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Live Coverage of Apple's Education-Focused Media Event

E

ericinboston

macrumors 68020
Jan 13, 2008
2,005
476
milo said:
Maybe you only had flimsy textbooks but when I was in college mine tended to be big and heavy, especially when I'd have to take four or five with me which was very common.

The size and weight issue is HUGE, Apple is absolutely right to make that one of the primary selling points.
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I went to college for 4 years...majored in Computer Science with Business Applications. I had lots of computer books, science, and math. Yes, each was well over 300 pages long. Yes, some were heavy...but NONE were some kind of 1200 page monster.

In college, I would attend a few classes each day (usually 3-4) and most had at least 1 hour or more between classes...so I did not need to carry around all 3-4 books every day.

Yes, there were times I had to carry a few books (maybe I was going to the library to study between classes)...but again, backpacks (not just for books you know...billions of hikers use them) are designed to not only CARRY 40+ pounds of material, but to make that weight COMFORTABLE while walking.

I'm not a body builder.

Is size/weight a selling point? Yes. But it's a bit of a stretch. Weight/size is ALWAYS a selling point for any product sold in the world, though. I'm more interested in how/why this new model would be adopted.
 
Small White Car

Small White Car

macrumors G4
Aug 29, 2006
10,966
1,463
Washington DC
c:v said:
I can read a book that is 500 years old but I can't even read my floppy disks anymore. Food for thouhgt. This is not for education, this is for consumation.
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I'd be a little worried if schools were issuing 500 year old textbooks.

That's kind of the point here. Too many schools have the problem of textbooks that are only 10 years old. A lot changes happen in history and science in that time, the books fall behind, and they can't afford to replace them all. Cheaper book prices will let them update their books more frequently.

And that's a positive thing.
 
D

drober30

macrumors 6502a
Jul 5, 2007
840
97
Apple really needs an "education iPad" with a custom iOS that gets rid of any unnecessary apps and does not allow gaming.

As an information technology teacher in a high school with a classroom full of computers and Internet/student flash drives, I know first hand there will be a new level of classroom management that takes place. Not saying teachers cant discipline students who are off ask but why not give students an iPad that is customized just for learning and allow teachers to focus on teaching and not worrying about students playing Angry Birds.
 
basesloaded190

basesloaded190

macrumors 68030
Oct 16, 2007
2,693
5
Wisconsin
ILikeTurtles said:
LMAO what country do you live in?
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The one where it has already been mentioned that schools have already been buying laptops for students. People act as though every school district in the country is broke and barely above water, can't afford pencils or teachers. That's not the case.
 
P

pfarfour

macrumors newbie
Aug 31, 2010
18
7
Who cares if everyone can utilize it or not from the start. I am an average middle class person who has ipads in the house and look forward to these types of tools being available for my kids. I think alot of parents will buy into this especially if the interactive learning provides results with their children.
 
AppleScruff1

AppleScruff1

macrumors G4
Feb 10, 2011
10,026
2,949
Kids carrying iPad will be an even easier target for the junkies and thieves who already steal iPhones and iPads. It will be worse than it was with Nike Air Jordans back in the day.
 
C

codyc815

macrumors member
Jan 7, 2009
68
1
ILikeTurtles said:
LMAO what country do you live in?
Click to expand...

I have a friend who teaches second grade and the school has provided iPads to cover 1/3 of the students at his school. Apple gives discounts and offers refurbished iPads at a lower price to the districts.
 
D

damir00

macrumors 6502a
Oct 30, 2011
744
7
Textbooks, however formatted, have nothing - zero - nada - to do with getting students "interested in learning again".

That's a pipe dream.
 
P

punisher1-1

macrumors member
Mar 28, 2010
57
1
Hopefully they will soon have make this work with college text books that would save a lot of money and being an Iraq vet with a bad back from carrying 120 lbs of gear 12 hours a day for 2 years this would save me some grief as well. Everyone knows technology evolves and paper text books won't be around forever. This would also encourage kids to actually look at their text books instead of just lugging them around. Interactive is the way of future learning.
 
K

KALLT

macrumors 603
Sep 23, 2008
5,361
3,378
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A405 Safari/7534.48.3)

Sadly, still no iWork update. Why am I even hoping for that?
 
ct2k7

ct2k7

macrumors G3
Aug 29, 2008
8,362
3,434
London
KALLT said:
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A405 Safari/7534.48.3)

Sadly, still no iWork update. Why am I even hoping for that?
Click to expand...

Is iWork dead?
 
H

HigherEd

macrumors newbie
Jan 19, 2012
7
0
Shifting the cost of public education

I like the tools, but worry that the idea of iPad-centric books will place financial burdens on the poorest -- those who most need to have a good education, and who can least afford to pay for the whiz-bang technology on display here. Public schools have traditionally supplied books for all their students -- now students have to come up with cash. Insurmountable obstacle? No -- but one to consider seriously.
 
M

mrzeigler

macrumors regular
Oct 15, 2005
159
3
Pittsburgh
ericinboston said:
I went to college for 4 years...majored in Computer Science with Business Applications. I had lots of computer books, science, and math. Yes, each was well over 300 pages long. Yes, some were heavy...but NONE were some kind of 1200 page monster.

In college, I would attend a few classes each day (usually 3-4) and most had at least 1 hour or more between classes...so I did not need to carry around all 3-4 books every day.

Yes, there were times I had to carry a few books (maybe I was going to the library to study between classes)...but again, backpacks (not just for books you know...billions of hikers use them) are designed to not only CARRY 40+ pounds of material, but to make that weight COMFORTABLE while walking.

I'm not a body builder.

Is size/weight a selling point? Yes. But it's a bit of a stretch. Weight/size is ALWAYS a selling point for any product sold in the world, though. I'm more interested in how/why this new model would be adopted.
Click to expand...

Did you live on/near campus or commute?

If you can go back to your dorm or apartment between classes, book weight isn't a big issue.

If you catch a bus or share a ride or even have a car, you're far more likely to have a bookbag filled with all the books you need for the day ... and if you attend an urban college, as I did, you probably park in the cheapest parking spot, which is the farthest from your classes, so you're not going back and forth to your car during the day to pick up/drop off books.
 
S

samcraig

macrumors P6
Jun 22, 2009
16,779
41,982
USA
brookshanes said:
1) You evidently have never shared a locker that was too small for even ONE student.
2) You evidently drive or live very close to school and have a bus service that is free.

This is about the most silver-spooned response I have ever read...

I guarantee kids would choose iPad over physical books, and this is about getting kids excited to learn.
Click to expand...

Talk about silver spooned. The ipad is a luxury device LOL. Ironic.

basesloaded190 said:
Why are you so against this? No one is forcing anyone to 1) buy ipads and 2) buy the books for them. The option is there for those who can to use it.
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I am not against using eBooks in schools. At all. I realistically look at the current landscape and with many friends who are teachers and are forced to buy their own school supplies wonder how iPads will be paid for. Is that unreasonable? Is it unreasonable to question who will shoulder the load of paying for the content - school or individual?

I personally can afford both the iPad and its content. It's not an issue for ME, personally. However I'm not egocentric and understand that there are thousands upon thousands of students and their families (and schools) that this is beyond their means. Do they HAVE to adopt eBooks - of course not. But it's germane to the conversation.
 
R

RickNTpa

macrumors newbie
Nov 7, 2007
19
3
Helotes, TX
AppleScruff1 said:
Kids carrying iPad will be an even easier target for the junkies and thieves who already steal iPhones and iPads. It will be worse than it was with Nike Air Jordans back in the day.
Click to expand...

We were thinking the same thing.. instead of taking their shoes or their lunch money it will be their iPad...

There are a lot of those smaller communities and inner city communities that won't be able to benefit/afford this technology either, let alone the parents...

It's a great attempt, however, I don't think it is a fit all time of fix unfortunately....
 
J

jhende7

macrumors regular
May 19, 2010
150
37
ericinboston said:
I'm more interested in how/why this new model would be adopted.
Click to expand...

Why it will be adopted? If portability was such a non-issue (as you seem to think), there would be no such thing as laptops, and there would definitely be no netbooks/ultra portables.

You ask for evidence of why this will be adopted? Look no further than the fact that the MBA is Apples fastest growing hardware.
 
U

unregbaron

macrumors 6502
Oct 20, 2002
365
399
iBooks Author interests me but these books aren't going to sit on the homescreen with their own icon will they?

You will need to open the iBook app and then find the book?
 
M

mrzeigler

macrumors regular
Oct 15, 2005
159
3
Pittsburgh
drober30 said:
Apple really needs an "education iPad" with a custom iOS that gets rid of any unnecessary apps and does not allow gaming.

As an information technology teacher in a high school with a classroom full of computers and Internet/student flash drives, I know first hand there will be a new level of classroom management that takes place. Not saying teachers cant discipline students who are off ask but why not give students an iPad that is customized just for learning and allow teachers to focus on teaching and not worrying about students playing Angry Birds.
Click to expand...

If the iPads are district provided, how are students getting the password to install all these games?
 
M

marcusj0015

macrumors 65816
Aug 29, 2011
1,024
1
U.S.A.
What don't you people get? if a school gets iPads, they can simply buy one copy of a textbook for $15 and they can get 40 ipads, they can apck moer students to a teacher and they can actually save money.

and what kind of IT would they need? they can't customize iOS, all they'd have to do is keep the apps up to date and sync'd with iTunes, which they can do wirelessly.
 
N

nOw2

macrumors regular
Sep 1, 2009
168
2
c:v said:
I can read a book that is 500 years old but I can't even read my floppy disks anymore. Food for thouhgt. This is not for education, this is for consumation.
Click to expand...
Dude, you mean "consumption", right?..
 
J

jamesaberry

macrumors newbie
Jul 17, 2007
22
0
UK
Perhaps this launch of iBooks 2 and the concentration on selling iPad as a potential textbook replacement is another indication that the new iPad will indeed have a retina display.

Who wants to study a book intensely that is a strain to read.
 
B

Bearxor

macrumors 6502a
Jun 7, 2007
774
503
I was really expecting some sort of price break for education announcement or a smaller iPad focused on textbook usage.

I almost came away from the event coverage with a "If you care about education as much as you claim you do, put your money where your mouth is."

Apple is poised here. They could knock iPad's down to $200 for educational institutions to buy and make it up on the backend through their cut of textbook sales. They could replace textbooks tomorrow if they wanted to. Without that, it's to going to happen.
 
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