Apple Expands iPad Educational Tools into Asia, Europe and Latin America
By Sam | January 21, 2014 | No comment yet
I am currently in the middle of writing a new book using iBooks Author and I have found it to be a very fascinating experience. Creating a media rich textbook has never been easier and there is a lot of potential for the work Apple is doing to change the face of education. Apple announced today that they are expanding their scope by adding support for iBooks Textbooks and iTunes U Course Manager into Asia, Latin America, and Europe.
'The incredible content and tools available for iPad provide teachers with new ways to customize learning unlike ever before,' said Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. 'We can't wait to see how teachers in even more countries will create their new lesson plans with interactive textbooks, apps and rich digital content.'
Perhaps the biggest roadblock ahead for adopting iBooks Textbooks in courses is student access to OS X and/or iOS devices. It's for that reason that I won't be able to use one of these books in my courses because my students have access to a wide variety of computer technology and I don't have the authority to require a specific operating system. I understand the various reasons why Apple is keeping these books on their system, but that is also going to slow their growth.
Even though there are some challenges to overcome, I still believe there is a lot of power in Apple's educational initiatives and I am not the only one:
'Oxford University Press is using iBooks Author for Headway, Oxford's all-time best-selling English language series, to create engaging iBooks Textbooks for iPad,' said Peter Marshall, Managing Director, ELT Division at Oxford University Press. 'In releasing 13 new iBooks Textbooks, including 'Headway Pre-Intermediate,' the best-selling level in the series, we are enriching the language learning experience for students around the world.'
It will be some time before we know how much this expansion will affect the success of these tools, but it is certainly exciting to see the growth in this market. I love this next quote because it really hits the heart of what technology can do in the hands of a trained and passionate educator.
'iPad is so much more than just a textbook or just a notepad for students-it's a powerful educational tool, a study partner, a window into the past and a glimpse of the future,' said Sophie Post, fourth grade history teacher at UK's Falkner House school. 'Teaching history was once a static timeline of events. In leveraging the entire educational ecosystem of iPad, creating my own iBooks Textbooks and iTunes U courses, and pulling in apps like History: Maps of the World, studying history has suddenly become a creative, dynamic and truly transformative experience for my pupils.'
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