Apple pushes into education with LearnSprout purchase

Apple has bought education technology start-up LearnSprout for an undisclosed amount, which creates software for schools and teachers to track students' performance, as part of Apple's expansion plans into education tools for its iPad. This move follows Apple's announcement of iOS 9.3, which includes several major new features for iPads in education, including multi-user account switching. With iPad sales falling, Apple is actively promoting iPad into enterprise and education sectors to maintain growth and boost sales.

It's being reported today that Apple has acquired education-technology startup LearnSprout, which creates software for schools and teachers to track students' performance. Apple is working on education tools for the iPad, which will allow students to see interactive lessons, track their progress, and share tablet computers with peers, reports BloombergBusiness. Below is a quick-and-easy overview video of LearnSprout.

LearnSprout is a three-year-old, San Francisco-based software startup whose online data insights help K-12 educators track students' performance. The company had raised $4.7 million from investors across two rounds, including Andreessen Horowitz, Formation 8, and Samsung Ventures. CrunchBase has the full investor list here.

Earlier this month we posted a report titled "Google Chromebooks take the lead over Apple iPad's in K-12 Market." The report noted that Google's Chromebooks (laptops running Google's Chrome OS as their operating systems) have made significant strides in growth year over year. Chromebooks' market share jumped to 51% from 40%. Apple is noted to have 24% of the market with Microsoft on its heels at 23%.

The report further noted that "While the Chromebook may be making major strides in education, Apple is still a big player in this market. Gartner noted that "There are about 170,000 education apps on the App Store, and the company maintains a large installed base of iPads and MacBooks in schools. It has sold 15 million iPads into educational institutions worldwide."

While Apple spokesman Colin Johnson repeated Apple's blanket statement of "Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans," it's clear that Apple is continually seeking to provide value-added software for students and school administrators alike and their latest acquisition is testament to their on going commitment to the education market.

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