Apple's January 2012 education event: reinventing the textbook

When Apple released iBooks Author as part of its education event in January, one element of the End User License Agreement raised some eyebrows: namely, it specified that works created with the tool could be offered for sale only through Apple services such as the iBookstore. Today Apple released a 1.0.1 update to the application — whose sole listed change is a revised EULA — that makes the company's intentions a bit clearer. According to the new language, Apple is only requiring products be sold through their channels if the work is finished in the company's .ibooks format — which, as you may expect, only works with iBooks in the first place. Text or PDF files generated with the application aren't placed under any such restrictions, allowing users to layout their book with iBooks Author, and then sell it as they see fit. For-free works, as before, are not restricted in any way whatsoever.

Some had interpreted the previous language — which defined a "Work" as "any book or other work you generate" with the app — as Apple claiming ownership of the words and images within a title itself. The new language makes it clear Apple is referring only to the .ibooks file generated with the application, and should put such fears to rest. We've included some of the language changes below.

Apple introduced a number of new products and initiatives at its event in New York this morning, including textbook support in iBooks 2, the iBooks Author content creation tool, and a new iTunes U app for iOS. If our hands-on impressions and liveblog didn't leave you sated, Apple has now posted video of the event itself. It's available for streaming on the company's website, or if you'd rather have a copy for safekeeping, you can download it through iTunes as one of Apple's video podcasts.

After iBooks Author's announcement and release today, would-be writers began delving into the tool to see how it worked and what restrictions might be placed on it. Unfortunately, one of those restrictions is relatively onerous: Apple's End User License Agreement stipulates that books created with the tool can only be sold through Apple's iBookstore. As with other content sold through Apple's store, the company takes a 30 percent cut of all sales. Dan Wineman made the initial discovery, which applies only to books that are to be sold, not to books that are meant to be given away for free. iBooks Author can export to text, PDF, or Apple's custom iBooks format, which Erica Sadun notes is a variant on the ePub format. An exported iBooks Author file can apparently be massaged into a more traditional ePub file (minus Apple's iBooks-specific features) as well. So while it's not easy to use iBooks Author to create ebooks that could be read by non-Apple devices, it's theoretically possible.

The troubling aspects of Apple's EULA are twofold. First, it's chilling to release a content creation tool — even if free — that restrictions the author's ability to distribute or sell works created with that tool. As Wineman points out, it would be analogous to "Adobe declaring that if you use Photoshop to export a JPEG, you can’t freely sell it to Getty." The effect of the policy is to flat-out prohibit the selling of printed copies of the book. Secondly, all iBooks made available for sale in the iBookstore are wrapped in Digital Rights Management software that limits their distribution to Apple's iBooks app, which severely limits the ability to archive, share, or re-sell any for-sale ebook created with the software.

The iTunes U desktop app has always provided students and non-students alike with access to lots of higher-education course materials, but it hasn't been accessible or very user friendly. The new iTunes U iPad app changes that, and is so completely chock-full of interesting college course material that it makes me want to be a full-time iTunes U student.

The app itself is extremely straightforward. Apple's Eddy Cue said it was built to look a lot like iBooks, and he wasn't lying: when you download a specific course or lecture it appears on your iTunes U mahogany bookshelf. The course sheet is laid out to look like a spiral notebook with dividers; along the right side there's an Info tab (with the course description), a Posts tab (with a description of the course materials), a Notes tab (where you can take notes), and a final Materials tab (with a bare-bones lists of videos, audio, and other files). It's simple to navigate, and within a few minutes of downloading the app I was browsing through Yale's "Autism and Related Disorders" course.

Sitting on the floor of the Guggenheim Museum just following a big Apple event gives you a little time to think. And there was plenty of food for thought here.

The company today began its official upending of the textbook market by launching a suite of new software, including iBooks 2 for iPad and iPhone, iBooks Author, and a new version of iTunes U.

Alright, I just fired up iBooks Author, which is a free download from the Mac App Store. It installed quickly, and after selecting a template I was editing my first-textbook in moments. The single-window interface is just like any other modern iWorks app, and Apple isn't offering it for free for lack of features. Like Josh mentioned in the liveblog, the app is a mix of Keynote and Pages, with drag and drop layout tools and a sidebar of "slides" representing the table of contents.

We just downloaded our copy of iBooks 2 so we can dig into Life on Earth and give you our first impressions. iBooks 2 installs easily and doesn't have any changes on the surface — but when you flip over to the book store, you're presented with Life on Earth as book of the week and a large banner highlighting the new textbooks store. For now, there's only seven textbooks for $14.99 each as well as the free download of Life on Earth. The books range in size from about 750MB to nearly 3GB for the Biology textbook — a full set would take up most of a 16GB iPad's storage.

As for Life on Earth itself, it runs extremely well even on the original iPad we tested it on. Movies load quickly, page turns are smooth, and embedded animations work without a hitch. Images are particularly engaging, as most go full-screen with a tap, and also contain a number of other related images to swipe through as well. The download process was slightly painful, but that could be due to a large number of people hitting Apple's servers all at once.

Apple has had its iTunes U offering for quite awhile, which has provided professors a digital hub to communicate with students, but it was only a matter of time before an iPad and iPhone app was released to compliment the service. While Apple's Eddy Cue said the new iTunes U app was designed to look a lot like iBooks 2, the app is strictly a portal for accessing all types of educational materials, including a class syllabus, full course notes and videos, as well as iBooks notes.

The gallery below should give you a good idea of the layout and the drastic design changes, but you should also be able to try it out for yourself later today. Even if you aren't a full-time student, there's educational content to peruse; Apple has teamed up with some of the world's top universities (Duke, Harvard, etc.) to offer course materials to the non-full-time students of the world (that includes lecture videos, etc.). Additionally, while iTunes U used to just be available for university students and professors, Apple is now making it accessible to K through 12 teachers and students. The free app will be available today.

At Apple's "Education Event" today at the Guggenheim Museum in New York City, the company announced a number of new partners for its iPad-based education programs. Pearson, McGraw Hill, and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt — which together make 90 percent of the textbooks currently available — will be filling the new "Textbooks" category in iBooks 2 with high-school level textbooks, and are piloting the new iBook Author app as well. Their books will cover every subject and level of study for high-schoolers, and all will be available for $14.99 or less at launch. That price appears to be where Apple wants to keep things, too: publishers will be able to set their own prices, but only in return for selling them exclusively through iBooks, so $14.99 appears to be the standard option for now.

Apple's also working with the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation and DK Publishing to launch new books like Life on Earth, and to bring some of the publishers' current apps to the iBook store. Authors will have "total freedom in terms of laying out text and graphics" in the new, immersive textbooks (though there seem to be plenty of unifying design elements, like pinching to get to the Table of Contents). The new apps are available now, so you can go check out the companies' handiwork in the new iBooks 2 store. And, if you're like us, you can wish you were back in high school so you could throw away your huge backpack and get an iPad.

Wondering how in the world publishers will be able to make those fancy new iBooks 2 textbooks? iBooks Author is the answer. Apple has just announced that it will be rolling out a Mac app that assists will make it fairly simple to design and format these new interactive textbooks, allowing users to embed HTML, 3D objects, interactive image galleries, Q&A, and so on — and you can publish to Apple's iBookstore from right inside the app. Additionally, published books can be updated by their authors... granted, math doesn't change very often, but it'll still be useful for correcting typos and errata.

iBooks Author is available for free from the Mac App Store starting today.

Apple has just announced iBooks 2 for the iPad at its education event in New York City, calling them a "new textbook experience." The newly designed books are graphical, interactive, and make use of features like 3D imaging, embedded video, and multitouch gestures. The company seems to be taking cues from several applications which have been available for the iPad such as Frog Dissection and Solar System, both of which Apple called out at the event. They're also beefing up the notetaking functionality of the iPad, and the books will be available for purchase in the iBookstore directly. No news on content partnerships yet, which is unquestionably the biggest hurdle, but we have a feeling Apple has a few announcements to come in that area today.

If all the rumors are correct, Apple is hoping to shake up the textbook publishing market tomorrow morning with a set of ebook creation tools. That may not sound like the most exciting announcement in the world, but as they say, our children's future is at stake — not to mention the width of the pocketbooks that will be funding their education. Plus, this will be Apple's first major event since Steve Jobs passed away, so there will be giant shoes to fill on stage. To watch how Apple does it with photos and commentary from the best livebloggers in the business, live at the Guggenheim Museum in NYC, just click on the following link and come back tomorrow morning at 10AM ET / 7AM PT.

Click here for the Apple Education Event live blog!

Ars Technica is reporting that Apple's media event in New York on Thursday won't necessarily be about generic education partnerships to release textbooks, but instead be an unveil of a new tools that together are described as "GarageBand for e-books." The new tools are said to make interactive ebook creation much easier than currently-available software tools and may partially be based on the now-defunct iWeb software. Ars says that Steve Jobs himself was directly involved in the project for "several years," backing up claims previously seen in Jobs' biography. Apple may also announce support for the ePub 3 standard in iBooks and as a possible output of these new rumored tools.

In addition to the new tools, the Wall Street Journal suggests that Apple will also unveil what many were already expecting: new textbooks that are optimized for the iPad. Apple is also expected to announce partnerships with textbook publishers — McGraw Hill specifically has reportedly been working with Apple, but other companies such as Pearson PLC have also been rumored to have engaged in talks with the company.

Just as we had heard, Apple's holding an "education event" on January 19th in New York City. Obviously the invite above doesn't reveal too much — unless Apple's planning on revamping the New York skyline — but there have been strong rumors of Apple getting into the textbook distribution game and optimizing educational content for the iPad. We'll let our minds run wild, but expect full, live coverage from the Guggenheim Museum on January 19th starting at 10:00AM EST right here.