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News: Apple to Enter e-Textbook Market?
Apple has a date with the Big Apple. Wednesday the 19th.
Apple announced an education event in the Big Apple scheduled for next week. Speculation is abound that Apple will unveil a new iBooks for education program. Some say it will have an impact that rivals the splash made by iTunes in the music business about a decade ago (CDs are on their last leg, just in case you haven’t noticed).
Many conjecture that the new program will be designed for use on the iPad, and will provide tablet-toting students with weightless e-textbooks that incorporate interactive features.
Walter Isaacson, the official biographer of the late Steve Jobs, was first to hint at this as he cited Jobs’ plan to circumvent state certification of textbooks by making them free to the public on the iPad. In his book, Issacson indicates that Jobs planned to hire textbook writers to create electronic interactive versions for the iPad. Pearson Education has been speculated to be the first major company to cooperate with Apple on such a project.
According to Jordan Golson, an editor for the popular site MacRumors, “It seems likely that Apple will work with existing textbook makers to build interactive iPad editions of existing textbooks, rather than Apple hiring textbook writers directly and offering the content for free. Apple loves to be disruptive, but the company hasn’t turned into a publishing company like Amazon has. Just because Jobs had the idea, doesn’t mean Apple will follow it to the letter.”
While many are speculating on the announcement, Apple remains quiet about the event after the cryptic message. Only one thing is certain…
The education world will be tuned in.
Heritage Hall Reframed
I’m so intrigued by the book I chose, yes a hard copy. In Truth, Beauty, and Goodness: Reframed, Howard Gardner hopes to show how we can maintain traditional virtues of truth, beauty, and goodness in the not-so-traditional environment of today. He encourages us to continually confront and reflect on new examples of truth, beauty, and goodness and seek to align them with long-standing values.
I felt this was appropriate in a few ways. Right now I am mostly thinking about how well this goes with our goal of obtaining to ways of teaching and learning without losing the values of traditional education, which has worked for many years. It is all about adjusting our attitude and continue to do what teachers have always done…be life-long learners!
I’m so excited to try and fail new things…just as quickly as I get tired of my furniture, I get tired of the same ‘ol, same ‘ol in the classroom. It’s all in the best interest of the kids and let’s not forget, for us as well! I am a young teacher, so I started my career with a Smartboard, so I am not just necessarily talking about integrating technology, but the best practices of 21st Century fluencies. I just hope that all the teachers who have been educating for so long will maintain a positive, open attitude about the potential with moving into the 21st century! Great things are ahead!