Apple Extends Education Effort, Announces New Education Workshops

by , 3:00 PM EDT, April 24th, 2001

Apple has announced a new education effort called Apple Teacher Institutes (not sure why institutes is plural). The Apple Teacher Institutes are a series of workshops that are designed to help teachers make technology work for them and help them in the classroom. According to Apple:

Apple® today announced the Apple Teacher Institutes, a series of hands-on technology workshops for K-12 educators across the United States and Canada this summer. Workshop participants will learn to effectively utilize technology to maximize planning and instructional time, expand their individual areas of expertise, engage an increasingly diverse student body, and discover new ways to individualize instruction.

"Apple understands the many challenges educators face today," said Cheryl Vedoe, Apple's vice president of Education Marketing and Solutions. "We want to give teachers the chance to use technology in an environment where they can explore, question, learn and then return to their classrooms feeling empowered."

The Apple Teacher Institutes will highlight the potential of digital media, the Internet, mobile and wireless computing and will be led by a team of educators who have effectively integrated these technologies into their classrooms.

The workshops will be held at the following locations this summer:

Apple will underwrite the cost of the seminar content and materials for all attendees. All K-12 teachers, regardless of grade level or subject area, are invited to attend.

You can find a ton of additional information, including registration information, at the new Apple Teacher Institutes Web site.

The Mac Observer Spin:

Apple is turning up the heat on the education market, and this does not bode well for those who wish to stand in their way. We're looking at you, Dell. Apple has so clearly become refocused on meeting the needs of this vital sector, and we think they are headed in the right direction. Apple is meeting the efforts of companies like Dell who have looked to provide cheaper boxes by initiating efforts to provide better solutions. The company's purchase of PowerSchool, these new workshops, and the power of OS X are the kinds of things that will help propel Apple further into the classroom. In particular, these workshops are something that we have heard many educators say they want and need, and we would like to hear from educators in the comments below.