Opinion: Apple and IBM have big data plans for education— from computerworld.com by Jonny Evans
Apple and IBM are developing solutions that underpin a future of personalized mobile learning that lasts a lifetime.
Excerpt:
Apple and IBM have been developing the “Student Achievement App” for several months and this is due to enter real world tests this year. The partners recently began approaching US school districts to trial the new technologies. For example, in June a large delegation of Apple and IBM folk met with the Coppell ISD Board of Trustees.
They discussed a proposed partnership between IBM, Apple and CISD to develop these solutions, which are described as “content analytics for student learning”, according to the meeting minutes.
From DSC:
One paragraph reads:
It’s no surprise Apple wants to do what it can to improve the education industry. Co-founder Steve Jobs was famously frustrated with the way the sector works in the US. Speaking to Fortune, Denise Young Smith, Apple’s vice president of human resources said Apple CEO Tim Cook is also committed to and involved in the company’s educational technology programs. “Education and learning is our legacy but Tim goes above and beyond,” she says.
Though I’m a huge fan of Apple, I’d have to disagree here. I’m much more skeptical/dubious as to whether Apple’s leadership is as committed to education as they once were; and if they still are, it hasn’t been showing much these last few years. Instead, they’ve let Google make major inroads on this turf; to the point that I would even say that Google is blowing Apple out of the water in this space.
So from my edtech-based perspective, Apple has dropped the ball on education in recent years — instead, leadership focused far more on the iPhone, music, and other consumer-oriented goods and services. From a business standpoint, I get it. They’re the largest company in the world (by market cap) and their strategies are clearly working for them.
That said, I am encouraged when I see items like the one mentioned above and I hope that such education-related projects/endeavors — and the budgets and resources allocated to them — play a larger role at Apple in the future.