What you need to know
- Gallaudet University President Roberta J. Cordano spoke about their partnership with Apple.
- The president says that all of its students and faculty now have iPad Pros to facilitate remote learning.
- Cordano says that Apple has shown them "the importance of full access to technology."
Gallaudet University, who has partnered with Apple to provide educational materials as well as scholarship and job opportunities to its students, shared some more details of its partnership with the company.
Gallaudet University President Roberta J. Cordano spoke about how Apple was an obvious partner for the university, which specializes in the education of the deaf, deaf-blind, and hard of hearing.
"Apple is actually ahead of the curve and has always been. Hardware and software, including macOS, iOS, and even watchOS, are designed thoughtfully and with input from end-users such as ourselves."
Cordano also talked about how their work as a university plays a critical role in bringing inclusive technology to all. The president pointed out that even Siri used to only be voice-activated before Apple put in the extra work to make it more accessible.
"Even Apple's Siri originally was only voice-activated. Now today, one can type in a request and Siri will respond in text."
The president stressed the importance of its partnership with Apple, who provided iPad Pros, Apple Pencils, and Smart Keyboard Folios to students and faculty. Cordano pointed out the importance of this during the pandemic, saying that Apple and the university's efforts have ensured their students could continue to learn effectively.
"We are happy to see Apple leading the way. Connected Gallaudet is a multi-faceted Apple partnership with Gallaudet, for which we are very grateful. All of our students and faculty, as well as the staff who work directly with students, have been given iPad Pros, an Apple Pencil, and a Smart Keyboard Folio. The iPads are preloaded with many productivity apps before they were distributed. The iPad Pros support our remote and mobile learning needs. These iPad Pros bring the economic gap for our students, the vast majority of whom receive financial aid."
Cordano also called out Apple's scholarship and jobs program with the university. Some of its students will receive scholarships to attend WWDC, Apple's yearly developer conference.
"The partnership also includes skill-building and a job pipeline. Apple is creating employment opportunities for our students. Apple is also providing scholarships for our students to attend the Worldwide Developers Conference. Apple has shown us, and the world, the importance of full access to technology.
Apple and Gallaudet University originally announced their partnership back in August.
