My daughter is a junior in high school. She takes seven classes, the maximum her school will allow. I believe she weighs 115 lbs. Some days I think her backpack weighs 112 lbs. Not to mention the fact that, on many days, she also lugs her laptop to school in a separate bag.
Why has this taken so long?
The obvious answer is that there is a lot of friction when it comes to change in our education systems. My first gig in consumer technology was to market Brøderbund's vaunted software products to educational users. While individual teachers were often enthusiastic adopters, their hands were just as often tied by bureaucracy and institutionalized SOP's. The effect is magnified when it comes to something as basic as textbooks. (I am proud to say that my fabulous alma mater, Duke University, has been using iTunes U - which is also getting an update today - for some time.)
Apple's step today is a rather small one on the surface -- high school texts only, and only eight books in total at present -- but as we all know, small steps at Apple tend to have giant reverberations in the marketplace. Steve Jobs regarded this as "The Next Big Thing," and there is little doubt that he was right on the money.
Of course, the revolution will not be confined to iPads. And eventually, it will not be confined to affluent kids whose parents can afford tablets. If you need convincing, take a look at One Laptop Per Child's tablet initiative, which is producing a Marvell-backed tablet capable of running Android, Windows Mobile and Ubuntu, which also operates as a WiFi hotspot, and which is expected to cost $75 per unit.
Personally, I'm looking forward to living in a portably literate world. I hope JanSport is taking a look at some new markets, as those ever-present college-campus backpacks may soon become a thing of the past.
(Image from Gizmodo.)
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