Yesterday's Apple event was entirely devoted to a single topic: the efforts of the company in the field of education. Apple announced a new version of iBooks - e-book reader software application for creating eBooks - iBook Author, an updated iTunes U educational portal and, most importantly, the new format textbooks.
Why Apple took textbooks?
Apple interest in the field of education is not accidental.
- All last year, American schools and colleges have launched pilot programs in which students receive iPads.
- Tablet was written 20 thousand educational applications.
- About 1.5 million students are using aypad learning.
And it would be strange if the producer did not support the tablet your own product in this area.
But there is a second reason: the issue of textbooks - it is a very big market. Wired results data on the largest publishers in the world. And let these publishers just textbooks.
Sami books are quite expensive. Books that are purchased as part of the school program cost about 20-50 dollars. University students account for more complicated: there is the cost of one textbook can reach 100-200 dollars. Those. several of these benefits can easily recoup the tablet computer.
Finally, in the publication of textbooks for the past decade, almost no change. As produced paper books, so let them. Is that the paper became better.
What inspired the company to create a new textbook format?
The first version of the iBooks app was quite simple. The program tries to mimic the familiar book: pagination, turning effect, footnotes, etc. However, the iPad for educational literature offers more features. The publisher could implement in the audio commentary book (for example, quotes prominent figures), video, interactive maps, and animation. Benefit from all this, it would be much more.
The first is realized Mike Matas, a distinguished designer of our time. Mike - undoubted talent. Do not they have had a vocational education (he even graduated from high school), Matas has a fantastic intuition and experience. He began to design interfaces in 15 years, sitting in the Omni Group (the most famous products of this brand - OmniFocus and OmniPlan). At age 18, Mike was the co-founder of Delicious Monster. This company has developed Delicioius Library application - electronic catalog of books, movies, music, games, etc. Program at one time offered a fantastically interesting interface, for which he received the Apple Design Award Award. Apple could see in Matas potential and offered the job. So Mike, who was then 19 years old, began to create interfaces for Mac OS X (Time Machine - most famous work) and iOS ( "Card", "Camera", "Photos" were invented precisely to them).
One of the works Matas. Photos from the site cocoia.com
Aypada output in 2010 has led to such consequences that Apple is unlikely to expect. Key developers and designers have decided to leave the company to focus on creating their own applications for the apple tablet. For example, Evan Doll, one of the first engineers in the iPhone team, engaged in the creation Flipboard - "social" magazine for the iPad.
He left and Matas, who founded the company Push Pop Press. PPP was engaged in the development of tools that would produce e-books in the format of applications. In this direction, they were able to succeed. Their very first book, Our Choice Al Gore, was a sensation and brought the Apple Design Award.
Al Gore's Our Choice Guided Tour from Push Pop Press on Vimeo.
Push Pop Press was ready to release an application for the creation of such books. But this time they bought Facebook. Social network publishing business was not interested, the company was only interested in employees. Therefore, Push Pop Press was closed, and all the developers have moved to Facebook, where they began work on iOS-applications.
New textbooks, which announced Apple's, very similar to that developed by a team Matas. Mike himself on Twitter and on his page on FB He hinted Apple on the lack of originality of ideas.
book format and tools to create them
It was assumed that the Push Pop Press will publish books in plain iOS-applications. Apple acted differently. To typeset the book uses the open EPUB 3 format, which uses XHTML and CSS for layout of text, JavaScript - for the introduction of interactivity, the SVG - for working with graphics. Used because Apple specifications entirely should not be, there are differences.
The main tool for creating books will iBooks Author, developed by Apple. The free program allows you to typeset a book, add photo galleries, movies, Keynote presentations, and even 3D-objects in them. Support for multi implemented using special widgets.
iBooks Author can seriously change the publishing business. And it's not just an extremely simple interface, where all problems are solved by drag-n-drop, or in a set of beautiful templates. Just Apple has set the highest possible price for books created with iBooks Author - no more than 15 dollars.
For most authors writing - not the main source of income. Usually they are doing in their spare time. Now we have an opportunity to publish a book, bypassing publishers. But to sell it on the Internet is easier than offline.
iBooks Author imposes several limitations. The most serious: if the writer wants to sell the book, created in the program, the only online distribution channel can be iBookstore. No "I'm going to sell books from its site" or "Amazon Kindle is also a good option." Books created in iBooks Author, iBooks 2 only can be read (and, until it can be done only on the iPad). Seem draconian such conditions? Use Pages, Pandoc and Scrivener, who have the support epub. But note: in this case, the book will be deprived of interactivity.
What are the new books?
While in the iBookstore are available in all eight books. I downloaded a free Wilson's Life on Earth book, and then, unable to resist, and even bought a textbook of geometry for grades 8-12. Books look insanely beautiful. With these studies can become a passion for life.
Textbooks in the new format reminiscent of a wonderful symbiosis encyclopedia, expensive glossy magazine and video lectures. Weigh such tomes considerably - up to 3 GB of each book. Keep in mind that the pages in such books a lot - more than 2 thousand.
I was absolutely delighted material feed. Colorful illustrations and bright colors. New terms are introduced before each chapter by clicking on which you can find definitions. In the course of the book, there are useful facts and colors. And highlights the points that are required to meet the standards of education Common Core State Standards.
The theory is given gradually dispensed. A lot of examples and practices that help to learn the material. After each lesson the student questions and waiting for the building. Can learn on their own, because solutions are available in a single tap.
Remarkably arranged work with notes. Each selection of text or a note turn in cards for memorizing. Remember, when in school and in high school, memorizing terms and dates we do cards, where on one side of the issue, and on the back - the answer? Now it's all done automatically, no need to cut anything out of paper. Prepare for tests and exams became more convenient.
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Elapsed event promises to be passing, ordinary, but in the end everything turned out great. Apple is trying to make knowledge in general and in particular textbooks more affordable, and the educational process - fun. When they say that the new books Apple - this is the third most important event (after the invention of the alphabet and the printing press), telling the whole story. But just a little, just a little bit.