Although this is version 1.0 software (e-textbooks), I think the demo is not that impressive...all the repeated hand gestures and pinches. Sure, he may "get used to it" but I find the example video pretty poor on ease of use.
As I said before, it will be decades before e-textbooks are any kind of norm. Although the textbook may be heavy, it just works. Period. Can it be improved with animations and videos and searchability? Sure...but at what cost? Stolen iPads, crashing apps, dead batteries, incompatible OSes (I've seen this plenty with my apps on my iOS devices) and/or new bugs with upgrades, and finally the missing simplicity of opening up a book or bookmarking/dogearing a page...or taking 5 seconds with your pen to write "see page 12 for another example" on the side of any page.
The example also is really nothing more than an encyclopedia section...where's a REAL textbook with paragraphs of info, examples/diagrams, test-your-knowledge questions, and some sample whitespace to "show your work". The video example (regarding mitosis and ants) is not that much of a difference/improvement over MS Encarta '97. Seriously. Sure, there's the whole touchscreen aspect but that's at the iOS level.
Wow. It was just a demo... you also miss the fact, a 5 year old can pick up an ipad and use it better than you can. (Not being rude... it's true. It's awful for your self esteem when your niece shows you up.) I notice a lot of people making similar comments, and it shows your age vs. kids of today. If I weren't involved with so many kids, or didn't keep current on these things, I'd not be much different. Maybe.
I mean, when I was in school, I thought scantron tests were fascinating that they could read your answer with a number 2 pencil...
But to ease some of your concerns:
*ebooks of all kinds are easily bookmarked.... oh, and that scrap of paper doesn't fall out between the pages to have you lose your place when you drop the book.
*schools that sign on with iPads have a free maintenance program with Apple. Hardware failure? Apple swaps out the iPad.
*If every kid has their own iPad, not really a reason to steal someone else's except to be a jerk... and kids have been doing that for a 100 years with whole back packs!
*Again your age... kids are doing more than half their lessons on computers now. When was the last time you went into a classroom?? They're quite different...
*iBooks have been searchable since day 1... might I suggest you download even a sample book of any kind to see how they work? Book marks, highlights, oh.... you can even grab the definition of any word in an ebook without leaving your page, which greatly improves my vocabulary at my age, much less a school kid who otherwise might not take the time to pull a big dictionary off the shelf.
*Notes in the margin of a school book? I think that was always a no no, writing in your books in public school, since other people use them the next year. If I recall, kids take notes in notebooks along side their text books... some old school ideas still are relevant.
*The practice tests in books you mentioned... again, you were never supposed to write in your book and had to record your answer on a seperate piece of paper, right? Well, in this format, a resettable quiz would easily be dropped into the text, and instead of passing your paper to the person behind you for a group check the answers, everyone would get an immediate score. In fact, the app could even generate a study guide for the student on the items they need more study/practice with.
*As for upgrades and compatibility, what do you think schools currently do with computers? They test new software or updates on them before rolling them out to every computer in the school. (Just like your IT department does at work.) Don't forget, the focus is K-12... these kids turn their iPads in at the end of each year. Apple also gives the school these docking carts that iPads get plugged into... you know, for mass updates and refreshes. Beyond K-12, you're dealing with adults who shouldn't have these concerns and would be more responsible. They're already using tablets and laptops anyway.
I'm not trying to poke fun at your concerns, but the bulk of them really just show generation gaps. I know not everyone has probably read and followed the articles and stories about schools who have been using iPads, but this info is all out there. The audience this presentation was for isn't ignorant to these things or Apple's education programs that existed before today.
I highly recommend you try out iBooks since you have IOS devices. It will squalsh half your concerns in just a few seconds.
