After watching the video and reading the following article what are you initial thoughts about the transition Apple is proposing to move away from standard 10 pound textbooks to iBooks that can be read, stored, and used like a normal textbook however incorporate the convenience of the iPad.
How do you think this evolution would affect not only the classroom setting but also society in general? Also, are you in favor of the proposed idea? With the start of the school year in full swing, is this something you wish was an option at WSC?
These articles are from almost a year ago but this is still a current hot topic issue! What are your thoughts?
http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/19/tech/mobile/apple-ibooks-2/index.html
http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2012/01/19/apple-expected-to-unveil-digital-textbook-platform/
I believe that this development in the school system would only cement technology in our everyday lives and not just for recreational use. Whether or not that's a positive outcome I couldn't say. As for if I'm in favor of it or not I'm kind of on the fence. On one hand it's advantageous cost-wise but I prefer having physical books that I can flip through and read the text without a screen. I do think they are on the right track by pointing out how ridiculously expensive textbooks are and I'm sure any student could agree.
ReplyDeleteThere are pros and cons to this proposal. On the bright side, all of your textbooks would be accessible in the same format as well as on the same device. It would also make for a lot lighter load to carry around campus. When you talk about those topics, this idea sounds like a no-brainer. On the other hand, it would be on the iPad with all of the other apps that you have. Getting distracted would be very easy. You also have to consider the fact that if your iPad had problems or if you were to drop it, you are pretty much out of luck until you can recieve a new one, which I'm sure might cost a pretty penny.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think text books on an iPad would be awesome! Having just one little iPad to carry around would be so much more convenient. My back pack literally weighs about forty five pounds with all of my books in it, plus it is usually completely packed. With just an iPad, I would not have to worry about either of those issues any longer!
ReplyDeleteIt might not be a terrible idea for the environment either. The less text books we use as a society, the less trees are cut down for paper. Classroom wise, the iPad text books would make school that much simpler. Everything would be much more organized! I would love it if this were an option at WSC!
I think replacing textbooks with ipads would be a great idea because it would be a new way of learning for students. This would advance the classroom setting immensely because it would be new technology, instead of a standard textbook. I think younger students would be more willing to learn from an ipad than a textbook. I wish this was an option at WSC. At my high school I had a class were we used ipads for projects, homework assignments, and more. We had to keep the ipads in class, but everyone that was there got there assignments done. With technology expanding all the time, I think it is just a matter of time before ipads are in every classroom.
ReplyDeleteI think that this evolution of textbooks could have positive and negative effects on the classroom. Of course, having the new interactive e-books could help some students learn much easier, especially to the kids who don't hear well or don't pay attention to the teacher. However, with the ability to take notes on their iPads, society might see a large number of young students that don't know how to write with a pen and paper. Which, unless the rest of society picks up the slack and becomes digital, could greatly hinder many professions and life in general. I am in favor of expanding text book sales out to multiple companies so their isn't the monopoly that would allow corruption; however, I can see a positive and negative to each side. I'm happy it's not my decision. I'm not really bothered that this isn't an option at WSC because I only have about four textbooks, none of which are as gigantic as in the background at the apple convention. As previously stated, this could help out a great number of students, but where would society turn if we abandoned physically writing our written language? What if there was a crash, apple wanted to raise prices (which it would have the right to do), or Steve Jobs got bored and started writing "STEVE JOBS RULEZ" in every text book? If this became the future, it comes with many e-risks for the e-books that the e-students would use. Also, how would this affect teachers?! Those are the people we should be asking. It is their duty to make sure the kids understand the material.
ReplyDeleteThe transition with technology is crazy in the aspect of how fast things are advancing. I feel that using iBooks would deffinitely take off the heavy strain of books on students. Seeing students interested in technology so much now a days, I can see this proposed idea being a huge success.One down fall would be that schools have been on a tight budget. So for this proposal to be a success much thought would have to go into the question of how will schools get the funding? Learning techniques would become much more simple and even more education would be shifted to online activities as well.
ReplyDeleteThis would be an incredible thing to have at WSC, especially due to the fact that college text books are so expensive. I would embrace the idea of not having to worry about forgetting all of my many books either. It would be nice to have everything stored in one iPad for instance.
After watching these videos from CNN and Fox News, I think it would be a great idea to get rid of the heavy textbooks and replace them with an iPad that would have everything you need on it. I think this could make learning more interesting to students because it gives them an opportunity to be a part of the technology world and see how it can be useful in their lives. The classroom setting would probably be challenging at first because students would probably just want to play on them but overtime they will become very helpful. I do wish this was an option at WSC because depending on what classes you are taking, some students have a lot of heavy books they have to carry around and I think it would be less of a hassle if they had an iPad to work with. I do think though in the near future a lot of schools across the United States will get rid of the textbooks and just strictly go to iPads or some other source of technology for learning purposes.
ReplyDeleteThe technology of the ipad would change the all around experience of the classroom. With more information at our fingertips we not only would learn more, but also save time. However, society tends to become easily addicted to technology, and by replacing hard books with intellectual data can cause some problems such as copyright and a lack of learning how to properly look for information. I believe using these eTextbooks would lead to positive changes in our school systems and also encourage others to learn. One of the disadvantages of eTextbooks that I have experienced is you don't feel quite as much "in control" of the book. Turning to any page you want is more difficult, and you can't easily browse a book like the traditional hard copy. Also reading eTextbooks may be difficult to the eyes for some people. Personally, looking at a screen for too long can be quite annoying. One thing many may not have considered is the effects on our sleep after spending a day staring at a device. For some classes, eTextbooks would be a useful tool, however it can go both ways.
ReplyDeleteThe evolution of the textbook to the iBooks, in my mind is a large step forward in the education field of our country. After watching the videos and reading the articles, iBooks will provide a much more interactive and fun experience for the classroom environment. Children are already so advanced in technology at a young age, that transition from a textbook to the iBook will be easy and exciting for the children. I think that with the evolution of this product, school's will see a higher rate of participation in class and a higher increase in grades. I also think that the evolution of this product when it comes to society, will be a big change for those who are so used the use of textbooks. The older generation I think will have a harder time transitioning because of the traditional curriculum they used growing up, but majority of the population will accept this change because technology is very much engraved in young adult's lives and it is always progressing and changing. I think that the idea of the iBook is a great idea! I would no longer have to pay outrageous prices for books and have to truck them around everywhere. All I would have to carry was one small iPad. I think that the iBook would be a great investment for Williston State College and I hope that in the near future that this product is looked into more for the school setting.
ReplyDeleteWell obviously it will affect the classroom setting because of just how different it would be to have no books and all these ipads replacing them. A generation completely submersed by all this new technology in the classroom, the society would evolve much quicker and with the right teachers, more user friendly. I'm kind of old school I feel like. I like the simplicity of a textbook and how you can actually hold something while your reading. Although with all this new technology, I feel it makes no sense at all to not make new strides in education with the technology. Honestly it depends on the price of this new proposal. If the ipad idea is reasonable and affordable then yes i do wish they were an option.
ReplyDeleteI think the ipad will eventually take over its just a matter of time.
This is the beginning of a technology evolution in the class room. Of course the next step is something more technologically advanced. Not just for students either. I see something like this taking over every sort of paper reading material. Newspapers have already began to be abolished due to articles available over the internet. Magazine, comics, anything we all read in a paper form will soon be all technology. We are in a technology era therefore i feel things like these will be the more common thing it’s just like the cell phone the next step in communicating through technology.
ReplyDeleteI would say i am in favor of these new devices. They seem easy to learn, and is very hands on with the material in the book. It will make learning much easier for the future. Also, I love how no paper or plastic has to be used and i can see this being very good for the world. Less trees would have to be harvested year after year. It would make i big help. Plus it’s all on one iPad. All your books are in one 5 pound device, compared to having a 30 pound backpack. It would make the whole buying books thing not such a hassle. I would be very pleased if i had the opportunity to have access to these through the school. I would purpose of maybe having this available to all student by second semester.
I just started hearing about these books the beginning of the school year. So news on these are defiantly fresh and still a big topic. I see them promoting these e-books on adds on my computer. I think these are going to be a big topic for a long time. It’s the dawning of our future, but I can see a lot of legal matters coming into play so e-books are going to be a topic commonly seen.
I think that the ebooks are a great idea, in some ways itleast. It would definitely be more accessible to have all your textbooks in one tablet versus having 6 very large textbooks. However, there's a study that I looked into not to long ago stating that the use of electronics, whether watching tv or listening to music, or this new ebook, before sleeping will prevent you from getting the rested and appropriate sleep needed. What I'm saying is, I can easily fall asleep reading a textbook, but maybe not a ebook. Which would make studying easier, of course, but not sleeping. I also think that ebooks for the use of younger students like my 13 year old little sister would misuse the tablet. I would personally love to have these on WSC but I don't think they're that great of an idea.
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