Home News

News

Apr 21 2010

Apple removes teaching app from app store, and educators complain

Apple generally makes news by publishing new apps, not by unpublishing them. But last week, it made some educators upset when it removed an app, Scratch Viewer, from the iTunes App Store.

Scratch Viewer was designed to let educators and others review a child’s work that was created on an iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch using the Scratch programming language, which has become popular in many schools.

The Scratch language was created by the M.I.T. Media Lab, and developed with grant support from the National Science Foundation and others. It is available free as a download. The language embodies the work of Seymour Papert and Alan Kay, and using it with children is a way to give them an authentic, non-watered down programming experience. As of Tuesday, the Scratch site contains nearly 1 million (987,877) projects uploaded for public viewing.

Scratch’s popularity in schools may be why viewing these works on a portable device like an iPad may also be popular, and why Scratch Viewer ($3.99) might have a market. The app’s author, John McIntosh of Smalltalk Consulting Ltd. is a Canadian programmer who has no formal affiliation with the M.I.T. lab. In addition, M.I.T. gets no compensation from the sales of the app.

So why did Apple remove it from the store?

Apple officials did not respond to a request for comment. Mr. McIntosh said, “We are currently negotiating the decision.”

But bloggers are theorizing that Apple removed the viewer because it violates Section 3.3.1 of the company’s policy against apps that interpret or execute code. This is the same reason that Adobe Flash-based apps are not permitted, as covered in this Bits blog post by Nick Bilton.

The argument goes that Apple would not want Scratch Viewer because anyone who downloads the app might be able to get digital content — programs, music and video mashed together with Scratch — from the M.I.T. lab’s servers instead of from iTunes. And so is Apple acting like a playground bully who controls the swing set, not letting anyone play with the iPad, the cool toy?

But Apple is not the only gadget maker who determines what can or cannot run on its hardware. Nintendo and Sony regulate their software libraries, and you don’t see Scratch running on a Nintendo DSi or a PSP Go. In addition, Scratch runs just fine on other Apple products, like a MacBook.

Mitchel Resnick, who leads the Scratch project at the M.I.T.’s lab, said in an e-mail message, “I’m disappointed that Apple decided not to allow a Scratch player on the iPhone or iPad.” He added: “In my mind, there is nothing more important than empowering the next generation of kids to design, create, and express themselves with new media technologies. I hope that Apple will reconsider its policies so that more kids can experience the joys of creating and sharing with Scratch. Our group is planning to make Scratch authoring tools for the iPad in the future, and we hope Apple will allow us.”

Bookmark and Share


Date Title
4/27/10 Oyster project endangered
4/27/10 Calif.'s costly trout recovery effort criticized
4/27/10 Utica accidentally issues $300,000 in checks
4/27/10 State: Lockheed failed to field most appliance calls
4/27/10 Pavement upgrades not welcomed by city property owner
4/27/10 KMOX Investigates: Stimulus request steered toward Dooley campaign manager
4/27/10 Defunct company fined for ditching equipment
4/27/10 Up in the air, New Mexico style
4/27/10 Solar array powers tennis company
4/27/10 Fight to prevent Medicare fraud turns violent
4/27/10 Vegas mob museums, set to go to the mattresses
4/26/10 DHS gets poor marks in managing employee performance
4/26/10 Wyoming senior center gets new $18,000 sign
4/26/10 Dellums downplays stimulus funds audit
4/26/10 Oversight of Des Moines schools drops after auditor cut
4/26/10 East St. Louis schools spend $3.1 million on consultants
4/26/10 Student test scores drop after first year of education improvement project
4/26/10 Coburn questions need for OPM campaign to boost feds' image
4/26/10 SEC porn problem: Officials surfing sites during financial crisis, report finds
4/22/10 Museum refurbishing former city trolley
4/22/10 Depot deal might come Friday
4/22/10 Sausalito's Bay Model still moving water, visitors
4/22/10 State wants embattled ND group to share in grant
4/22/10 Trash compactors powered by sun
4/21/10 GAO: Food programs need to trim the fat
4/21/10 Resident get cash for flood input
4/21/10 Hill's aides in 'bully' crystal
4/21/10 Current record
4/21/10 St. Vrain Valley using iPods to close achievement gap
4/21/10 School boards group awaits final word on signed name as investigation of finances continues
4/21/10 Old Athens opera house reaches a Crossroads
4/21/10 Memphis hair school owners charged with fraud
4/21/10 Pizza ploy: CUSD hopes Italian treat will entice more students into cafeteria
4/21/10 $830,000 in job funds to Oakland questioned
4/21/10 As public sours on government, OPM aims to ‘re-polish' federal image
4/19/10 Favorability of federal agencies plummets
4/19/10 Poll: One third of Americans say own govt a threat
4/19/10 Poll: 4 out of 5 Americans don't trust Washington
4/19/10 Portsmouth woman defends mailbox from ‘stimulus’
4/19/10 EPA contest seeks videos promoting government regulations
4/19/10 Airports give free flights
4/19/10 Tensions rise over earmarks
4/19/10 FEMA faces own fiscal emergency
4/15/10 Federal money to be used to rehab warehouse
4/15/10 Earl Scruggs Center in Shelby picked for $1.5M grant
4/15/10 Tapping ‘Black Liquor’ offset leaves other bills high and dry
4/15/10 OMB raises cap on executive compensation costs in federal contracts
4/15/10 Poetry drives home message at zoo
4/15/10 GAO: Food programs need to trim the fat
4/15/10 Taxpayers foot State Department's stiff liquor bill
4/15/10 Agency accused of abusing funds
4/14/10 Agents raid Kingston business awarded $38 million in federal contract
4/14/10 900 tickets issued in campaign against distracted driving
4/14/10 SLED investigating missing equipment, bulletproof vest in Ehrhardt
4/14/10 County to study best uses of ExpoPark
4/14/10 A look at the impact of the Spanish horse
4/14/10 Murals to show Lincoln Highway of the past
4/14/10 Miami man admits guilt in $60 mln healthcare scam
4/14/10 County clerk, deputies collected thousands in bonuses
4/14/10 International Travel and Logistical Management Services
4/14/10 Members fly free abroad
4/13/10 Report: Public officials' business expenses add up
4/13/10 Crews try to save Coffee Island from washing into the sea
4/13/10 A laptop for every student
4/13/10 Insignia engineer hopes to buy vacant Kingston plaza
4/13/10 Florida stimulus spending: DVDs, buses and more - reporters notebook
4/13/10 Some Muskogee County Residents Angered Over Stimulus Funding For Sidewalks
4/13/10 Botox injection 'leads to rejection'
4/7/10 Charleston County finds $5M for intersection work near Boeing site
4/7/10 Panel selects artist for federal courthouse display
4/7/10 Group seeks probe of travel spending by lawmakers
4/7/10 After shuttle, NASA to pay Russia $56M a seat for rocket rides
4/7/10 CRS: Health law may allow Viagra coverage for sex offenders
4/6/10 State audit finds $118.8 million weatherization program lacks oversight
4/6/10 Hazleton Area considers upgrades to high school auditorium
4/6/10 MCS health director to be moved after audit finds funds misspent
4/6/10 Houston man convicted in $1 million adult diaper scam
4/6/10 Federal official admits embezzling $60,000
4/6/10 The federal jobs a Maryland town doesn't want
4/6/10 Vermont awards $150,000 for critter crossing
4/5/10 Shakespeare Festival receives grant from NEA
4/5/10 No ordinary Apples: 24 S.A. teachers get free iPods
4/5/10 Stimulus money used to plant flowers and trees in Idaho, no jobs created
4/5/10 Denver County to repay state $82,788 after audit questions spending
4/5/10 Knik Arm Bridge to be placed on short-term list of projects
4/5/10 Millions of H1N1 vaccine doses may have to be discarded
4/5/10 Congressman cries poor, but lifestyle may disagree
4/5/10 Going Lean: Legislative staff are being cut around the country, but some lawmakers worry the fiscal trims are going too far
4/5/10 Offices, agencies seek a modest budget bump