Apple is upping the ante with their iPad and iBooks 2.
They’d like to see the textbook replaced with the use of an iPad. I think most students would like to have all of their books on one device rather than carrying a stack of books around.
But is it cost effective?
This infographic found at Mashable has the numbers:
Suprised?
Ryan says
I’m not surprised at all. I suspected that this would be more expensive, at least in high school when otherwise the students don’t have to buy the books. It could be more effective in college/university since at that point the students need to buy a laptop and/or tablet as well as all of their books anyway, although I still don’t even like it then if there aren’t other e-alternatives (Kindle, Kobo, etc) available just on principle of forcing students to buy a particular platform.
ThatGuyKC says
Great infographic. I had wondered what the cost savings of textbook vs iPad would be.
Some other factors to take into consideration though:
– Environmental (how many trees does it take to create textbooks per year)
– Economical (shift from old school publishing industry to digital)
– Health (physical strain of hauling stack of textbooks around)
– Storage (iPads for a classroom would take up less space)
Also, the cost of textbooks might decrease if you consider the implications of eBooks on the publishing industry (i.e., anything written by Seth Godin).
Eric J says
I think it would have been cheaper for me in college, some quarters i spent $300 on books!
ThatGuyKC says
I’ll second that. iPads might not make sense for high school, but in college (grad school) there’s no contest.
Eric Dye says
In Italy, it’s the same kind of deal. We spent $300 USD per kid for 1yr of textbooks for public school. Would have much rather drop money on an iPad.
Jerrod Burris says
Jay,
Thanks for this article – you have changed my mind. I was seriously considering getting an iPad for seminary (even though I have an immense dislike for all things apple, except apple pie) because I thought it might be cheaper than buying all of the books. I guess my Acer tab will have to suffice for all those yearly worship books. Thanks again friend.
Have an awesome day.