Textbooks on the iPad- Is it really a game changer?

Apple has announced that it is now taking the leap into textbooks. They have integrated textbooks into the iPad with the release of iBooks 2. Apple claims that this will fundamentally change the way students learn and the way teachers teach, but before anything like this can happen there are several hurdles to overcome. Unfortunately, Apple being Apple has put some unnecessary walls in place to make the adoption of electronic textbooks using iBooks more difficult than necessary.

For one thing, the cost is going to play a key factor. Even though Apple claims that the textbook cost could be as low as $15 annually, this neglects to include the cost of the iPad into the equation. Currently in K-12, textbooks are often used for several years spreading out the current cost of a textbook throughout its years of usage.  It may work better for higher education or private schools where the cost could be thrown into the cost of tuition, or the students could be expected to pay for the device for their own personal usage.

There is also the cost of the hardware needed to take advantage of iBooks. The cheapest iPad is $499, and that doesn't include any accessories like a case to protect the device. The typical lifespan of one of these devices is expected to be about 2 years. This could be either diminished or extended based on the usage of the device. So in a best case scenario, a public school would most likely have to spend about $500 per device per student every two years.

Needless to say, this would be a very costly endeavor for a public school to implement. Potentially, a school could apply for a grant to cover the initial cost of the devices, but after they are purchased, there is still the problem of maintaining them. When looking at all of these factors, it begins to become obvious that this would be difficult to sustain.

Apple to Make a "Big" Education Announcement in the "Big Apple"

On January 19, Apple is planning on making an education announcement. There are rumors that Apple will attempt to gain a foothold on the textbook publishing industry. Apparently, this was one of the goals that Steve Jobs had prior to his passing.

There have been several other tablet manufacturers that have made attempts into that market with lackluster appeal. The Kno Tablet which has transitioned to an app available on Apple's App Store, or the failed Entourage Edge. With the wide adoption of the iPad by many educational institutions, will the iPad accomplish what others have not been able to?

Of course, this is all speculation. On January 19, we'll have a better idea of what their plans are for education.

Microsoft Academic Search

Microsoft has a new beta service out. It's called Microsoft Academic Search. It is still in beta which basically means that it is still a work in progress, but there seems to be a lot of potential. It is still fairly functional in its current state.

As of this posting, they have roughly 27 million publications to search through. It appears that Microsoft Academic Search is a search engine geared specifically towards searching through academic publications. It appears to offer similar functionality to the Google Scholar, but it's also broken down into various categories.


Here is the URL to the new service: http://academic.research.microsoft.com.

Should I get a Stylus for my iPad or tablet?

Sometimes your finger is too large for doing any type of fine detail input. In those instances, a stylus is the best route to go. Targus makes a very affordable stylus.

Should you get one? It all depends upon whether or not you feel your hand isn't giving you the precision that you would like when working with your tablet. There are certain scenarios and apps that are better suited towards the usage of a stylus. Hand writing or note taking could make such an accessory essential.

A stylus is also great for creative apps like Sketchbook Express for the iPad. Sketchbook Express is a great program for doing illustrations. It has alot of functionality and the free version is pretty powerful, but there is also a pay version that includes additional features.

Blended Learning Toolkit

The University of Central Florida, along with a consortium of other schools, has just recently unveiled a toolkit for helping faculty members and instructional technologists to develop online courses.
The toolkit focuses specifically on the area of blended courses, or courses that have both face-to-face and online components.

The best part about it . . . it's absolutely free to use. They posted it using a creative commons license.

Need Extra Mobility for your iPad Classroom? Get a Cart.

Bretford PowerSync Cart for iPad.

Carrying one iPad around is easy, but what if you have to do that same thing with 30 of them? If you find yourself in this situation and you need of an easy way to carry 30 iPads, Apple along with Bretford, offers a solution that may be of interest.



The solution is the Bretford PowerSync Cart for iPad. The cart is not necessarily cheap at $2,599.95, but it does do more than just allow you to wheel around 30 iPads.

The cart includes the following features:

• Charge, sync, store, and secure up to 30 iPad Wi-Fi or iPad Wi-Fi + 3G devices
• Courtesy outlet perfect for accompanying MacBook, Mac mini, or AirPort Base Station.
• Ships fully assembled, including 30 charge & sync cables, ready to go.

Use your Kindle's Text to Audio Feature to Listen to Documents on the Road

One of the greatest, and seldom used, features of the Kindle is its ability to convert text to audio using the Text-to-Speech feature. This feature allows you to listen to the text of supported file formats (this feature can be toggled on and off by pressing the shift + sym keys). This only works on certain books published in the Kindle store, but it can also be used on files that you send to your Kindle email account.

This is how it works. When you setup a Kindle account, you get a special Kindle email account (usually something like username@kindle.com). Any documents that you send to this email account with the subject "Convert" will be converted to the native Kindle format. As long as it is a file that Kindle can recognize, you will then be able to listen to the text using a Kindle device.

It's great to use this feature if you want to multitask. On your next commute, you can take advantage of this feature by listening to any documents that you may need to catch up on.