Mumbai: iPads replace textbooks in schools

Mumbai: Fifth standard students engaged in studies - no big deal. However, they are not studying on text books but on swanky apple iPads and this is not a concept classroom.

At a universal school in Mumbai every student has an iPod and an iPad most of their teaching is done on iPad applications. They don't even have a computer class but all students have recently been given Macbook airs.

Increasingly Indian schools are introducing apple gadgets in their curriculum. So do we see a future where physical books will become extinct? At least Apple, it seems, is trying to do so.

A new breed of tech-savvy education arises as the Apple iPod and the Apple iPad find their way into the classroom.

Apple on Thursday launched a brand new application called iBooks2 - this free application will bring interactive digital textbooks to the iPad.

Apple also unveiled iBooks Author, a new free application available on the Mac App Store which enables anyone to create a book. There are already some books available with iBooks2- priced at $14.99 each on the iPad.

Head of Universal Schools Pinky Pujara said, "iPad textbooks can be updated real fast unline textbooks."

Tere are already 1.5 million iPads in use in educational programs worldwide. There are over 20,000 education and learning applications for the iPad. With iBooks2, Apple might just reset the education system.

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