Apple’s educational program, now available in Spanish

On March 27, 2018, Apple offered us a different keynote to what we’re used to, which was also not streamed live and was focused on the education market. It introduced the new iPad of 2018 (or iPad education), as well as improvements to the iWork suite and the arrival of a new app for workflow in class: Classwork. We’ve talked about it here at Wipelocker.
But one of the most interesting topics presented by Apple was an educational program called «Everyone Can Create», focused on training through creativity, one of the most important trends in the world of education in recent years. A program with some study materials that were presented at that event, which were launched in October last year (in English only) and that today Apple has announced that it arrives in both Spanish, German, French and Italian.
Education through creativity
As we already know, education as it is conceived today in many cases is based on what we call «memoristic» or the ability for students to memorize concepts to them to demonstrate that they have acquired that knowledge through evidence. If positive, these are progressing in their training year by year progressively. This system, which comes from the beginnings of education as we know it, framed in the beginning of the Industrial Age, in many cases today has proven to be an ineffective and far from the reality of the social and technological changes that have occurred in the last years.
However, educating through creativity and understanding helps students go further in their education. It avoids the wrong process of memorizing content without understanding its meaning or context (to learn something because yes) that causes total demotivation on the part of the student. Creativity motivates them and helps them understand what they are learning, how to assimilate it, how practical it is behind it. To know how to focus your learning on your real life and understand what underlies what is underlying what you have learned.
In addition, creativity is a tool of incredible value because it allows to attract the interest and attention of the student to the subject, seeing it as something motivating and not a simple content that you must learn by heart and that after the test of shift, you will forget without remission.
Creativity for all
In this educational context, Apple has presented these materials of what it has called «Creativity for All» with materials that allow teachers to create classroom dynamics and activities based on the tools offered by the iPad such as GarageBand, iMovie, Clips, the iWork suite or even with the native Camera or Photos app. All this through e-books.
-The contents teach the student how to solve technically with the different tools offered by the iPad and to express their creativity through them. The teacher’s guide shows how to propose exercises that also allow cross-cutting dynamics with subjects such as mathematics, language, science, social or even programming-
Books, which can be downloaded for free from iBooks on your Mac, iPad, or iPhone (you have the link at the end of the article), consist of four titles focused on specific areas of creativity: drawing, music, video, and photography. These are accompanied by a teacher’s guide that will teach teachers specific tasks that are applied with the contents that each of these books provides. It even provides them with evaluation rubrics (matrixes according to the text) that will let them know how to evaluate and evaluate the work their students do.
Focusing on each of the proposed subjects, we can see how in the part dedicated to the video the student will be able to learn to present his works exploiting his creative abilities in expression with voice and image, how he will be able to compose funds, express himself before the camera, explain a subject clearly so that your colleagues can understand it and demonstrate your ability to synthesize and edit the materials. To do this you will learn fundamental concepts such as storyboards or how to express ideas or concepts through silent cinema: how only images can explain something. Also how to create documentaries, reports, short films… all the audiovisual tools that allow you to use video as a means of expressing your knowledge.
In music and with the help of GarageBand and with the loops provided by the app to create songs in a modular and simple way, it will allow students to express their creativity and express meaning through music, as the score of a good movie would. They will understand how music is structured, a song, its different parts, how to create it, how it is mixed, rhythms, melodic and acoustic bases, harmonies, melodies, to create the lyrics of their songs to express a message through them and how to join them to the Music. And of course, to post-produce such content. The tools and knowledge to express in the subjects through music. Who said that learning mathematical formulas by doing a rap is not a good idea? We can even help Justin Timberlake himself turn one of his hits around!
Photography will allow them to express ideas or concepts with the simple use of an image and know elements as key as framing, how to take portraits or photograph everyday objects that allow us to express messages or contents related to the Matters. They will learn how to compose a scene, to capture the action from a single image, to create their own compositions or collages that allow them to express various ideas within the same context… all this with the help of the camera and the Photos app, which give them the tools to express their work or ideas. Even concepts of photojournalism and how to present information through photo successions or publish a photo book with the help of Pages or Keynote.
Last but not least, drawing expresses creativity in one of its purest forms. Not only in what is freehand drawing, but also in the conceptualization of graphic design and how to compose through illustration or creation of typography or compositions of images and contents. Even with the funny emojis. They will learn how to create mind maps, infographics and visual notes that help to clarify ideas or concepts, how to express observation through drawing, to make illustrations of people or places, architectural design… even the famous still lifes that are so used in training in the art of painting. Not without forgetting the creation of logos that illustrate their own groups or projects or how to also design their own publication or book by joining everything learned in illustration, drawing and graphic design.
Everyone can create
This is just a general summary of what this program offers, now in Spanish, and from here we recommend all students and teachers to use an iPad in the classroom. We invite you to take a look at it even as parents with your children and try to put it into practice. The first thing that is perceived and surprising is the ability of students or children, their incredible power to absorb concepts within a clear motivation and how they get the most out of creativity. Not only that, creativity is one of the most powerful cross-cutting tools in education that will enrich the rest of the subjects with new tools and methods that take the training of our children and young people much further.
-Creativity for all teaches us a really productive use of technology, which enriches young people and motivates them to create. To move from being consumers by looking at the screen and watching Youtube, to being the ones who create the content-
Without a doubt, an incredible work by Apple and that from here I take these pages to grace them. Any investment made in future generations is the best that can be made in our future. A material that is offered completely free of charge for everyone, now also in Spanish.
And by the way, if you’re a teacher who uses teaching-purpose Apple products in your day-to-day life, you can now join Apple Teacher in Spain, an Apple’s free professional learning program designed to support and recognize teachers who use products Apple in teaching. In addition, it is essential if you want to become ADE (Apple Distinguished Educators).