At Thursday's education event, Apple is expected to announce textbooks in partnerships with publishers such as Pearson, McGraw-Hill, and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, that are optimized for the iPad and encourage student interaction.
When Apple introduced the iPad a couple of years ago, one of the product's promises was that it could change the classroom experience. Founder Steve Jobs told biographer Walter Isaacson that he wanted to transform the textbook industry by hiring writers to create digital versions and making them a feature of the iPad.
As an educator, this makes me very excited. Many changes need to be made in education, and interactive iPad-optimized textbooks will not only be a fantastic learning tool, but also add some excitement and enjoyment to the learning process which is half the battle, for students and teachers alike.
Additionally, textbooks are outrageously expensive, so I hope Apple is also worked out an agreement with publishers to make iPad-optimized textbooks more affordable.
Apple's education event will be held on Thursday, January 19, in New York City.
Source: Wall Street Journal
