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Apple Acquires Education Analytics Company LearnSprout
Apple has purchased education-technology startup LearnSprout, reports Bloomberg. LearnSprout is a company that develops software for schools and teachers to track student performance and other metrics. Apple will likely use its technology to build out its classroom tools to encourage schools to adopt iPads and other Apple products.
Apple confirmed the acquisition with the standard statement it gives on purchases: "Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans."
According to its website, LearnSprout software is already used in more than 2,500 schools across the United States. It aggregates all student grades across the school, letting teachers and administrators hone in on students that may need more help. LearnSprout aims to allow schools to analyze collected data, discovering trends on attendance, college readiness, student health, and more.
To combat waning iPad sales, Apple has been making an effort to make the tablet more appealing to educational customers. In iOS 9.3, Apple is introducing a wealth of new education-oriented tools, including shared iPads for students, a dedicated Classroom app that allows teachers to guide students through app-based lessons, an Apple School Manager for easily managing student accounts and courses, and new Apple ID creation and management options for schools.
Apple confirmed the acquisition with the standard statement it gives on purchases: "Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans."
According to its website, LearnSprout software is already used in more than 2,500 schools across the United States. It aggregates all student grades across the school, letting teachers and administrators hone in on students that may need more help. LearnSprout aims to allow schools to analyze collected data, discovering trends on attendance, college readiness, student health, and more.
To combat waning iPad sales, Apple has been making an effort to make the tablet more appealing to educational customers. In iOS 9.3, Apple is introducing a wealth of new education-oriented tools, including shared iPads for students, a dedicated Classroom app that allows teachers to guide students through app-based lessons, an Apple School Manager for easily managing student accounts and courses, and new Apple ID creation and management options for schools.
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41 months ago
being in the higher education sector, i would welcome ANY refresh on current course management and administrative softwares. our processes seem so archaic; my proposal for appletvs in some of my lecture halls so i could airplay to them(i teach music) were met by looks that indicated i intended to perform wizardry.
41 months ago
I think this ship has sailed. My daughter's school has adopted Chrome Books and Google for education. She can use my iMac or iPad or chromebook at school and log into her account and have instant access to all the documents that she has been working on. She can only email them to her teachers or other authorized people. She can submit her work and have the teacher notate and return it to her. The interface is fast and is not slow like icloud.com. Apple previously bought PowerSchool or some such company and let it rot and fail.
41 months ago
Here's a 2nd chance to get it right. Here's hoping Apple doesn't half ass it like the first go round in the education market. A concerted effort focusing on getting the backend right should be the top priority if they're going to go all in again. If support and admin aren't good, this will be a waste of time. If they're not going it alone, thoroughly vet the partners. Pearson's reputation in certain circles would have been enough to give me pause. Consider the education market more of an investment opportunity than a potential profit center.
The more competition we have in this area, the better it will be for all concerned.
The more competition we have in this area, the better it will be for all concerned.
41 months ago
It's good timing because Chromebooks have all but failed our education system. kids and teachers want iPads when given the choice. Chromebooks just don't do enough. Just a website machine
41 months ago
Sweet... earnings are out so it's time to go on a buying spree. :-) I'd love to see Apple get tight in the educational market again.
41 months ago
I have around 30 iPads managed by configurator for middle school students now. Its nice to be able to update them all at once and put apps on them. Its a nightmare having to put apps that aren't free via configurator and Apples special volume app purchasing. I really wish Apple could figure out a better way for iPad user/app management that doesn't require a central hub using a mac running configurator. Hopefully 9.3 moves us in that direction.
DEP... It's one touch setup. Been out for a while now[doublepost=1454017388][/doublepost]
Exactly. Not everything is app games and touch screen. My daughter is in 8th grade and she needs to do word processing. Google for education is what she uses. All she needs is the browser and her work is in the google cloud and saved instantly. She can start her work at school, finish it at home and vice versa. She can also submit her work to her teacher or another student to review. Everything is much much faster than with icloud.com. I cannot even make it login fast enough on icloud.com. Pain!! All I can say is that I love Apple's hardware. Their software especially cloud based is far behind. Recently, I started using Google Photos so that I will never lose my photos again - I can't believe how fast it is to look at my 94,000 photos even on my iphone.
Why would you log into iCloud.com unless you need to do web based work???? Use iPads....
41 months ago
I wouldn't say Apple missed the boat all together when it comes to the education market, but they do have a lot of catching up to do. Chromebooks are cheaper, easier to manage and are becoming more and more mainstream.
PS. The Apple Configurator sucks.
PS. The Apple Configurator sucks.
41 months ago
You clearly haven't been in a public school very recently...
[doublepost=1454011919][/doublepost]
Evidence?
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