Studying up on Apple?s new education apps (Appolicious)

Thursday?s big Apple event in New York was all about education. Phil Schiller, senior VP of marketing, took center stage. He unveiled a trio of products that, combined, create an educational ecosystem that will surely lead to more educational iPad pilot programs, and likely to many mainstream unsubsidized classrooms. You can watch the keynote address here.

While the content is not yet abundant, the architecture put in place has the potential to overtake any would-be competitors in this sector and place Apple as the player in educational tech.

iBooks 2 (Free)

Apple updated their book-reader app, iBooks, to include an interface suited to intense multimedia, and launched an iBookstore section dedicated to textbooks. At present only a small assortment of high-school textbooks from McGraw Hill and Pearson for grades 9-12 are available, but commitments from major publishers including Houghton Mifflin Harcourt will fill out the content soon. The current selections are largely STEM subjects: biology, chemistry, algebra, physics, and so on. The app looks the same, but its ability to handle the specially designed textbooks is fluid, seamless and inviting. At present, all textbooks comply with US CORE standards.

The books themselves make me (almost) wish I were back in high school. These texts have interactive graphics, videos, integrated note taking, searching, even highlighting to make the experience both very 21st century and organic. The review question section provides instant feedback and student?s notes and glossary terms are turned into index-card study aids. I love how the textbook works in different orientations: in landscape the layout includes the graphics in the text; in portrait the graphics are placed on the side to focus attention on the reading.

Textbooks are currently priced at $14.99, far less than traditional hardcover texts. While it?s reasonable to assume university titles will come with heftier price tags, they should still be dramatically lower than campus bookstore offerings, which if Apple has their way, will soon become college sticker and sweatshirt outlets. Schools can offer students redemption codes to get the texts ?at no cost to their families, or use the one-tap checkout. The ability to update the textbooks via iTunes is particularly compelling especially for subjects like political science, physics, history and medicine, which are constantly evolving.

iBooks Author (Mac App Store only: Free)

A most impressive app, touted as the GarageBand for eBooks, iBooks Author is a Mac app, available now on the Mac App Store for free. It allows educators (or anyone really) to self-publish. The software looks and feels like all of Apple?s iWork titles ?? intuitive and logical. Anyone familiar with Pages should find the interface comfortable, and iBooks Author incorporates some pretty exciting and advanced features on top of templates and text editing.

The app offers simple ways for non-techies to integrate existing text documents, images and multimedia widgets into the cover and body using mostly drag-and-drop. The editor is completely WYSIWYG although some JAVA or HTML5 knowledge helps create the most innovative and interactive features. Keynote presentations are well integrated as well. Particularly appealing is how Apple incorporates accessibility features for the disabled like VoiceOver.

The end-results (in the right hands) look as authentic as any of the textbooks lining brick-and-mortar store shelves, but offer much more, are weightless, and can be published to iBooks directly. In fact, all textbooks for the iBookstore must use it and while PDF and TXT output is an option, all the advanced features work exclusively with iBooks 2. This new ecosystem is complete, but closed.

iTunes U (Free)

The least touted development from yesterday?s keynote address may be the most intriguing. Apple introduced a dedicated iTunes U app. The idea isn?t new, there has been a section in iTunes for iTunes U for years and podcast lectures predate the iPhone. But this is different ? free courses from schools as varied as Open University, UC Berkley and MIT are offered and the courses include everything from syllabus to lectures to supplemental materials. Everything is closely integrated with iBooks for book-to-lecture switching simplicity.

The catalog, far from filled, offers courses aimed at college but even K-12 classes are supported. The courses line the virtual shelves in the iTunes U app as the textbooks do in iBooks, but have a tabbed binder-like interface. They link to the iBookstore (for educational texts) and the App Store (for educational apps), and are in other ways monetized for Apple, but instructors can also use iBooks Author to create free course supplements. iTunes U uses iCloud synching for cross-device studying.

While financial motives are obviously a big part of this move, it?s exciting to see education, and universal access to it, in the spotlight. Digital learning is the inevitable path to the future, and Apple has leaped out ahead of the pack with this triumvirate of apps. Hopefully Cupertino?s edu-elite create as much competition and buzz around this sector as they have in the realms of music, games, digital books and apps.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/applecomputer/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/appolicious_rss/rss_appolicious_tc/http___www_appolicious_com_articles10830_studying_up_on_apples_new_education_apps/44246522/SIG=12pft06lo/*http%3A//www.appolicious.com/tech/articles/10830-studying-up-on-apples-new-education-apps

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Lose a job, prepare for really long job search

Bureau of Labor Statistics

The median amount of time it's taking for unemployed people to find new jobs is about 21 weeks.

Here?s the good news: Employers are hiring more workers than they are firing these days, a welcome turnaround from the darkest days of the Great Recession.

Here?s the bad news: If you are among those unlucky enough to lose your job now, you'd better prepare for a long job search.

The median duration of unemployment was 21 weeks or about five months as of December. That means half of all unemployed workers had been without a job for more than five months.

That?s actually an improvement from mid-2010, when the median duration of unemployment peaked at 25 weeks. But it?s still nearly three times what it was before the recession began and much higher than in previous tough job markets.

The main problem: There just aren?t enough jobs to go around.

Last year the economy added an average of about 137,000 jobs a month. While that?s better than when the economy was shedding jobs, it wasn?t nearly enough to absorb the millions of unemployed and new workers entering the market, said Sylvia Allegretto, an economist with the Institute for Research on Labor and Employment at the University of California, Berkeley.

?That rate of job growth is simply not fast enough to really soak up all those who are unemployed and underemployed, and those who have left the labor market and will be coming back to the labor market,? Allegretto said.

?

Allegretto doesn?t expect the situation to improve?much soon for the long-term unemployed.

That?s partly because there are still 13 million people who are unemployed and seeking work. It?s also because there are many other Americans out there who may have stopped looking for a job because the market was so bad, and will start looking again if the market improves.

Those excruciatingly long job searches are an especially big problem for older workers. The median duration of unemployment for 20- to 24-year-olds was 16.3 weeks in December, compared with 31.4 weeks for 55- to 64-year-olds.

Related:

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Five years without work: Labor department will now track it

{"contentId":"10192757","totalVotes":"4091"}

How long do you think it would take you to find a new job?

Source: http://lifeinc.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/20/10192757-lose-a-job-prepare-for-a-really-long-job-search

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Crash with Charter Communications van leads to DWI | The Austin ...

Published 11:15am Friday, January 20, 2012

A 21-year-old Austin man was arrested and is in the hospital after colliding with a Charter Communications van Thursday morning.

Tyler Naatz was arrested on DWI after his white Chrysler 300 slammed sideways into a Charter van at the 1900 block of Sixth Avenue NW at 12:09 a.m. Thursday, according to Police Chief Brian Krueger.

Krueger said the Charter employee was at his own home working on his computer when he heard a loud crash. The employee went outside and saw Naatz?s car sideways in the street. Naatz?s car had severe damage to the driver?s side door, while the Charter van sustained damage on its front and rammed into a utility pole, which snapped off at its base. Krueger said the van was legally parked before the accident took place.

The employee didn?t see anyone around at first and called police, according to Krueger. When police arrived, they found Naatz, who had a strong odor of alcohol coming off him.

Naatz was arrested for fourth-degree DWI and transported to Mayo Clinic Health System in Austin. Formal charges are pending with the Mower County Attorney?s office.

Source: http://www.austindailyherald.com/2012/01/20/crash-with-charter-communications-van-leads-to-dwi-charge/

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Police fire tear gas at Romanian protesters (Reuters)

BUCHAREST (Reuters) ? Romanian riot police fired tear gas at protesters who threw bricks and bottles back at them on Thursday in Bucharest's main square where demonstrations against the government's austerity drive have taken place since last week.

The police arrested up to 50 people believed to have triggered the violence including throwing metal fencing at them, according to private television station Realitatea TV.

Hundreds of demonstrators from an opposition rally which took place earlier in the day joined the protest in the main square in the evening. Traffic was blocked and protester numbers there rose to 1,500, riot police said.

About 7,000 opposition supporters rallied in Bucharest earlier on Thursday to demand the government's resignation, following a week of anti-austerity protests across the country which have sometimes turned violent.

The rally was organized by the leftist opposition USL to press for the resignation of Prime Minister Emil Boc's centrist coalition and his ally President Traian Basescu.

They paraded along a main boulevard from Bucharest's triumphal arch - modeled on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris - to the government headquarters, chanting "Down with Basescu" and comparing him with former communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu.

"People are out on the streets in all the cities of Romania," USL co-leader Victor Ponta told the crowd, gathered in freezing temperatures.

"People are upset: many are angry because they lost their jobs, many are angry because their pensions were slashed, many others are humiliated by the rulers every day. But there is a single thing that unites us - we all want Basescu out."

The USL staged its march separately from main square protests which erupted spontaneously last week after a popular deputy minister, a respected Palestinian-born medic clashed with Basescu and resigned over a controversial health reform plan.

Hundreds of demonstrators supporting the spontaneous movement are meeting every day in the square, as well as other cities, to attack pay cuts and tax increases the government has implemented under an International Monetary Fund-led aid deal.

They have protested against the opposition as well as the government and there has been little violence since the weekend.

The austerity policies have helped Romania to put its once troubled finances on a steadier footing, but have also slowed recovery from a deep and painful recession

The USL has committed to stick with the IMF, but said it would revoke some of Boc's austerity measures if it takes power. It has called for a parliamentary election to be brought forward from late this year.

Latest opinion polls show support for the USL, a fragile leftist alliance, on about 50 percent compared with 18 percent for Boc's PDL.

Analysts say the protests are not big enough to sway policy but will make it even more difficult for the PDL to regain ground in the polls and hang on to power.

(Writing by Radu Marinas)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120119/wl_nm/us_romania_protests

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Snow, sleet target Midwest and Northeast

By msnbc.com staff and news services

Snow is forecast for Chicago, Milwaukee and other Midwestern cities Friday as a winter system travels toward the Northeast, according to The Weather Channel.

Snowfall accumulation may exceed 6 inches across the Chicago metropolitan area.

Late Friday into Friday night, the snow system will move across northern Indiana, northern Ohio and Michigan on its way to the Northeast.

A mixture of freezing rain and sleet is possible as far south as Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, according to weather reports.

Snow changing to rain or sleet is projected for Philadelphia and New York City, and Boston will likely see 1 to 3 inches of snow.

Toppled trees
This winter weather system comes two days after a major?storm covered the Pacific Northwest in snow. An ice storm in the Seattle area shut down the airport and toppled trees --?cutting power to some 200,000 homes and businesses, cutting off roads and taking the life of a man on his ATV.

Temperatures are now slowly rising in the Pacific Northwest, the National Weather Service reports, but more wet weather is anticipated on Friday. A warm front over the Oregon and Washington coast will allow for rain showers to persist.

Up to 2 inches of rain may be expected across these areas.

More content from msnbc.com and NBC News

Source: http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/20/10199193-snow-sleet-target-midwest-and-northeast

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Senate Leader Harry Reid Postpones PIPA Vote [Piracy]

In response to tuesday's online blackout in protest of the proposed SOPA and PIPA bills floating around congress, Senate leader Harry Reid has opted to postpone the vote on the bill, believing there's a way to first find compromise between all parties. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/wHcGBgVyIxg/senate-leader-harry-reid-postpones-pipa-vote

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New coach Philbin will try to turn around Dolphins

MIAMI (AP) ? New Miami Dolphins coach Joe Philbin takes over a team that hasn't been to the Super Bowl since 1985 and missed the playoffs nine of the past 10 years.

Maybe that's why one of his predecessors, Jimmy Johnson, offered this tweet Friday: "Joe Philbin new Dolphin coach..good luck!"

The former Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator became the seventh coach in the past eight years for the Dolphins, who are coming off a third consecutive losing season, their longest such stretch since the 1960s.

The hiring was the latest turn in an emotionally wrenching month for Philbin, whose 21-year-old son recently drowned in an icy Wisconsin river.

Philbin had been with Green Bay since 2003, working as offensive coordinator since 2007. Coach Mike McCarthy called the plays, but Philbin put together the game plan for one of the NFL's most prolific offenses.

The Dolphins' top choice, Jeff Fisher, turned them down a week ago to become coach of the St. Louis Rams. Miami owner Stephen Ross and general manager Jeff Ireland then conducted a second round of interviews this week with Philbin, Denver Broncos offensive coordinator Mike McCoy and Todd Bowles, the Dolphins' interim coach at the end of the season.

"Joe has all the attributes that we were looking for when we started this process," Ross said in a statement. "Jeff Ireland and I felt Joe was the right choice to bring the Dolphins back to the success we enjoyed in the past."

Despite the Dolphins' woes of recent years, including a 6-10 record in 2011, Philbin called them "one of the premier franchises in professional sports." At 50, he's old enough to remember the 1972 Perfect Season.

"The Dolphins have a strong nucleus to build around," he said in a statement. "And working with everyone in the organization, I know that together we will return the team to its winning tradition."

Philbin, who has never been a head coach, first interviewed with Miami on Jan. 7. The body of son Michael, one of Philbin's six children, was recovered the next day in Oshkosh.

After spending a week away from the Packers, Philbin rejoined the team last Sunday for its divisional playoff loss to the New York Giants.

Ross fired Tony Sparano last month with three games to go in his fourth year as the Dolphins' coach. When the search for a new coach began, Ross said he would like to give the franchise much-needed stability by hiring "a young Don Shula."

Instead he chose Philbin, who has 28 years of coaching experience, including 19 years in college.

With Philbin's help, the Packers have ranked in the top 10 in the NFL in yardage each of the past five seasons, including third in 2011. A year ago they won the Super Bowl.

"A huge congratulations to Joe Philbin," Green Bay tight end Jermichael Finley tweeted. "No one deserves it more than this guy. The Pack will miss him!"

The hiring might give the Dolphins an edge if they decide to pursue Packers backup quarterback Matt Flynn, who becomes a free agent this offseason. Flynn set Packers records with 480 yards passing and six touchdowns in their regular-season finale. Philbin played a major role in the development of Flynn and Pro Bowl quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Assistants becoming first-time NFL head coaches have had mixed results in recent years. The group includes the Ravens' John Harbaugh, the Saints' Sean Peyton and the Steelers' Mike Tomlin, but also three coaches recently fired ? Jim Caldwell by the Colts, Todd Haley by the Chiefs and Steve Spagnuolo by the Rams.

Before joining the Packers, Philbin was Iowa's offensive line coach for four years. The former small-college tight end has been an offensive coordinator at Harvard, Northeastern and Allegheny College.

Philbin will now begin assembling a staff. Bowles might remain as a replacement for defensive coordinator Mike Nolan, who took the same job this week with the Atlanta Falcons.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-01-21-Dolphins-Philbin/id-0dc0cd875d1d42fab8753d47252c61c8

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