Gadgets, Education | featured news

ABCs, 1-2-3s and swipes: News Corp. launching tablet for schools

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. is set to unveil a tablet computer for public schools on Monday at the SXSWedu education technology conference in Austin, Texas, Bloomberg reports. The $299, 10-inch tablet is the brainchild of Amplify, News Corp.'s education division, which is fronted by former New York City schools chancellor (and current News Corp. executive vice president) Joel Klein. A 2-year subscription will cost $99 per year. A 4G model will also be available for $349, for students without Wi-Fi at home, at an annual cost of $179. The device will come loaded with curriculum materials and apps, including a graphing calculator, the Encyclopedia Britannica, and Merriam-Webster's dictionary. Some content will be provided by other News Corp. units such as HarperCollins.

 

iPad, Apps Unlocking Autistic

iPad

As the mother of an autistic son, Marlena Odon says she used to worry about sending Kharon off to school into the hands of others who might not be able to interpret what he was trying to say. But now, thanks to the integration of the iPad into Kharon's New York public school, Odon says he is able to communicate his wants and needs -- and his excitement over this is unmistakable.

 

In South Korean classrooms, digital textbook revolution meets some resistance

South Korean Classrooms

Five years ago, South Korea mapped out a plan to transform its education system into the world’s most cutting-edge. The country would turn itself into a “knowledge powerhouse,” one government report declared, breeding students “equipped for the future.” These students would have little use for the bulky textbooks familiar to their parents. Their textbooks would be digital, accessible on any screen of their choosing. Their backpacks would be much lighter.

 

Apple debuts e-book publishing app

Apple Unveils Textbook Publishing App

Apple on Thursday lifted the veil on its plans to remake the educational landscape in a way that centers on its best-selling tablet computer, the iPad. "Education is deep in Apple's DNA and iPad may be our most exciting education product yet," Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of marketing, said in a statement.

 

Apple To Announce Tools, Platform To ‘Digitally Destroy’ Textbook Publishing

Textbooks

Apple is slated to announce the fruits of its labor on improving the use of technology in education at its special media event on Thursday, January 19. While speculation has so far centered on digital textbooks, sources close to the matter have confirmed to Ars that Apple will announce tools to help create interactive e-books—the “GarageBand for e-books,” so to speak—and expand its current platform to distribute them to iPhone and iPad users.

 

Many U.S. schools adding iPads, trimming textbooks

Many public secondary schools this fall will move away from textbooks in favor of the lightweight tablet computers.

 

Apple iPad moves into the classroom

Apple iPad moves into the classroom

More and more schools are seeing the benefits of equipping their students with tablet computers.

 

More Schools Embracing iPad as Learning Tool

Spending money on tablet computers may seem an extravagance, but some educators say they are more than just a cool new toy.

 

India unveils prototype of $35 tablet computer

India unveils prototype of $35 tablet computer

It looks like an iPad, only it's 1/14th the cost: India has unveiled the prototype of a $35 basic touchscreen tablet aimed at students, which it hopes to bring into production by 2011.

Senh: If they can make it, it would be awesome. As long as it has internet access with 3G and Wifi, it's good enough. We'll see.

 

The iPad in Education: Colleges Give iPads to All Incoming Students

Seton Hill University plans to give every first year undergraduate student a 13" MacBook and an iPad. Just last month, George Fox University in Oregon also announced that it plans to give its new students a choice between a MacBook or an iPad.

 

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