Apple and IBM have announced the latest product in their MobileFirst collaboration: IBM Watson Element for Educators. The app marks more than just a continued collaboration between the two companies — it’s also the first time they have teamed up for an education-focused project.
The app was designed for the iPad, and it’s aimed at helping teachers track the academic performance of students, as well as their special interests, accomplishments, and general behavior. Teachers will also be able to add notes about specific students.
“IBM Watson Element provides teachers with a holistic view of each student through a fun, easy-to-use, and intuitive mobile experience that is a natural extension of their work,” said IBM in a statement. “Teachers can get to know their students beyond their academic performance, including information about personal interests and important milestones students choose to share.”
The app also lets teachers connect to the Watson Enlight web-based app, which helps enhance lesson planning.
The IBM Watson Element for Educators app is actually already being used at the Coppell Independent School District in Texas, and according to the companies, Apple will help push its adoption as part of a package it will give to schools.
Of course, this isn’t the only app that IBM and Apple are working on — in fact, when the two announced their partnership, they cited plans to develop a hefty 100 enterprise and cloud services apps. As part of the deal, IBM will also begin supporting Apple devices and push AppleCare plans.
Apple has been making inroads into education beyond its partnership with IBM. In August, it announced that its ConnectED program had reached more than 32,000 students in the U.S., and that it was now offered at 114 schools.
