News Corp. Has a Tablet for Schools

“We understand technology and we understand education” stands out as just one of many hilarious claims in this article.<p>What News Corp. understands is the perversity of the American public school system. They understand how to market to a system that has traditional, too-close ties to a textbook publishing sector which uses public schools as a captive market.<p>And this was particularly Orwellian: 'If a child’s attention wanders, a stern “eyes on teacher” prompt pops up.' Because <i>that's</i> the way to make kids learn. Keep those eyes down, children.

I'm at SXSWedu this week and News Corp has spent a fortune advertising the Amplify platform here. They've demoed many of their educational apps and the content they're developing, and it actually looks well tailored to classroom needs. It's a shame that News Corp is just about the least trusted brand in the country, because any other organization—Amazon, Apple, Microsoft—would be much more well received and praised for innovating within an industry which needs it so badly. I don't trust News Corp with student data, but there are no other companies creating an end-to-end platform this ambitious.

I can't think of anything worse than having Rupert Murdoch involved in the education of future generations. Does anyone think this man has any intentions other than pure control over the psyche of a generation? He has proven his intentions with Fox News (an "entertainment" channel) and now we're going to let him into the schools?<p>If anything, this should be a wake up call for a competitor to rise to the occasion and ensure he does not establish control over this market.

Can't wait for the impending "Fox News Kids" video channel.

Some videos on it. Looks pretty good:<p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQLj4XM9RLc" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQLj4XM9RLc</a><p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BSNKoVrnFo" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BSNKoVrnFo</a>