Textbooks on the iPad!

[Jeppe]

I saw some tweets when it was first announced and I wasn't sure why folks were carrying on really.

Why would a book made with iBooks Author that's only compatible with the iBooks app be available for other devices?  If I used Amazon's Kindle creator program, I wouldn't expect the book to be used on the Nook or in the iBooks app (or Stanza or Kobo, etc.)

Yeah, I think one of the two main concerns so far, and the one that really bothered me, was the question of copyright and ownership of the actual work, and this seems to stem from confusion over the EULA wording. As I understand it now, and as the quote you posted seems to confirm, Apple only claims ownership of the .ibooks file that you produce - not of its contents per se, which makes it much easier for me to swallow. The problem I saw was that they would presumably own the written work of submitters, while at the same time claiming no liability to loss of profit, even if they decided not to publish it or make it accessible at all.

That said, on the issue of exclusive availability through the iBooks store, they might still have some legal issues as per this article.

[David]

iPads in class energize kids as teachers test how to use them

For 10-year-old Kaitlyn Chin, the first few weeks of school came packed with holidaylike anticipation — especially when the fourth-grader at Legacy Academy in Elizabeth saw boxes delivered to the building.

"I would always hope they were the iPads," she says.

And finally, they arrived — a wave of tablet devices that, combined with other Apple technology, created a schoolwide learning system based largely on the second-generation iPad2.

"The first day we could bring them home, I was up all night," recalls Kaitlyn. "I learned so many things, it really shocked me."

Well into a first, full year of experimentation, many educators also describe a steep learning curve with their introduction to the popular touch-screen tablet. Students use the $600 devices to read novels, shoot videos, conduct research, hone their writing skills and bring new enthusiasm to once-tedious drills on educational basics.

Legacy even credits the new technology for an increase in enrollment.

But the iPad and its growing array of applications remain in their infancy — the device was introduced only two years ago — and it has no significant track record as an educational tool. Some schools are testing iPads alongside PC-based technology to see whether there's an appreciable difference, or whether the buzz is mostly marketing hype.

But some Colorado educators already note a change in classroom culture, whether by employing the devices piecemeal or all-out on a one-to-one, take-home basis.

"We're having tremendous success — not without pitfalls — but it's been a wonderful adventure," says Jason Cross, principal of Legacy Academy, a K-8 charter that issued an iPad to each student. "We're finding new things we can do with the technology every single day."

Read the rest of the article here.

[David]

Schools look for best ideas to protect kids on Internet

As Colorado schools embrace iPads and other take-home technology, some are taking distinctly different approaches to a key question: Who's responsible for online activity on school-issued devices once they leave the filtered safety of the campus?

When Manitou Springs School District 14 discovered kids could gain unfiltered Internet access on some browsers, it initially pulled the tablets from home use. When software solutions proved problematic, responsibility was shifted to parents.

They were asked to sign releases indicating they understood and accepted that students would have online access outside of school or the school could keep that child's device overnight.

At Elizabeth's Legacy Academy K-8 charter school, the principal declined to send iPads home with Internet access until they had sufficient filtering software.

. . .

Manitou Springs 14 Assistant Superintendent Tim Miller said the district has "near unanimous" support for its decision to ask parents to monitor their kids' outside activity online. Middle school principal Chris Burr said only a couple of parents have asked the school to keep custody of the iPads.

"It's not a raging issue, not epidemic at the school level," Burr said. "I'm not confident that it's an issue at home. Sometimes we're creating a problem where one doesn't exist."

But Joe Morin, who has a daughter in the district, said that while he's pleased with the iPads, he feels the administration has taken a "bad step" in content protection.

He likens the situation to the school sending home a textbook full of inappropriate content and asking parents to monitor which pages their student sees.

"It's an unacceptable and unreasonable expectation for parents to be Internet police for a school-provided device," Morin said.

Legacy principal Jason Cross gave iPads this year to every student. But when he discovered that the tablets would allow unfiltered access at home, he balked at letting them leave school.

Scott Walter, president of Legacy's board and also a parent, could see the dilemma.

"From a school standpoint, he's got to do what keeps the school from any liability — I get that," Walter said. "From a personal aspect, we monitor where our kids go online. It wouldn't have been an issue at our household. But there are others where it would have been."

Click here for the full article.

[David]

Apple tweaks the fine print behind its iBooks Author software