Growing up in the UK, your only real experience of American high schools is through films and TV programmes – The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and iconic teen drama The OC, to name but a few. Actually being inside one is especially surreal, but while the walls really are lined with enormous lockers (decorated for students’ birthdays), and sports team banners, the piercing drone of the bell transcends oceans and transports you right back to teenage anxiety over lost PE kits and neglected homework. Lane Tech College Prep High School accommodates just under 4,500 students in the north of Chicago, making it the city’s largest high school and the unlikely setting of Apple’s latest product launch. Chief executive Tim Cook and vice president Greg Joswiak were joined by teachers and education professionals from around the world – including Cassey Williams from Woodberry Down Primary School in London – on stage in the school’s 1,000-seater amphitheatre. Joswiak took the opportunity to announce a new iPad which is discounted for academic institutions, teachers and other staff, current and newly-accepted university students, and parents buying on behalf of students , starting at £319. Discounts on the new 9.7-inch tablet, which also supports the company’s Apple Pencil stylus for drawing and note taking, will vary owing to differing discount options. It’s interesting that Apple, never a company knowingly undersold, is willing to take the perceived hit associated with the ‘budget’ tag when it comes to education. While still not exactly cheap, probable bulk discounts mean Apple can make more aggressive moves into the education sector beyond just iMac design suites, and start to challenge the classroom device domain Google and Microsoft have long presided over. Apple’s budget 9.7-inch iPad: What’s new? The new iPad won’t replace Google’s cheap and cheerful Chromebook laptops – any keyboards will need to be purchased separately, for one – but Apple isn’t interested in simple web browsing and word processing. It’s got its eye squarely on creative, personal technology: using the iPad’s camera and new faster chip to play around with augmented reality and shoot and edit video, or the new Logitech Crayon stylus for colouring, printing and writing. It also won’t hurt that children will clearly become accustomed to iPads from a relatively young age, and could grow up to buy iPhones, MacBooks and maybe even Apple Watches, too. The most compelling demo I saw revolved around Froggipedia, a clever app detailing the lifespan of a frog from spawn to fully-fledged amphibian before he’s pinned down and dissected using the Pencil. I pulled the skin flaps of the frog’s soft belly to each side and cut through the subcutaneous tissue to reveal his tiny lungs, stomach and intestines. While not as visceral as the real deal, Apple says the app provides an “ethical and cost-efficient alternative,” which could help to avoid the odd fainting fit. Apple’s software education updates were all designed to solve existing issues for teachers. This includes the ability for teachers and students to create digital books together in new tool Digital Books, a homework assigning tool called Schoolwork and a free curriculum called Everyone Can Create, designed to help teachers integrate digital drawing, photography and music into their lesson plans. This week’s event wasn’t about overhauling the face of technology in the classroom as we know it, but providing institutions and students with a more affordable device for creative and practical learning, and software tweaks to make the whole process run more smoothly. This isn’t something every school will have the luxury of being able to indulge, but it’s heartening to see education given the recognition it deserves within tech. Classrooms may have changed, but learning is more important than ever.
Apple has released a discounted iPad aimed at students and academic staff in schools and universities, with prices beginning at £319 ($450). The tablet has a 9.7-inch screen and supports the Apple Pencil stylus for drawing and making notes on screen. It is aimed at supporting more creative work and offers a Logitech Crayon stylus, video-editing software and a faster chip to support augmented reality apps. It was launched at a high school outside Chicago by Apple's CEO, Tim Cook, and the company's vice-president, Greg Joswiak.