Editor's Desk

In Memorium

11/3/2011 By:

As the eulogies ebb for Steve Jobs, I feel it important that Tech & Learning join the chorus of remembrances. After all, the magazine chronicled the man’s work from the earliest days. To wit, below is a news snippet from Vol. 1, No. 1, of Classroom Computer News, in September 1980:

Apple Computer Inc. plans soon to file with the Securities and Exchange Commission a public offering of common stock. Apple, started in a Palo Alto garage in 1977, is said to have annual sales of about $175 million. The company expects to raise more than $20 million.

Without Steve Jobs, the very idea of education technology would be vastly different, if even an idea at all. The Mac operating system seemed made for children with its happy macs and animated trash cans. Yet, it also provided a powerful and elegant experience still unrivaled although widely imitated.

Applications like iMovie and iPhoto continue to inspire generations of students to create with technology, not just consume media. And I firmly believe that the iPad tablets and their complementary “app economy” will transform curriculum delivery for good.

On a personal level, I benefit from his genius every day: From the glowing Apple II green screens I remember as a student to watching my children pinch and flick their fingers across touch screens. I was surprised by how saddened I was when I heard of his passing. In all honestly, it was not so much for him, though his illness was certainly a tragedy, but more for what could have been. I only hope his legacy will be carried by those he left behind. Thanks for everything, Steve.