for the big textbook publishers, but self-publishers as well -- Bloomberg gives the example of teachers preparing materials for that week's lesson, or scientists and historians who could publish professional-looking content without a publishing deal. According to Bloomberg's sources, Apple is expected to use a modified version of the ePub standard for the content, and it's main focus is said to be the K-12 market. In case you needed a reminder, we'll be there live to report on the announcement as it happens -- the event gets underway tomorrow at 10AM Eastern.
