Dive Brief:
- Apple revealed Thursday its acquisition of ed tech startup LearnSprout for an undisclosed amount.
- The company creates software that assists in the tracking of student performance analytics.
- LearnSprout is used by 2,500 districts in 42 states, reports Bloomberg, and there is currently no word on whether it will lose any employees in the wake of the purchase.
Dive Insight:
The LearnSprout acquisition comes as Apple is pushing to regain a majority share of the education device market. Chromebooks, powered by rival Google, currently holds the majority that Apple's iPads once claimed.
The iPad, however, faced well-publicized setbacks in the classroom — the most notable of which came in the form of a botched $1-billion device rollout in Los Angeles that was meant to put an iPad in the hands of every student. The Los Angeles Unified School District is still facing fallout beyond finances in the form of an FBI investigation.
That said, Apple is certainly working to reassert the device's classroom value. Its latest update to iOS, for example, allows multiple users per device and easier device management for educators. The acquisition of LearnSprout signifies an interest in making data analytics a bigger part of its foray into classrooms and should come into play as the tech giant creates software for the space.
