Apple has always done very well in the education market, but I am concerned the company has become complacent. There is a diminishing return on the value of more elegant and powerful hardware and the number of apps in the App Store. Cloud-based approaches treat hardware as an appliance and increase the importance of cost. The number of apps may be less important than the number of app categories. You really only need one good app per category.
Recent announcements by Google and Amazon are attempts to target other weaknesses.
Google Play for Education (see the video) is separate from Google play and offers apps, video and books organized in ways that will be useful to teachers (e.g., subject, grade level, standard). The store provides an approach consistent with the ways schools invest in content – purchase orders and bulk purchases. Educators can then send specific content to specific students.
Amazon
Whispercast (not to be confused with whispersynch) will work on any device – Kindle or running Kindle software. Push commercial content from Amazon and content created by teachers to specific students. Some unique arrangements were described at FETC – lower prices on books available for a limited period of time. Efficient ways for schools to manage the distribution of this content.
My wife proposes that these companies seem to have carefully analyzed the frustrations of educators in implementing learning with apps in a school setting and attempted to design solutions.
What should Apple do?
- Offer a less costly tablet.
- Improve (drastically) the quality of cloud services.
- Offer a platform independent version of iBooks
