Is what Apple showed us today future of education? The future we’d all been imagining for decades, no less. Harry Potter stuff.
Apple’s iBook 2 app comes with some interesting media bundled in it. Developers have uncovered high-resolution images that seem designed for use in a Retina Display, but the iPad 2 doesn’t have one. Is this evidence that the iPad 3 will?
It was almost definitely not the first time Apple thought about how to revolutionise textbooks and education, but Joe Peters and a couple of Apple interns won its annual iContest, “sort of an American Idol for great ideas that gives interns a chance to present their best thoughts to executives”, by presenting a plan for cheap digital textbooks to enthusiastic Apple execs back in 2008, two years before the iPad was loosed on the world.
You may not be able to afford it, but Apple’s textbook transformation is pretty neat. Its hands-on time, class. Find a cosy seat, use your indoor voices and read along with Gizmodo. Today’s lesson: science!
Algebra, biology, geometry — these have never been particularly exciting words when it comes to textbooks, but that could change today. Apple’s attempt at reinventing learning is officially online and ready for download — with each title offered at only 15 bucks.
Steve Jobs wanted to do for education what he did for music, phones and tablet computers. Apple’s new textbooks was his Next Big Thing (or one of them).
It’s hard to get excited about textbooks, until you see something like this: Apple just made the notecard obsolete forever. No more index cards, no more boxes — no paper. iBooks 2 turns your reading habits into instant study help.
