... That’s one big difference between Kno and Apple: Kno is squarely — in Rashid’s terms, “maniacally” — focused on university-level education, while Apple is looking at the K-12 market. The other difference is that while Kno’s products work on all platforms, including the iPad and the web (with an Android version about to launch), Apple’s only work with Apple’s ecosystem. Which make sense: The business case for Apple is to sell more iPads. And that brings us back to price. ...
The reasons for homeschooling vary — but not that much. In a survey of 7306 homeschoolers, NHERI found that 77% claimed religion as a motivation, 74% cited the desire to teach their children “particular values and beliefs,” and two-thirds “objected to what schools teach.” ...
The proliferation of unvetted texts is one of Rashid’s primary questions about Apple’s new vision. “I think most people want to make sure that the textbooks kids are studying have gone through a certain level of peer review,” he says, “as opposed to being produced randomly by some author, with who knows what bias in their thinking.” ...
Read the full story here: