Educators in the Netherlands have been recommending since March 2013 that “Steve Jobs schools” should been opened in order to boost the environment of traditional classrooms by introducing an iPad-based teaching system. Now Speigel.de has reported on Tuesday, July 2nd that eleven “Steve Jobs schools” are listed to open in August, which will cater to more than 1,000 children between the ages of 4 to 12 years. Although the report did not shed light on whether the “Steve Jobs school” name will be the official moniker of these facilities or not, it did explain how the new educational system will actually work:
“There will be no blackboards, chalk or classrooms, homeroom teachers, formal classes, lesson plans, seating charts, pens, teachers teaching from the front of the room, schedules, parent-teacher meetings, grades, recess bells, fixed school days and school vacations. If a child would rather play on his or her iPad instead of learning, it’ll be okay. And the children will choose what they wish to learn based on what they happen to be curious about.
The Steve Jobs school will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 on every workday. The children will come and go as they please, as long as they are present during the core period between 10:30 a.m. and 3:00 p.m… As such, the school day never really ends. Pupils are welcome to keep working on their iPads at home, on weekends or on vacation. But as much as the program offers freedom and continuity, it also comes with a substantial monitoring component.
The iPad keeps teachers and parents constantly informed about what children are doing, what they have learned and how they are progressing. If a math app is neither enjoyable nor successful, the teacher simply orders another one. The supply of educational programs never runs dry in Apple’s online app store.”
Many people talk about the late Steve Jobs’ desire to change the traditional education system. However, long before sharing this idea Jobs had also stated that the education system cannot be fixed with technology. So it will be interesting to see how this new educational system will impact children and improve their learning, if the aforementioned report turns out to be true.
But this would not be the first time that tablets are being used to educate students in a school, as earlier Samsung has also started such classes in Canada, where the South Korean company has distributed its Android powered tablets among students for learning.
Source: 9to5Mac
Photo: 9to5Mac
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