Eleven iPad-centric schools to open in the Netherlands
Eleven schools in The Netherlands plan to replace blackboards, schedules and more with iPads. In fact, each student's entire educational career will hinge on Apple's revolutionary tablet device.
Scheduled to open this August, the so-called "Steve Jobs Schools" will host about 1,000 children, aged four to 12. According to Spiegel Online, the curriculum will be largely student-directed. Gone will be typical education tools like lesson plans, schedules, grades and parent-teacher meetings.
The school day will be atypical as well. While each participating school will be open from 7:30 AM to 6:30 PM each workday, students will only be required to attend between 10:30 AM and 3:00 PM. Also, parents will be encouraged to take vacations as it suits their own schedules.
Gertjan Kleinpaste, the principal of a participating school in Rotterdam, understands that the program will be envied by some and reviled by others. It's certainly a bold educational experiment. I'm quite interested to see how this pans out.
