News Corp.'s Amplify Unveils Education Tablet

News. Corp-backed education company Amplify today unveiled a new, Android-based tablet intended to be a one-stop, personalized learning center.

"We want to transform the way teachers teach and students learn," Amplify CEO Joel Klein said in a statement. "Technology has revolutionized the world, but not the classroom. Our hope is that this tablet will help change that."

The Amplify tablet is a 10-inch device similar to the Asus Transformer Pad TF300T , the company said. It runs the latest Android Jelly Bean OS and an Nvidia Tegra 3 quad-core CPU. There's a 5-megapixel camera and battery life of about 8.5 hours.

The basic package costs $299 for the Wi-Fi tablet, plus a $99 per year subscription fee, for two years. The Amplify Tablet Plus package includes a 4G LTE-enabled tablet for $349 plus $179 per year subscription fee, for two years.

The subscription includes the Amplify education software, pre-loaded content and reference tools, customer care, professional development, and school-level device management.

Pre-loaded apps include Encyclopaedia Britannica, Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Google Apps for Education, Desmos graphic calculator, EverFi's digital literacy curriculum, Project Noah science tools, and Common Sense Media.

The tablet allows teachers to keep up with students' work, block any or all apps that may provide distractions, and build lesson plans with a mix of pre-loaded content and other Web resources to be published for students. Also, the Quick Poll feature tracks understanding in real time, with the option of sending materials to those pupils who need additional help.

The devices are being piloted this year in school districts across the country, in collaboration with AT&T. Those tablets purchased before June 30 will be ready for classroom use by the start of the 2013-14 school year. After June 30, Amplify tablet prices increase to $349 (Wi-Fi) and $399 (4G LTE).

News Corp. unveiled Amplify in July 2012, and said the firm is "dedicated to reimagining K-12 education."

But in-classroom tech might not always be the answer. According to a recent Pew Research Center study, more than 90 percent of participating teachers said the Web has a "major impact" on their ability to access content, resources, and materials, but three quarters also admitted that digital tools often add new, unwanted demands.

That is especially true for those educators working in lower-class areas, where the everyday luxuries of home computers, mobile phones, and personal tablets are not available. Only half of teachers working in the lowest income locations believe that their school does a good job of providing digital resources, compared to 70 percent in the highest income areas.

Check out the Amplify Tablet in action with students and teachers in the video below.