18 replies to this topic

[spereira14]

With Apple now revolutionizing the education industry with their new digital textbooks and study apps, I think we all could be in for a change. After all, Apple almost never fails with their ideas, so I think this could be an idea that reaches us all.
I personally think the textbooks look really neat, and are a new way of learning, far more interactive and entertaining. My only doubt is whether they'll actually have IB textbooks for the iPad, that could take some time. I also think they'd save people a lot more money, seeing as they are just 15 bucks.

What do you all think?

[Award Winning Boss]

Real books make me look 100% smarter even if I am reading a children's book.

So I use actual books

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This isn't influenced at all by the fact that I dislike IPad's so I do not have one. If you are/were thinking that, I think you should reconsider your options in life for a little bit. Don't hate

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I like dragons more than people

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u mad?

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Sorry for going off topic but really you shouldn't be reading this

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Why are you still procrastinating

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Don't worry there's more that's actually on topic!

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http://www.cio.com/a...ge=11#slideshow

[Gaby]

No way people all around the world will be able to afford Apple stuff. In Poland, hardly anyone has a Mac, some more people have iPods/iPhones, iPads are rare. Apple products are just very expensive.
Anyways, I hate studying from a computer. It makes my eyes hurts and I do everything not to study.

[Vol de Mort]

Schools won't be able to afford it....

[Philovitist]

I bootleg my ebooks (¡Viva la informacion libre!) and it's a love/hate relationship.

On the one hand, ebooks are convenient. For example, Biology 8th edition is a very heavy book—except when you electronicize it. I get to use my ipad's search function to find information easily. I can read in the dark. I can use the iPad's VoiceOver function to read the book to me. I can copy and paste information. I can annotate it. I don't have to worry about the book wearing down.

But on the other hand, now that I'm not carrying books around, less people are aware that I'm smart. Books don't need to be charged up, Having an iPad in front of me instead of a boring ol' textbook and actually focusing on your studies requires discipline. And there's something about the manipulability of a book that is more liberating than what any ereading app can produce.

The benefits outweigh the limitations, though. I like having all my books in one place and having so many more within my reach.
I'm talking about Gutenburg and legal book-obtaining means, of course. Buying a book and buying an ebook involve different levels of difficulty.

[DC_JackBlind]

Digital technology... sigh.

A blessing and curse at the same time. It's constantly distracting and as somebody said above, you do everything not to study.
(There most be some interesting psychology behind this... I don't think it's simply putting off studying because it's "hard")

Using digital books in school so I don't have to carry them with me is useful for doing exercises and taking brief notes or adding to what the teacher is saying is alright. In my room however I use books wherever possible as their less strain on the eyes and you concentrate more. Fact.

[Positron]

Has anyone thought about the legal side of this? Just think about it. If companies start developing their own systems, the contents will likely be tied to the equipment, ie. you need an Apple product to use the material that Apple has created. Schools would be in an situation where they'd have to choose one of these. So basicly schools would be saying: "Ok. You have buy an iPad".
Then think about the lawsuit regarding competition laws...

[DC_JackBlind]

I think Apple is pretty content with the fact that he has a market-leading platform, which forces content producers (eg. authors) or representatives of these (publishing houses) to offer their products there. He then "only" takes a 30% share of the revenue, which for him is effectively profit, as the cost of hosting billions of files reduces the cost of one to practically naught.

The only way for this to become reality is if Apple buys up intellectual property management bodies or vice versa. This is unlikely to happen as this is a dying industry and not their area of expertise. Just take a look at the recording industry. The sales revenue has dropped by 60 odd percent in the last 20 years and is predicted to reach the end of its life cycle pretty soon.

Legally speaking, a company such as Apple, assuming they owned the rights, would not be able to lock content such as newspapers and books to their platform as that would be in violation of fair market competition regulations anyway...

[Desy Glau]

ok guys let's not talk about Apple strictly. some textbooks go with a CD containing all the chapters in PDF form, which is accessible from a Windows PC. or even from a phone with an Adobe reader.

I would much prefer e-books rather than hard copies because it's much more portable and it's easier to find the relevant section.

but I guess it's true that some publishers are not stupid enough to publish soft copies of their books...

[Duckbeam]

E-books are brilliant.

I have an iPad and I use the Kno app. I basically found pdf's of all my books and put them into Kno..
The only thing i bring to school is my iPad!

[Tony Stark]

I dunno, maybe I'm just old-fashioned, but I simply don't like ebooks. I find I don't focus as well if I don't have the physical copy in my hand. Even though I take a laptop to every class for notes and work (I always end up losing anything handwritten), I still flip through my hardcopy of the textbook, despite nearly all of them being accompanied by a CD. I find it's the same with novels. Even when I could download the ebook for free from Project Gutenberg or whatnot, I prefer spending money to buy a hard copy. It's easier to read, for me, and I like the idea of owning my own copy (hence why I never utilise libraries for fiction). Plus, annotating - always useful for school texts. As for iPads, I hate them. Never saw the point of tablets, and flat-out dislike Apple. Even though our school is currently piloting a program with IB students serving as guinea pigs, and thus I have a complimentary one, I still take my laptop and textbook to class and leave the iPad in the box it came in.

[marauder7]

i hate carrying books in my bag because it is heavy, that is why i leave some books at home (like my math book for example) and in class i work with my friend's book.
my literature teacher gives us the option to either buy the books or download them. i prefer to have a physical book because it is more enjoyable to read reading on the screen can be tiring. besides i can underline quotes and take notes on the book.
i think it is up to the students choice. personally i prefer paper

[Tiber]

Some people just cannot study infront of a computer, not because of the "distractions" but also because I simply cannot focus I need papers.

[Rares T. Gosman]

I'm all for digital textbooks, as long as they're moderately priced, and once you buy them they're available on ALL your devices - Kindle, iPad, Laptop, PSP, etc... If not, i'll be looking forward to grabbing a few pirated copies. There'd be as big a business for those as there is for pirated games nowadays.

[zafija]

If tablets were cheaper, than digital textbooks would be a very good idea. I'm a fan of traditional books, I don't really like reading from a screen, but if you nees to transport the books from home to school and back it is quite problematic. I usually don't bring my textbooks to school because they are incredibly heavy and unwieldy. Having all the books in one portable device would be great. Also I presume that digital textbooks would be significantly less expensive (come on, Planet Geography is the most expensive book I have ever held in my hands!). But for now tablet, especially iPad, is something I cannot afford.

[Jasmeena]

To be honest, I'm strongly against digital textbooks... I just hate them!!! I'm more of a paper guy (girl ) . I need the smell of the book. The texture... I'm a bookworm. That's the word

[frogger]

I love my CD textbooks for school/ if I go to the library because then I don't have to lug it around, but if I'm actually studying at home nothing can beat a tangible book

[robot125]

I actually prefer digital books because: (1) they arent heavy, all you need is your usb flash and/or your laptop and you're good to go. (2) I prefer it if people dont see me with my big physics, math, and chemistry HL books.

[Kaden]

I find that apple hasn't really had as much of an impact on this subject as people are giving it credit for. At my school, I'd say at least half the people in IB have about half of their text books in some kind of electronic form, and 99% of these files are in PDF format.
Apple has done some good stuff, but the software (including loads of freeware) that's out there for PDF files allows such flexibility that it is the best available option in my opinion.

Throughout my time doing IB (almost done, doing the may exams), I've been using a laptop and have constantly been trying to figure out how I can best use it to assist me with my classes. After learning the tricks, I can testify that it is a HUGE help. The features of having a laptop, make work much easier and study time much more effective, especially if you have your books on it (including A1 literature). I'l probably start a thread somewhere at some point to share the little treasures I've learned, but that's for another time.

Main point: electronic copies are the way to go.