Apple announcement: iBooks 2 for digital textbooks
Apple’s announcement on Thursday may have signalled a major change in the academic world.
ABC News reports that Apple announced two new apps that will allow students and instructors to take advantage of digital textbooks. iBooks 2 is a free app that will allow students to purchase and download digital textbooks, while iBooks Author will allow authors and publishers — as well as students and others with an interest in education — to create interactive iPad lessons using their computer.
“There’s a lot that’s talked about that may be wrong with education. One thing we hear louder than all else and where we can help is in student engagement,” said Phil Schiller, Apple’s marketing chief, during the Apple announcement. “That’s why we get excited when students get their hands on an iPad.”
The new digital books would cost $14.99 and would allow students to mark them up just like a normal textbook. Reportedly, Apple is forming partnerships with Pearson, McGraw-Hill and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, which are responsible for 90 percent of the textbooks used in the U.S. today.
Read more about Apple’s announcement here.
