Apple introduced new apps today that could change the way students study and retain information. iBooks 2 and iBooks Author, may kill traditional textbooks in schools.
The updated version of iBooks includes digital textbooks and interactive study features.
iBooks 2 allows the user to highlight with a tap of the finger, take notes, and study flash cards, all on the iPad.
Reviewing chapters is easy, as the app includes questions, pictures, and the ability to check your answer. If you get the question wrong, you get feedback immediately.
The biggest difference between this cutting edge technology, and old school textbooks, is the engagement by students.
Matt Dunlap, technology instructor at Fairview Park City Schools, says the students there have been using the iPad for just under a year, and he predicts the expansion of this technology in schools is inevitable.
Now, we all know that teachers sometimes lose the interest of their students while lecturing. But now, with the new textbook section in iBooks2, students may stay interested just a little bit longer, thanks to 3D graphics, animations and cool videos.
In an effort to link new interactive textbooks and authors, Apple released iBooks Author, a free app which allows writers and publishers to create digital books.
According to Apple, this new technology will make creating an e-book a drag and drop process. Already on board, textbook giants Pearson, McGraw Hill and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Apple says although the apps are free, the e-books shouldn't cost any more than $15. Sure beats the expensive hardcover version.
Apple says that there are currently about 1.5 million iPads being used in schools and more than 20,000 education apps sitting in its iOS App Store.
WKYC-TV