AWT News Update: April 8, 2015

On today’s AWT News Update:

• Miami residents are getting an updated Lincoln Road Apple Store and some art, thanks to a contemporary artist who is painting a mural at the site (see image above)
• The Apple Watch isn’t even available yet, but Apple has announced that a software update will be delivered to address some performance issues described in the many reviews that were published by major news outlets today
• Apple is set to launch an expansion of its Prineville, Oregon data center now that the state legislature has resolved a tax issue
• OS X 10.10.3 Yosemite arrived today, along with the new Photos app

The Coppell Gazette reports that Apple and IBM have been working on a “Student Achievement App” aimed at educators. Representatives from both companies attended a meeting of the Coppell ISD Board of Trustees to discuss the solution, which will provide teachers with “actionable intelligence on a per-student basis.” The app will reportedly run on Apple hardware exclusively. 

A pilot program is scheduled to roll out in 2016 and include US school districts, including Coppell, Texas. 

Our take on the news

I’ve been out of education for about 10 years, but from what I recall, a lot of this information was managed by disconnected spreadsheets. The teachers I worked with were smart folks who would have welcomed a solution that made their job more efficient, effective and successful. Good luck to Apple, IBM and the participating school districts. 

Photo Credit: Corey Leopold via Compfight cc