Has the Textbook of the Future Arrived?

In case you haven’t heard yet, Apple Inc. announced yesterday that, in partnership with major textbook publishers, it has developed a series of digital textbooks designed for the iPad. (Don’t say we didn’t warn you.) The textbooks, to be listed at $14.99 or less, include multimedia elements such as video, audio, 3-D graphics (for features like study cards), and highlighting functionality. Here’s a demonstration of the Life on Earth science textbook by a YouTube tech reviewer.