During Apple’s Q1 earnings call, the company said there are 1.5 million iPads in use in educational institutions. Apple is expected to sell at least 48 million iPads this year.

Last month, Apple unveiled iBooks 2, iBooks Author, and the iTunes U App. Apple sold 350,000 textbooks in just 3 days.

OnlineTeachingDegree.com released the following infographic looking at iPads vs. textbooks:

Created by: Online Teaching Degree

Khan Academy is a nonprofit education organization, which provides freely available online resources for teachers, students and others looking to expand their education. It has an extensive video library, with content for grades K-12 in math, biology, chemistry, physics, history, finance, etc.

At Google, Silverstein created some of the company’s original IT components, which were critical in supporting the search engine’s growth. As you can see from some of the talks he’s given, he’s been involved with some of Google’s more educational endeavors:

Kara Swisher shares a statement from a Google spokesperson on Silverstein’s departure: “Craig’s been with Google since the early days. He was instrumental in the development of search and made numerous contributions to Google over the years. We wish him all the best at the Khan Academy and know that he will do great things to help them promote education around the world.”

She also shares his goodbye email to the company. In that, Silverstein says:

Some of you thought this day would never come (as one person once put it: “Will you die at Google?”), and it was an extremely difficult choice. I am as passionate about Google’s mission now as I’ve ever been, and as proud of the work we’re doing to achieve it. While a lot has changed at Google over the years, I think we’ve done a remarkable job of staying true to our core mission of making the world a better place by making information more accessible and useful. I am looking forward to pursuing that same mission, though in a slightly different way, at Khan.

I’m extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to work with such smart, passionate, and interesting people — not just a few, either, but (almost ) everyone I worked with. I’m grateful not just that I had so many co-workers I could respect, but even more that I had so many that I could count as friends. I will miss that most of all, and I hope you will continue to be in touch. I also accept lunch invitations!

A suburb of Stockholm, Sollentuna, is proposing that the public schools do away with textbooks by 2013. In their place, they want to give every student an iPad.

Maria Stockhaus, chair of Sollentuna’s children and education board, argues that schools in her municipality are in the “backwater” compared to the rest of the country according to The Local.

“The schools will take a step into the now instead of staying in the old days. Computers are as natural in schools as paper and pens, yet the fact that only every other teacher in Sweden has a computer today is completely insane,” Stockhaus said.

There has been backlash at the idea though. Sweden’s education minister Jan Björklund insists that reading books and writing by hands are still relevant, even in the far out future of 2012.

“Even in the future people will need to read and write. You can’t always have access to a computer in some places,” he told DN. “Books have an obvious place in school, and national exams are still written by hand. I predict that they will not follow through with their proposals.”

Sollentuna has already issued computers to all teachers, and plans to give tablet PCs to every student from 2nd grade onward.

The schools receiving iPads are Helenelundsskolan, Sofielundsskolan and Runbacka. Say those names three times fast.

In a bold move, Stockhaus says that students won’t be given pen and paper until they are 8-years-old. This way, students will be accustomed to touch screen technology earlier in life. She argues that this will equip students for the future.

The benefit of giving every child their own computer is more about leveling the playing field for families with different incomes.

“We know that not every student has computer access at home. These students who come from homes with tighter finances have worse grades. An even greater wedge will occur if they do not get the same digital competence as the others,” Stockhaus said.

She also claims that feedback is immediate on a computer, thus speeding up the learning process.

Another school with a name I can’t pronounce (Tegelhagsskolan) introduced PC access to all students three years ago. Their students have consistently excelled in academics since.

The initial investment will cost $2.45 million in the start up phase. The cost will increase to $3 million in 2013. It will be partially paid for by the elimination of costly textbooks.

People has been doing stupid things since long before the advent of the internet. But YouTube has added one new dimension to people doing stupid stuff – the viral dimension. Now, a video of one person attempting some ridiculous feat can catch on and become a trend. Thus is the case with the Cinnamon Challenge.

As you probably already know, the Cinnamon Challenge is simple in premise. The challenger must eat a tablespoon of ground cinnamon at one time, and get it all down. That means not vomiting or inhaling it. Oh, and you can’t wash it down with anything. According to Know Your Meme, it first hit the interwebs around 2001 but really got its start on YouTube in 2006.

But for anyone who has watched the videos, or dare I say, tried it themselves – you know that it’s anything but simple in practice. Side effects include uncontrolled coughing, burning, nausea, breathlessness, and an overwhelming feeling of failure. Very few people succeed. Exhibit A:

Now, the Cinnamon Challenge has led to a New Haven principal being put on leave, just because she reportedly turned a blind eye to the game being performed on school grounds.

According to the New Haven Register, Clinton Avenue School Principal Carmen Rodriguez saw either one student or a group of students attempting the Cinnamon Challenge during lunchtime and allegedly did nothing to stop it. A purported video of the incident was on YouTube, but has since been removed by the user.

Rodriguez has been placed on administrative leave and there is to be a full investigation into the incident.

The Register quotes a Yale researcher as saying ““I think there is a real hazard here. I think for the most part it will cause a lot of coughing and sputtering. Some will end up aspirating cinnamon and some could have acute respiratory distress.” He also said that the possibility of foreign materials in the lungs could be a real problem for kids with asthma.

Who am I to question that, but kids will be kids. And at least this viral trend is better than that god-awful planking crap. What do you think? Let us know in the comments. And before you do, check out some other Cinnamon Challenge videos from around the YouTubes:

A rare success story:

According to a report by the Madison State Journal, the program will put 600 tablets into the hands of students this spring, with a further 800 coming in the fall. Bill Smojver, director of technical services for the school district, pointed out that iPads beat computers in portability, user-friendliness, and price. He called the transition to tablets a major transition point for digital learning. The program will initially focus on replacing paper workbooks, though deputy superintendent Sue Abplanalp said that the transition to e-textbooks was one the district would consider down the line.

The program comes before the Madison school board for approval today. Assuming it passes the iPads will be in 20 elementary schools, 10 middle schools, and 3 high schools by the middle of March.

In a development that is sure to peg your irony meter, the money for these iPads – which the disctrict is getting for $479 each – is actually coming from Microsoft. Wisconsin (along with several other states) sued Microsoft on behalf of consumers, claiming that the software giant overcharged for its software. While the company managed to win dismissals in several of the cases, they wound up settling with several states. In 2009 they settled with Wisconsin for $80 million. The money for Madison’s iPads comes from a $3.4 million chunk set aside for schools.

At a keynote address yesterday in Orlando, FL, Rajen Sheth, Google Group Manager, talked about the success of Google’s Chromebooks for Education program. In case you didn’t know, Google’s undertaken a mission to provide schools with one Chromebook per student in order to improve access to and integrate the Internet into the education of students in grades K-12. Because most students and teachers aren’t always able to have classroom access to the Internet, Google has been providing these netbooks at very low costs.

Since the program rolled out last year, Sheth said that “hundreds of schools in 41 states across the U.S.” have integrated the Chromebooks into classrooms. Additionally, three new school districts in Iowa, Illinois, and South Carolina are beginning the 1-to-1 program, which will provide Chromebooks to upwards of 27,000 students.

Sheth’s full keynote speech about the success of Chromebooks for Education can be viewed below:

At the rate that tech companies are integrating themselves into classrooms of today, my only hope is that this initiative by the Googles and Apples of the world will narrow the gap in quality education among different students instead of widen it.

______________________________

Correction: This article was edited in order to correct the spelling of Google’s Group Manager, Rajen Sheth.

At the Digital Life Design conference yesterday, Bushnell outlined his plans for Speed to Learn according to the DLD tumblr. The new service aims at updating the classroom for modern students to learn in new ways.

“ADHD is misspelled – it’s actually called boring teacher syndrome,” Bushnell said.

He went on to say that the traditional system is not up to date on the kind of learning processes that are needed to keep students engaged.

At this point, he says that the education system can learn from video games. He says that the classrooms should be rid of lectures and homework, and introduce individual learning styles. He went on to say that the classroom should in incorporate notions of different learning cultures, and add the power of computers. Such a move would create an education revolution he said.

The Speed to Learn initiative aims to do that. Teachers can not handle the difficult levels of students, but computers can. He says that through using software that mimics the structures of computer games, initiatives like Speed to Learn can speed up the education process and help individual students reach their potential.

“Matching difficulty with ability makes teaching fun,” Bushnell said.

Here are some more priceless quotes from the talk with Bushnell:

[Lead image courtesy of DLD tumblr]

Over the past year, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, publisher of textbooks that you and me and everyone else we know have used since time immemorial, have been conducting a pilot study to test the effectiveness of an iPad-based algebra textbook (i.e., an app) to see how it might affect the quality of education for students. They recently concluded the study and the results show that their iPad algebra textbook app worked wonders for students’ math scores.

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt provided a video of the launch of the HMH Fuse program at the school where the study was conducted:

The app, HMH Fuse, isn’t just a regular textbook inside of an iPad. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt had the app specifically designed to “full utilize the functionality of the iPad and provide students with a comprehensive, multimedia education experience.” To see if the app would float, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt took their product to a middle school in California and where students were randomly assigned one of two conditions: the HMH Fuse: Algebra 1 app (with a slick new iPad, I imagine) or a textbook version of the same program.

By the way, all you technophobes out there, get this straight: it’s not even like the students using different materials, okay? It’s the same content, just one’s gone all 2.0 with an iPad and is a lot more interactive whereas the control condition, the textbook, has the same information except it’s in book form.

So anyways. How’d it work out?

The discrepancy between the two groups’ test results are pretty staggering because the students who used HMH Fuse Algebra 1 scored 20%% higher on the state math exams. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt explains, “Comparing student performance, over 78% of students using HMH Fuse scored Proficient or Advanced on the state math test, compared to only 59% of their fellow students” who used the textbook version of the program.

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt explained the difference in math scores, saying students who used HMH Fuse Algebra 1 “took the initiative to do their work, read the chapter repeatedly, watch lesson videos when they did not understand, and take notes and study, while also being free to leverage the technology for personal use – namely, games and entertainment – in their free time.”

Somewhere, Apple is very pleased with themselves right now.

Pages has been overdue for an update for awhile now, so a new version of Pages (and iWork in general) is not at all unlikely. Likewise, users have been clamoring for iBooks on OS X since iBooks was announced with the first iPad in 2010.

Whatever Apple has in store is bound to be interesting, though. The announcement is scheduled for 10 AM Eastern time. Check back soon for more details.

SAP aims to use the acquisition to bolster its education-related offerings.

“The workforce performance tools market has become increasingly strategic and critical to our customers’ success, and datango is a proven leader in this space,” said Markus Schwarz, SVP and global head of SAP Education. “By having its own product in this market, SAP can now deliver and accelerate innovations and produce robust content for our customers in the future.”

In an overview of the deal (pdf), datango says:

Certain datango employees related to this business are expected to join SAP following the completion of the transaction. datango will retain employees related to its KPS business (acquired from Enlight AB in 2007) and additional employees required to support and service existing client and partner agreements for the datango performance suite solution. The acquisition follows a successful partnership between datango and SAP in support of SAP’s Business ByDesign product.

Until closing, the datango business remains unchanged and continues as usual. You should expect to receive the same level of professional, courteous and knowledgeable assistance as you have always received from datango.

The deal, while subject to regulatory approvals, is expected to close by the end of the quarter. Terms were not disclosed.