Tomorrow Apple will hold an "education" event at the Guggenheim Museum in New York City. Most Mac pundits, including the pundiest of them all (that would be me; did I mention I am modest as well?) believe the event will mark Apple's foray into the education textbook market.
Courtesy of Apple
That Apple wants to shake up the textbook field seems to be a given, but no one outside of Apple knows for sure how far the company plans to go. Here are the most popular rumors swirling about.
Multiple sources, including Bloomberg, predict interactive textbooks running on the iOS and possibly the Mac OS. Apple will probably modify an existing publishing standard to meet its needs, and then publish the standard for other platforms to use. Even with a published standard, iOS and the Mac OS will be the best and easiest platforms to use. Apple will provide the publishing tools for free, and use iTunes for distribution. Apple will reap profits on both textbook sales and iOS hardware sales.
The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) believes that McGraw-Hill has been working with Apple to create the publishing standard and tool set, with the publishing standard based on the EPUB 3 system. In addition to McGraw-Hill, it is also believed that Pearson and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt may be participating in the announcement.
Here's my two cents: The interactive textbook system will include the ability to perform as a test-taking system, allowing students to move through coursework at their own speed, submitting test results as they go.
Whatever's in the works, we will know tomorrow, so stay tuned.