schools
Latest
UK schools threaten to report parents who let their kids play 18+ games
If your child is playing 18-rated games such as Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto, you could be reported to the police and social services. That's the message being sent to parents by a group of primary and secondary schools in Cheshire. In a letter, the Nantwich Education Partnership has warned parents about the levels of violence and sexual content that are prevalent in mature games. It says regular exposure could lead to "early sexualised behaviour" and leave children "vulnerable to sexual exploitation or extreme violence." Some parents have already voiced their disapproval, but headteachers say they're merely following the guidance set by their local authority: "If your child is allowed to have inappropriate access to any game or associated product that is designated 18+, we are advised to contact the police and children's social care as this is deemed neglectful."
Autodesk offers design software to schools everywhere free of charge
Earlier this year, Autodesk gave middle and high school students in the US its software suite as part of President Obama's ConnectEd project. As of today though, the design-minded outfit is offering its wares, like AutoCAD and Fusion 360, for education use worldwide. The company says this will afford 680 million students the ability to tap it into its apps both in classrooms and at home. As you might expect, project ideas and teaching resources are available as well. If you're looking to opt in, you'll need to request access, and you can do that right here.
US government wants $1.5 billion more per year to get schools online
The FCC isn't depending solely on help from tech companies to get more libraries and schools connected to the internet. According to the New York Times, agency chairman Tom Wheeler will propose that the FCC should have up to $1.5 billion more to spend per year on internet access for education, giving it an annual budget of $3.9 billion. That's a hefty 62 percent increase, but officials reportedly believe that the upgrade is necessary given that many schools don't have data fast enough for modern learning. Over 40 million students don't have quick broadband, and existing offerings sometimes can't cope with the sheer demand from kids.
Schools in the US love Google Chromebooks
When it comes to the Chromebook, Google isn't shy about its beliefs that it is the perfect computing device for education sectors around the world. And here in the US, schools and students have started to feel the same way. In a blog post, where it highlights different ways in which educational institutions in California are using Chromebooks, Google pointed out that recent IDC numbers have its line of computers as being the best-selling device in K-12 education. The report takes into consideration laptops and tablets, so this is a notable achievement for the technology company.
Minnesota plans to roll out 40,000 iPads for students
Apple's deal with the L.A. Unified School District may have fallen through due to a variety of factors, but Minnesota's St. Paul School District remains committed to deploying 40,000 iPads to students as soon as possible. The district will supply Apple's tablets to 37 schools by January 2015, which will conclude the first phase of the rollout. The remaining schools will be targeted for iPads in the following school year, until all 61 locations are equipped. The deal with Apple is worth approximately $5.7 million during the current school year, which will rise to $8 million next year. Families of students will not be charged for use of the tablets, but may incur fees for lost or broken devices, and any students who repeatedly find themselves with a damaged tablet will need to attend an "iPad Academy" class on acceptable tablet use.
Los Angeles freezes its iPad program for schools
Los Angeles' grand dreams of putting iPads in schools came into question a month ago, and they've now come to a screeching halt. Superintendent John Deasy has suspended a contract with Apple to both "take advantage of an ever-changing marketplace" (read: diversify hardware) and, crucially, to investigate recently raised ethical concerns. Allegedly, both Deasy and a top deputy have close links to executives at both Apple and curriculum provider Pearson, calling the whole iPad program into question; it suggests that officials were doing personal favors rather than taking kids' needs into account. Deasy is quick to claim that his team was only working closely with Apple and Pearson on the pilot, not the contract, and offered a deal to another major vendor. Whether or not that's true, the suspension suggests that the vision of an iPad in every LA classroom may never come to pass -- it's more likely that the broader device selection is here to stay. [Image credit: Schooltechnology.org/Lexie Flickinger, Flickr]
LA school officials shift from free iPads to laptops and hybrids
An iPad for every student was the plan. Then, some students were too smart for their own good, quickly enabling their for-learnin' iPads to access to anything on the web, including Twitter, Facebook and all that other fun stuff. LA's school district now plans to differentiate what it offers its students, authorizing purchases for one of six different devices, including laptops and hybrids such as Chromebooks, Microsoft's Surface Pro 2 and Lenovo's Yoga Touch. This fall, teachers and students will test these laptops to see if they fit. "The benefit of the new approach is clear," said Los Angeles school board member Monica Ratliff, talking to the LA Times. "Why would we treat all our students - whether they are a first-grader or a high school freshman - as if they all had the same technology needs? They don't."
Dell's first Chromebook is destined for schools
Come tomorrow, Dell will take the wraps off of its very first Chromebook, which has been dubbed the Dell Chromebook 11. Specifics are scant at the moment, but we do know that the laptop (which will likely have an 11-inch display) has been designed for use in schools. Fret not Chrome OS fans who no longer have recess to brighten your day, the company is expected to announce Chromebooks for businesses and the Average Joe next year.
Age of Wushu introducing school betrayals
Traditionally, your school in Age of Wushu isn't something that changes. Once you've signed on with a school, that's your home forever. But with the upcoming betrayal mechanics, you can move from being a dedicated partisan of one school to being an initiate of another. And you aren't even just limited to changing schools because you were kicked out of the first one, since the game offers several departure options for those who want to see how the other half lives. Betrayal is the obvious choice, which will allow you to immediately leave with the cost of losing your school-specific identity, titles, internal skills, fashion... you get the idea. In trade, you can join any of the seven other schools or one of the new sects launching with the next major update. The Excursion route still takes your identity, titles, and fashion, but your internal skills are merely lowered. Incognito takes this a step further, merely locking your titles and such while leaving your first three skill slots unaffected. These latter two options allow you to explore the new sects with lesser consequence, but both are meant to be more costly and time-consuming. It's up to you if you want to continue to be loyal or start walking the path of betrayal.
Apple confirms iOS 7 removes content filters from school-issued iPads, fix coming soon
It seems you can't release a major operating system update these days without a few things going wrong. The latest iOS 7 issue is affecting iPads issued by schools. After updating, the content filters put in place through the Apple Configurator tool are no longer effective, leaving students with unrestricted access to the internet when used at home (school WiFi networks often have separate filters in place that restrict access through all devices). According to an AllThingsD report, a school district in Colorado is collecting iPads at the end of each school day in the meantime -- it's hardly a sustainable long-term solution, but Apple, which acknowledged the issue, expects a fix this month. One crafty administrator set up a DNS block to prevent students from upgrading to iOS 7, but for many other schools, the damage is already done.
Seven 'Steve Jobs Schools' open in the Netherlands
Throughout the Northern Hemisphere, kids are either preparing to go back to the classrooms or have already started school again. In the Netherlands, seven of what are called "Steve Jobs Schools" opened their doors today. The schools are focused on using the iPad as the primary focus of all learning and activities. As TUAW reported in July, the schools will replace blackboards, schedules, parent-teacher conferences and more with iPads. The schools are the brainchild of the Education for a New Era Foundation (O4NT is the Dutch acronym). Two of the schools currently provide the iPad-centric curriculum at all grade levels, while the other schools will begin with younger students and expand to higher grades as the children move through school. As you can see from the image at the top of this post (courtesy of O4NT), the youngest students are using iPad minis encased in custom kid-proof case / stands. O4NT now calls teachers "coaches" to reflect that their role is to support a child's personal projects and group efforts, not just shovel out information and assignments. One unique feature of the iPad-centric learning is the sCoolSpace, a virtual schoolyard for each physical school where students can meet at any time. Both students and coaches have their own avatars, and can communicate via FaceTime or Messages. Parents are also involved in the Steve Jobs Schools: they can monitor their child's progress daily through "iDesk Learning Tracker". Unlike traditional schools, kids can just show up any time between 7:30 AM and 6:30 PM, and are only required to be onsite between 10:30 AM and 3:00 PM. Parents can take vacations on their schedules, as the children can keep up with their schoolwork from anywhere. It's a fascinating experiment in education, bringing iPads and kids together into a classroom that may eventually span the world.
All 640,000 kids in Los Angeles school district to get iPads
Last month, the LA Times reported that the city was using US$30 million to provide 35,000 iPads to students in 47 school districts. A new report today from CITEWorld confirms that this initial deployment is only the first phase of a larger program that'll provide iPads to every student in the nation's second largest school district. As part of the larger plan, the Los Angeles Unified School District will hand out iPads to all 640,000 students by the end of 2014. The first rollout of the tablets is being funded by taxpayer dollars, but Mark Hovatter, chief facilities executive for the LAUSD, expects to find additional funding for the rest of the plan. "We're hoping that will get a lot of private donors," Hovatter told CITEworld. This is good news for Apple as it brings in a large educational contract for the Cupertino company and exposes a younger generation to the iOS platform.
Los Angeles schools award $30 million iPad contract to Apple
The Los Angeles Unified School District is redirecting US$30 million of its budget to provide roughly 35,000 iPads to 47 district schools, the Los Angeles Times reports. Because the devices will come pre-loaded with educational software, the price per unit clocks in at a hefty $678. LAUSD is the nation's second-largest school district with nearly 695,000 students as of data released in 2009, only surpassed by the New York City Department of Education with more than 1 million students. The LA Times says that the actual benefits to Apple will actually be in the hundreds of millions of dollars during the two-year contract. LAUSD's superintendent John Deasy appeared in a video as part of Apple's textbook event in New York City in 2012, which was the launch of iBooks Author and iTunes U. [via All Things D]
Microsoft offering Surface RT tablets for $199 to educational institutions
If you thought Microsoft's effort to push Surface RT tablets into classrooms would stop with a 10,000-unit giveaway, you'd be mistaken. Ryan Lowdermilk, a technology evangelist for the company, revealed that it's offering 32GB Surface RT slates to K-12 and higher education institutions in 25 countries for $199, more than 50 percent off the $499 retail sticker price. Dropping $249 for each unit will snag organizations keyboard-infused Touch Covers, while bumping the cost to $289 will add Type Covers to the package. Education outfits can take advantage of the deal until August 31st (or while supplies last), but individual students won't be able to snag a Surface at such a deep discount on their own. The post announcing the program has gone offline since its unveiling, but we've reached out to Lowdermilk to confirm that the offer is still valid. In the meantime, you can hit the second source link to snatch an order form for school administrators. Update: It appears the order form has been pulled, so we've replaced the second source link with a mirror of the document. [Thanks, Suraj-Sun]
Google Chromebooks now in 2,000 schools, usage doubled in three months
Google has really ramped up its education efforts lately, and it looks like it's paid off: according to the Mountain View company, its Chromebooks are now in use in 2,000 schools, which is twice as many as there were three months ago. Three of the more recent participants include Transylvania County Schools in North Carolina with 900 devices, St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Florida with 2,200 and the Rocketship Education charter network in the Bay Area with 1,100. The education team has been making efforts in the global community as well, with cloud-promoting appearances at various education conferences such as the Florida Education Technology Conference in Orlando and the British Education Training and Technology show in the UK. We're not sure exactly which flavor of Chromebook the students are getting their hands on, but we're sure no matter what they use, they'll grow up well-versed in what could be the future of computing.
New Age of Wushu trailer highlights game's eight schools
One of the first major decisions a player comes to in the free-to-play martial arts sandbox Age of Wushu is which of the eight different schools to join. Have a penchant for panhandling? Perhaps you'd prefer the Beggars. Maybe the muses inspire you; then Scholars would be the best bet. Or if you prefer poisons, you'd fit in with the Tangmen. If none of those tickle your fancy, you can belong to the Wudang, Royal Guards, Wanderer's Valley, Emei, or Shaolin. Still undecided? Snail Games has released a trailer of the schools, giving players get a glimpse of each one. Take a peek after the cut.
Why Amazon's Whispercast matters
Apple's upcoming media event isn't scheduled until next week. I've already gone on record about my views about the so-called iPad mini's potential. I think with the mini, Apple has a big chance to push forward the education initiative the company introduced earlier this year. That's why Amazon's Whispercast announcement this week, detailing a solution for managing a fleet of Kindles, matters. Amazon Kindle VP David Limp described the new technology: "Whispercast [is] a free, scalable solution for school and business administrators to centrally manage thousands of Kindles and wirelessly distribute Kindle books...to their users." A free online tool, Whispercast enables central content administration for procuring, distributing and monitoring Kindle books. With it, schools and districts can adopt Kindle technology across their entire system. What's more, administrators can set acceptable use policies, such as blocking social networks and web browsers, keeping students from accessing Facebook with their Whispercast devices. We don't know what Apple's event will cover, but this kind of large-scale deployment sets a bar that Apple needs to meet -- soon if not next week. At TUAW, we believe that winning the classroom will win the tablet. If Apple cannot respond to Whispercast, they cannot win that classroom. Apple's enterprise tools for iOS and support for mobile device management have advantages for big organizations, but the textbook (and app) volume purchasing setup doesn't have quite the fluidity of what Whispercast will deliver. MDM at a basic level is doable with Apple's Mountain Lion Server, but larger deployments may require extensive IT support and investment, which most schools don't have at their disposal. In contrast, Whispercast is cloud-based and free. (There are several cloud-based MDM options for iOS, to be sure, with Meraki, Zenprise and MaaS360 among them, but they aren't free.) Whispercast is far from an education panacea, however. While Whispercast offers large-scale setup and deployment, it seems to lack program analysis: tracking, testing and assessment of student success. Whispercast modernizes the textbook but it doesn't directly address the learning process. That's an area in which Apple has shown leadership. In January, Apple attempted to reimagine the textbook. It introduced iBooks Author, a design tool meant to revolutionize e-book layout and creation. With numerous technologies to engage students, its textbooks are certainly more exciting and beautiful. But these enhancements still lack an important component of digital education. Although iBooks Author provides an option to create review widgets, it lacks any communication capabilities to send quiz results or assessments back to teachers. Third parties have worked on creating solutions, but the purely educational component of bidirectional assessment seems to be an area that remains up in the air. Meanwhile, companies focused on learning management and delivery systems for adult/institutional education (outside the iBooks ecosystem) are pushing the tablet envelope forward at a frantic pace, and the largest higher-ed trial of bulk purchasing for e-textbooks is happening without Apple's direct participation. We believe that a truly successful tablet for K-12 and higher ed needs to command respect in all the natural areas of educational support: from document distribution, to platform control, to lesson planning, to assessment. Whispercast is a big step forward. We can't wait to see how Apple responds.
Shoparoo promises a fun iPhone-alternative to box top school fundraising
If you're a parent like I am, you may be collecting box tops for your school. Box tops are great -- they help schools raise funds in a really effective way. For those who don't know, select merchandise in grocery stores contain a redemption value for school fundraising, usually a few pennies per item bought. Due to the labor of dealing with these box tops, they can also be a big pain. Someone has to collect them, bundle them, count them and track them. Now there's a new entry in the school fundraising arena. The free Shoparoo iOS app isn't intended to replace box tops. It offers another distinct avenue for parents to raise money for schools. Today, I had the pleasure of talking to Jared Schrieber, the Co-Founder and CEO of InfoScout, the company behind Shoparoo. "Box top fundraising is wonderful," he told me, "but it could be so much better." Shoparoo has partnered with Proctor & Gamble and Unilever, who produce brands like Dove, Suave, Ragu and Skippy, to raise money for schools. Consumers essentially donate their purchasing habits. You use the app to submit receipts from super-centers, groceries, clubs, pet stores, dollar stores, convenience stores and drug stores. The data is as anonymous as you want to make it. You can scratch off credit card numbers, names and even embarrassing purchases. None of the information is tracked directly to you. You snap a pic (within seven days of purchase) and your school benefits. What companies like P&G and Unilever get out of this is a way to evaluate purchasing habits by household. Seeing entire real-world receipts puts purchases into context. They get to see how families buy, both across retailers and across time. In return, your school earns about 2 cents per $10 purchase, up to 8 cents for purchases over $100. That doesn't sound like a lot, but (1) you don't have to actively buy anything specific, and (2) with enough parents participating, the money can grow over time. Plus, Shoparoo intends to offer "bonus purchase" items, so parents can earn more by picking preferred brands. InfoScout plans to cut its first set of checks each year on July 31st, delivering them to schools during the first few weeks of August. Leaderboards allow schools to track their most proficient donors, and social networking encourages parents to spread the word. See Shoparoo's Facebook page for more details. How can you get your school involved? Chances are good that Shoparoo already lists your school in its data base. Just submit an email address (it can be as throwaway as you like) and start shopping. Schrieber suggests that you contact your current box tops coordinator, your PTO/PTA and email your principal to get started. Many schools highlight the program on their websites and Facebook pages to support the effort. Even small amounts of money can make real differences in schools. Whether you're supporting a music program, providing field trip grants or donating to a winter coats program, schools know how to make parent fundraisers pennies count. Shoparoo promises to help earn those pennies.
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.
