iPads, MakerEd and More in Education

Apple has released their annual Holiday commercial for 2019, and as is usually the case, it’s touching and sentimental.

This time last year, the iPad -- and tablets in general -- faced an uncertain future after years of declining interest from consumers.

But in the past 18 months, Apple refreshed its low-end iPads and redesigned its high-end iPad Pros, prompting consumers to buy so many tablets that Apple saw its strongest iPad growth in six years during the first three months of 2019.

And with iPadOS, new software specifically designed for the tablet introduced in 2010 and famously called a "magical" device by then-CEO Steve Jobs, Apple is making it pretty clear that the iPad has an increasingly important place in the company's product lineup.

"Students learning to create apps with Apple’s Swift programming language now have a way to validate their skills with a new certification program. App Development with Swift is a new academic certification course created by Certiport in partnership with Apple that measures students’ ability to program with Swift after completing a year-long program.

The new Swift certification program will be available starting this fall:"

Evaluating Apps for the Classroom is an excellent free short interactive eBook (15 pages) created by Apple Education to be read on iBooks. As its title indicate, this guide is meant to help teachers make informed decisions about educational apps to integrate in their classroom instruction. Sifting through tons of educational apps in the App Store can be a daunting task especially for teachers whose schedules are already full enough to allow for such an endeavour. This is where the utility of such a guide comes in handy. It provides you with a set of tips and ideas to help you better evaluate educational apps and  tap into the learning potential of iPad.

Here's how to set up your Apple TV, what you can do with it, and what to do when things aren't behaving as you'd expect.

After installing iOS 11 on an iPad, you're undoubtedly going to notice things are way different. For starters, there's a tried and true app dock now. Also, multitasking has been completely redone. Here are a few tips and tricks for navigating your upgraded iPad.

Apple recently made a number of core consumer-level iOS and Mac apps free of charge to all users. Previously apps like iMovie and GarageBand were free only to customers purchasing a new Apple device.

Even users with old devices or those who purchased second hand iPhones or MacBooks can now download Pages, Numbers, Keynote, GarageBand, and iMovie free of charge.

Here’s how to get them and what you can use them for.

Alongside public releases for iOS 10.3, macOS 10.12.4, watchOS 3.2, and tvOS 10.2 today, Apple has officially released version 2.0 of its Classroom app for iPad previously in beta.

"ON MONDAY OF this week, Apple released the iOS 13 public beta, which, as its name suggests, is prerelease software that the general public can now download and test on their iPhones. The new software should do all of the things that an upgrade typically does for phones: It should make your iPhone, even an aging one, faster and more efficient. It will also add privacy and security enhancements.

But iOS 13 is also supposed to be transformative in a lot of ways. It will make your Photos app a pleasant destination, not a slog through a camera roll. It will let you use your Apple ID to sign into more apps and websites. And thanks to Dark Mode, it will make iOS look different."

Apple has released iOS 12.2 for iPhone and iPad. The latest iOS update includes a handful of new features, bug fixes, and security enhancements, and is therefore recommended for iPhone and iPad users to install on their devices.

iOS 12.2 features new Animoji character icons for compatible iOS devices, support for a new Apple News Plus paid subscription service, and resolutions to various bugs and issues. The full release notes accompanying the iOS 12.2 download are further below for those interested.

Apple wants kids to be creative on iPads, but schools want keyboards and lower price tags.

If you are a developer, hope to become a developer, or are thinking about learning how to build apps at home, school or college, here are a few reasons why it may be time to start to learn Apple’s Swift language.

Apple’s mobile devices are great productivity machines, brimming with apps for getting work done on the go. You might be using intelligent email apps and smart task management apps, but have you considered upgrading your iOS keyboard game?

Apple has long been a trailblazer down the path to accessibility with such features as VoiceOver; it originated on the Mac back in 2007, and is now on every device the company makes. In recent years, Apple has been highlighting the importance of including accessibility features in new technologies and sharing its work with the world. It's incredible, the things Apple has accomplished in working toward an inclusive and supportive range of devices that anyone and everyone can use, no matter what their level of ability is.

Apple isn't the only one doing these things. There are lots of tech companies that include accessibility features on there devices and in their software programs, and even more app developers that provide incredible help to those that need it. More companies should be spotlighting what they do to advance accessibility technologies and proudly share their successes with the world. The competition to see who is the best at it could produce some amazing and revolutionary results.

A tribute to Steve Jobs' thinking....