ANALYSIS
APPLE MAKES BOLD MOVES IN INTERACTIVE E-TEXTBOOK MARKET
Apple’s recent announcements about its tools for interactive textbooks take the company deeper into the world of e-books. Andrew Williams looks at what the news means for publishers and students
E
arlier this year, Apple made a bold move for a slice of the digital textbook market with the launch of two new products – iBooks 2, which enables publishers to create interactive textbooks for those students with access to iPads, and iBooks Author, designed to allow authors to create their own interactive textbooks.
Changing the conversation Bill Kasdorf, vice president, content solutions at Apex CoVantage is confident that the capabilities these tools provide will prove very useful to students. He also dismisses the findings of surveys that claim students don’t particularly care for e-textbooks. ‘What those surveys usually fail to make clear is that the digital textbooks students have been offered so far have mainly been “replicas” of the print books, often with less functionality than the print books,’ he says. ‘One of the biggest benefits of Apple’s announcements will be to change the conversation [to say] okay, these digital textbooks really do provide useful pedagogical features that print books can’t,’ he adds. Kasdorf believes that the new apps will be popular with teachers, especially with those who want to create customised resources for their students. He also thinks the tools
Apple’s interactive textbooks could be more engaging for students, but iPads may be too expensive for many
will catalyse the market and spur other companies to create similar or related tools, hopefully resulting in a ‘much more dynamic, creative, personalised approach to teaching and learning – not only with the Apple tools, but with others as well.’ Jane Tappuni, business development director at Publishing Technology, is also excited about the prospect of students using immersive, interactive textbooks that could ultimately be more engaging to use than their paper counterparts. However, on the downside, she highlights the fact that Apple’s iPad is likely to be too expensive for many students. She fears that access to the new tools could become the preserve of elite private schools and more well-off students. For her, a key question to ask is whether books could be provided by school libraries or need to be purchased on an individual basis.
iBooks Author should enable academics to create their own textbooks
14 Research Information APR/MAY 2012
‘The access model for a class purchase of these titles will be interesting to see. If there
are multiple devices in a school there will be the need for some support, so who will support any IT issues?’ she wonders. Tappuni is enthused by the prospect that teachers could use the iBooks Author tool to create bespoke and relevant course material for classes. However, she stresses the added complication related to clearing permissions and paying royalty on the content created. ‘The supply of new interactive text books for students via the iPad might also spark an interesting shift in the student – teacher dynamic. As the engagement of students changes from watching the teacher to watching the screen, will teachers be guiding their students though the process of interacting with the iPad rather than lecturing?’ she adds.
Accessing the tools
Early indications are that the new Apple tools will be very simple to use and access. However, some commentators remain
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