Say Goodbye to iTunes U and iBooks Author ⇥ macrumors.com

Alison DeNisco Rayome, CNet:

Apple will discontinue its iTunes U app for remote education at the end of 2021, replacing it with the newer Schoolwork and Classroom apps, the tech giant said Wednesday on its support page.

The move doesn’t come as a surprise: iTunes U hasn’t received a feature update since 2017. And as most schools moved online during the coronavirus pandemic, the Schoolwork app recently got an upgrade to let teachers manage assignments and information for students remotely through the cloud. Meanwhile, the Classroom app can also turn the iPad into a teaching assistant, helping teachers guide students through lessons and track progress.

I believe this is partly my fault.

Juli Clover, MacRumors:

Apple today sent out an email to iBooks Author users, letting them know that the Mac app is being discontinued on July 1 and removed from the App Store.

In the email, Apple says that following the inclusion of book creation tools in Pages, the company’s new focus will be on developing features for the Pages app.

I don’t think either one of these announcements is a surprise; these apps have suffered from inattention for years. But Apple’s rocky approach to education needs and lack of clear strategy cannot be confidence-inspiring for schools or teachers who need to decide what technology to use in their classrooms.