In an attempt to takeover the textbook industry, similar to how they revolutionized music, phones, and tablet computers, Apple introduced iPad textbooks this week.

Steve Jobs had originally conceived the idea to change the way students learn using technology.

Let’s take a look at what they have introduced.

iBooks 2

Beautifully crafted, and best read on iPads, iBooks use multimedia including photos, video, presentations, embedded review questionnaires, and quizzes to enhance the textbook learning experience.

One thing iBooks lacks is an effective way to share highlighted data. Students often share notes with their peers, and right now, there is no way to export notes to a document that can be viewed on a computer.

One of the cooler aspects of iBooks is that developing them is free and simple for authors. The drag-and-drop format makes the developer application easy to use for everyone.

Here are some highlights and features:

1. Thumbnail index: Use a visual index to go through books and chapters by sweeping your finger.

2. Built-in videos: Click and play video formatting keeps things simple and straight-forward.

3. Interactive animations: Animations can be added to books, giving authors an easy way to make their content interactive.

4. Study cards: Perhaps our favorite feature, the iBooks app automatically turns highlights and notes into flash cards for review.

5. Custom Glossary: Highlight words to to access each textbook’s custom glossary. The glossary is also always accessible from the top of the screen.

6. Quizzes and review questions: Students will unquestionably love the ability to quiz themselves and review the material they read with this feature. Each book has built-in quizzes and review questions with multiple-choice answers.

iTunes U

Similar to iBooks, iTunes U is a free app with a collection of videos and podcasts for teachers to use on their iPad. Educators from k-12 to University level can all use the app.

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What do you think of Apple’s product announcements? Will you use these apps instead of textbooks?

 

 

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