The Silicon Review ^Asia

Apple Inc. releases a new app exclusively for teachers dubbed as “Schoolwork”. The free app suite was originally announced at an education event in Chicago four months ago and now, the company is ready to let teachers kick the tires.

Functions like a Blackboard, Schoolwork is a cloud-based app which allows teachers to create and distribute handouts and other assignments, track student progress, tailor instructions to student needs, collaborate one-on-one with students, provide instant feedback, and more all inside a classroom by using iPads.

Schoolwork makes it easy to create and send announcements and assignments with almost any type of content, from web links to PDFs and documents, and even specific activities in apps. Students can use Schoolwork to stay organized and keep track of the work they need to complete and when they need to hand it in.

According to Apple, schools will be able to create, own and control the students’ account. The student information will stay within the system; privacy is a key selling point these days for Apple products. The company could spur more adoption of its hardware and software devices in the classroom, even though its new $299 iPads for schools are higher priced than some of the low-end Chromebook options from Google that can range $100 to $150, for example.