AppleInsider writes that the first seven so-called “SteveJobsSchools” have opened today in The Netherlands. These innovative new schools are the only schools in the world where Apple’s iPad is a major part of the learning experience, hence the name. The schools have replaced traditional textbooks and rigid schedules with a “virtual school” in the form of a personal iPad, pre-loaded with educational apps, including a virtual schoolyard and student tracker for parents and teachers to monitor a child’s educational progress.
The principles behind the schools’ approach to education were devised by the Education for a New Era Foundation (O4NT), which has opened such schools in Sneek, Breda, Almere, Emmen, Heenvliet and Amsterdam in The Netherlands. The Sneek and Breda schools will have the iPad-based curriculum at all grade levels, according to AppleInsider, with the other schools starting at the lower grades and building upwards.
Even the teachers’ role in these schools has been completely reinvented, with O4NT referring to them as “coaches” to reflect the fact that their role is now more supportive rather than as conveyors of knowledge in the traditional sense.
O4NT expect to have at least 12 SteveJobsSchools open in The Netherlands before the end of the year, with a further rollout to Dutch-speaking children in other countries in early 2014.
Source: First 7 'Steve JobsSchools' open in Netherlands, tout education through iPad
