The passing of Steve Jobs earlier this month generated numerous tributes to the Apple icon’s simple solutions to technology’s most intractable dilemmas. Two recent blog posts apply Jobs’ thinking to some of education’s greatest challenges, and come up with very different interpretations.  

In a post on Education Next, Jay P. Greene pulls together comments by Jobs on school vouchers (positive), teachers unions (negative), and digital learning (not a magic bullet). In an ASCD EDge Blog, teacher Kelle Stewart suggests that Jobs’ most important legacy for education is his commitment to innovation: “Perhaps the best homage we can all pay to his legacy is taking a vow to think differently. We shouldn’t be forced to keep buying these so-called solutions that really only cause us more pain. We should stand up and fight for what we know will work best for us and for our children.”

Greene’s post, “Steve Jobs on Education” can be found online here, and Stewart’s piece, “Think Differently about Reform,” here.