The first seven exclusive "Steve Jobs schools" have opened their doors across a number of cities in the Netherlands. Starting from today, schools in the Dutch cities of Sneek, Breda, Almere, Emmen, Heenvliet and Amsterdam will start teaching students according to the principles of the O4NT, or Onderwijs voor een nieuwe tijd (Education for a new era), which emphasizes the role of the iPad in an elementary school environment. The program, which was first proposed by Dutch officials back in March 2012, gives every child access to a "virtual school" through an iPad and helps them develop information and communication technology (ICT) and information processing skills, collaboration techniques and a critical, problem-solving and creative mind.
The O4NT foundation is currently in talks with a number of school boards across the Netherlands and they hope that more schools will sign up the model next year. The program has a number of benefits: apart from teaching children useful skills, school hours and vacations are a lot more flexible under the new model — as the "virtual school" is accessible round the clock, 365 days a year (although the Dutch Ministry of Education is currently preventing this scenario due to legislative restrictions) — and the ICT-based approach also has a major impact on the role of the teacher. According to O4NT's press release:
In the O4NT approach, teachers will no longer simply convey knowledge to a group of children; they will be transformed into coaches that support children with their individual and group projects. Because educational apps are used for basic skills, the learning process can be completely adapted to the individual child’s learning speed and style.
O4NT is also planning an international version of the program, allowing Dutch expatriate children around the world to attend full-time education via their iPad. O4NT International, as it has been dubbed, is expected to launch in early 2014.
Sunday September 15, 2024 10:09 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Following over three months of beta testing, iOS 18 will finally be widely released to the public this Monday, September 16. The update should be available to install starting at around 10 a.m. Pacific Time (1 p.m. Eastern Time) in the Settings app under General → Software Update on the iPhone XS and newer. Below, we have highlighted eight key new features included in iOS 18, and Apple...
Monday September 16, 2024 3:56 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
It's that time of year again. Apple is about to release iOS 18, which promises to bring a range of new features and improvements to iPhones worldwide. It's Apple's biggest software update of the year, and the company is expected to release it sometime today – Monday, September 16. Based on past releases, the update is likely to drop at around 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time/1:00 p.m. Eastern...
Friday September 13, 2024 2:40 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we sometimes get rumored feature leaks so far ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different – already we have some idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you plan to skip...
Wednesday September 11, 2024 7:16 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Following its iPhone 16 event on Monday, Apple shared a PDF on its website with a list of all new features and changes coming with iOS 18. The list includes many features that were already announced, including Apple Intelligence, new customization options for the Home Screen and Control Center, a redesigned Photos app, several enhancements to the Messages app, a Passwords app, and more....
Sunday September 15, 2024 3:58 pm PDT by Joe Rossignol
Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today said demand for the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max has been "lower than expected" since the devices became available to pre-order in the U.S. and dozens of other countries on Friday. Kuo said his data is based on a "supply chain survey" and shipping estimates listed on Apple's online store. Kuo estimated that sales of all four iPhone 16 models reached...
Sunday September 15, 2024 5:29 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Apple will likely hold another event in October this year to announce new Macs and iPads. If so, it would be the fourth time in the last five years that Apple has held an event in October. Last year, Apple held a virtual event on Monday, October 30 to announce new MacBook Pro and iMac models with the M3 series of chips. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reiterated...
Friday September 13, 2024 5:48 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Apple began accepting pre-orders for all four new iPhone 16 models today, and shipping estimates for the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max on Apple's online store in the U.S. are already beginning to slip into October for many configurations. As of 6:45 a.m. Pacific Time, the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max were facing a 2-4 week shipping delay for some configurations on Apple's online store, with...
Friday September 13, 2024 1:01 pm PDT by Joe Rossignol
iOS 18 will be released to the public on Monday, but the first Apple Intelligence features will not be available until iOS 18.1 is released in October. Apple Intelligence features will continue to roll out in iOS 18.2 and beyond, with the expected roadmap outlined below per Apple's website and rumors. Apple Intelligence requires an iPhone 15 Pro model or any iPhone 16 model, and it will...
Just cut this crap and give a proper school, with proper teaching, and maintain a degree of discipline. A lot of children abuse their privileges, and blame the school for that. iPads can work well for textbooks and interactive programs, but should never take the job of the teachers.
The first seven exclusive "Steve Jobs schools" have opened their doors across a number of cities in the Netherlands. Starting from today, schools in the Dutch cities of Sneek, Breda, Almere, Emmen, Heenvliet and Amsterdam will start teaching students according to the principles of the O4NT (http://o4nt.nl), or*Onderwijs voor een*nieuwe tijd*(Education for a new era), which emphasizes the role of the iPad in an elementary school environment. The*program, which was first proposed (https://www.macrumors.com/2012/03/23/dutch-committee-proposes-to-build-steve-jobs-ipad-equipped-classroom/) by Dutch officials back in March 2012, gives every child access to a "virtual school" (https://www.macrumors.com/2013/07/02/dutch-officials-set-to-open-11-ipad-only-steve-jobs-schools-for-children/) through an iPad and helps them develop information and communication technology (ICT) and information processing skills, collaboration techniques and a critical, problem-solving and creative mind.
Image (https://cdn.macrumors.com/article-new/2013/08/Screen-Shot-2013-08-21-at-2.41.58-pm.png) The O4NT foundation is currently in talks with a number of school boards across the Netherlands and they hope that more schools will sign up the model next year. The program has a number of benefits: apart from teaching children useful skills, school hours and vacations are a lot more flexible under the new model -- as the "virtual school" is accessible round the clock, 365 days a year (although the Dutch Ministry of Education is currently preventing this scenario due to legislative restrictions) -- and the ICT-based approach also has a major impact on the role of the teacher. According to O4NT's press release: O4NT is also planning an international version of the program, allowing Dutch expatriate children around the world to attend full-time education via their iPad. O4NT International, as it has been dubbed, is expected to launch in early 2014.
Article Link: First Seven iPad-Only 'Steve Jobs Schools' Open in the Netherlands (https://www.macrumors.com/2013/08/21/first-seven-ipad-only-steve-jobs-schools-open-in-the-netherlands/)
Sad news, I live there not that that's important but paper textbooks are way better for your eyes in my opinion, altough using iPads for some tasks isn't really bad but meh, we'll see.
I think there is no scientific reason why there should be any difference between paper and iPad books for eyes.
But no real stylus suport in iPad makes it quite limited for education.
Backlit displays are more tiring for your eyes than paper or e-ink displays, and research has shown that prolonged exposure to bright backlit displays (before going to bed) can cause sleeping problems.
The economics of education make all the pie-in-the-sky idealism about education moot. Now that we're getting useful data on the effectiveness of both new & traditional education systems long-term, we're finally seeing just how prohibitive the total costs of traditional education are to its continuation.
Like it or not, change is coming.
Looking at data is only a small piece of the picture. Most of education is social and can't be taught on an iPad.
You have to learn that you need to wait your turn, not everyone can talk at once, that you will be judged by third parties, how to put up with bullies and ignorant people, how to avoid getting in trouble, how to deal with dating, differences in background, diversity, varying talents, handicapped people, sports, music, etc.
This data obsession is beyond stupid..it's one of the biggest problems. Schools exist for far more than any test score and I deeply question outlays of valuable--very limited--resources on new technology.
I'm not a luddite either....I like tech or I wouldn't be here. But, I also don't doubt that a kid would see far more benefits from having 10-1 student teacher ratios rather than 35-1 and iPads.