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Check out The Wonder of Tech in today’s Philadelphia Inquirer
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The future of education is tech and the future of textbooks is Inkling. Inking is the creator of university-level textbooks for the iPad. Last week, I interviewed Matt MacInnis, the CEO of Inkling about its textbooks.
According to Mr. MacInnis, Inkling takes a textbook, disassembles all of the component parts and builds it back up again for the iPad, making use of interactive features, including 3D images and videos, to enhance the reader’s experience. Inkling plans to have about 100 titles available by the end of this year and hundreds more next year as their rate of production increases.
This video from Inkling demonstrates the features of their books:
http://vimeo.com/30462649
Inkling textbooks have edition, page and figure numbers that correspond to physical textbooks. So when a professor instructs you to “Open your books to page 263 and view figure 2-A,” you can follow his direction exactly.
Ultimately, Inkling would like to replace traditional textbooks which would eliminate coordination issues. “We don’t want to be constrained by the linear structure of the book, we’d rather be building things that are hierarchical and exploratory. Inkling is built to handle the future.”
Updates are free. Once you buy an Inkling book, Mr. MacInnis says, “it’s always up to date. It’s always the latest and the greatest, even if you bought it two years ago. Nobody has to worry about numbers because everyone is always in sync. I think the beauty of it is that it just magically keeps everybody in the world on the same page.”
Inkling books are generally less expensive than physical textbooks. To help further manage costs, Inkling offers the ability to purchase chapters individually, usually for $2.99 each. If a professor isn’t going to cover every chapter in the textbook, you don’t need to buy those chapters.
One downside to Inkling textbooks, as with all ebooks, is the inability to re-sell the books. Mr. MacInnis explains, “Students don’t get upset because they’re paying less for the content to begin with. People purchase the content that they need and their access to the content is perpetual but it’s not transferable.”
Inkling offers books in which professors have set up their own set of notes and highlights for the class so students can follow along. These books offer “both peer-to-peer collaboration among students and the interaction that the students get with the professor and with experts,” according to Mr. MacInnis.
“A number of our titles have the author or an authorized expert that lives in that book with the students. And they are designated by a special color so the student knows that they’re actually having a conversation with the Pulitzer Prize winning author of this history book. Or they’re having another conversation with a doctor at a separate med school about the anatomy textbook. You never would have imagined, even a year ago, having a conversation inside a textbook with an expert like that.”
If all of these amazing features of Inkling textbooks make you wish you were back in school again, check out Inkling’s version of The Professional Chef textbook for The Culinary Institute of America. Mr. MacInnis says, “It’s largely regarded as the Bible for American cuisine.”
Inkling released Pro Chef last week in the iTunes App Store for $49.99 or $2.99 a chapter and gave me a copy of the book to test.
Pro Chef is 1239 pages as a physical textbook and reviews on Amazon warn against trying to leave it open as a cookbook on the kitchen counter. No problem leaving it open on the iPad.
Pro Chef is more than a cookbook with recipes. It’s also an instruction manual that teaches cooking techniques. You learn about cuts of meat, methods of cooking and cooking terms in the book.
By using this book, it’s easy to see the value in having the Inkling book on the iPad. Keeping it on the kitchen counter isn’t an issue. Hauling the book around is easy as it resides on the iPad. Watching videos is extremely helpful in learning how to master a technique. Seeing feedback from others is also useful in understanding how best to prepare the recipes.
If you know someone with an iPad who likes to cook, Pro Chef would make a great holiday present. Buy the whole book or just a chapter or two, with a gentle hint that you want to sample the food!
The Inkling App is free in the iTunes App Store here: Inkling. You can purchase chapters or entire books from within the app. One chapter of each book is free.
Are you excited about the future of tech in education? Do Inkling books make you wish you were in college now? Let us know in the Comments section below!
Thanks for sharing this important information. You are always ahead of the curve on where we are headed with tech. Someday when Inkling and similar tablet-form textbooks are as common as backpacks and gym shorts in our schools, I hope all of your readers will remember where they heard this first!
Hi Kathy, Thank you for your kind words. I get very excited about innovative tech and Inkling definitely fits in that category. The company is wisely taking a measured approach and focusing on university level textbooks before they turn their attention to K-12, but I look forward to the time when Inkling expands in that direction. Kids get excited about learning when they have interactive features such as those in the Inkling textbooks!
Wow – this is an amazing revelation, it would really change the way students have access to their study material. Imagine students using their iPADS to refer back to the chapter being taught in the class. That is the height of technological advancement!! The Chef Book also sounds very interesting and moreover it is very interactive, need to check it out on Android whether they have the same App.
Hi Praveen, Yes, Inkling books are a major technological advancement over printed textbooks. Access to the interactive features as well as communication with other students and experts takes learning to a new level.
Inkling is only on the iPad for now. The iPad has a large majority of the tablet market, so Inkling is focusing only on the iPad as it expands the number of university textbooks it publishes.
Incredible. Absolutely incredible. Considering what I paid for my eldest daughter’s University textbooks the last 2 years ($1,000++), this seems like a very exciting turn of events!!
Hi Ruth, You’re right, in addition to the innovative features, Inkling can offer real cost savings over physical textbooks. Of course, the student has to have an iPad, but with the amount saved on buying physical textbooks, the iPad may pay for itself!
Truly Amazing!
With education costs soaring so much nowadays, Inkling sure seems the right thing. Wish we had such a thing during our times! Even ProChef sounds interesting for those interested in cooking. All this seems so revolutionary!
Thanks for sharing all this information with everyone- I guess we would never have known about Inkling at all 🙂
Hi Harleena, I agree, I wish Inkling had been around when I was in college. Studying would have been much more interesting and fun. Pro Chef is very impressive. Anyone with an iPad should download at least the free chapter to see what Inkling can do. 🙂
That would have been a life changer for me had something like that been invented when I was in school. Wow, asking someone for help when I didn’t understand something but the way they have that set up, you can access videos or more indepth information from each page. Now that’s just too cool.
I can see where in the future, learning can end up being kind of fun!
Thanks for sharing and great interview Miss Published Author! Love that you still have the gig going over at the Philadelphia Inquirer. Congrats Carolyn!
~Adrienne
You’re right, Adrienne, wouldn’t it have been great to have these textbooks when we were in college? The many ways Inkling textbooks can teach a student has to enhance the learning process.
Thanks for your kind words, Adrienne. I am very honored to have The Wonder of Tech appear in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Very interesting. The students I help in China have no text books this year, just eBooks to view on their laptops and books from the library. That reminds me I have an essay to check before I go to bed!
Hi Mike,
I wonder what the Chinese students’ textbooks are like. Many ebook textbooks are merely PDF’s of the printed pages. What sets Inkling apart is the interactive features and the ability to interact with others. But you’re right, textbooks of the future will be less likely to be printed books.
Carolyn, aloha. This was absolutely fascinating to me. It makes so gosh darn much sense. This is a win-win for all involved–especially the environment. Without going off on a tangent, think of the trees that will be saved and the difference in the carbon footprint because the paper text books are not being printed. Fantastic.
Because more information is readily available and because it all changes so quickly, I would imagine that many teachers do use only a few chapters out of a book. What a tremendous savings.
Carolyn, I so appreciate all the great information you bring to my attention.
Best wishes for a terrific Thursday. Until next time, aloha. Janet
P.S. Left you a message in NP re PI.
Hi Janet, I agree, the savings to the environment alone would be a great reason to switch to ebooks. Another great reason is that the backpack load is lightened. I can’t believe how heavy my kids’ backpacks are. One of the Inkling anatomy textbooks is over 1000 pages. An iPad is much lighter and can hold all of a student’s textbooks.
A great Blog.
Hi Jerry, Thanks so much! I’m glad you’re enjoying the blog. 😀
Hi Carolyn,
I’ve never heard of Inkling, but from what you’ve written and the demo, this is very exciting. As you know, I work at a University in Norway, and I can truly understand how important this will be to both teachers and students. Always being in sync, and probably being able to share notes as part of the class lectures, would be awesome features.
I just wish I would have had something similar to this when I was a student 🙂
Hi Jens, Do you have a US iTunes account? You could check out Inkling and some free chapters to see if they are a good fit for your university. It’s such exciting technology, you should take a peek.
I’m with you there, I so wish they had this when I was a student. I would have loved to have these textbooks. Hey, is it too late for med school? I could go just to use the textbooks! :-B
Unfortunately, I don’t have a US iTunes account. I have been thinking about getting one, because then I could get access to a lot more stuff on iTunes and maybe even Netflix (if I started to use a VPN service).
It’s never to late to go back to school 🙂
Hi Carolyn,
Remember me? I asked you about iphone storage of songs last time out and you really came forward and helped me out. Sorry I was out of touch. It’s just that you tech blog is too much for a technology blur for me to follow. But anything on education jumps at me. Seeing textbook for me makes me exciting.
I would love to show you a picture here. Please click the link Backpacks of today
This is what our elementary school kids face everyday – lugging school bags half their size to school everyday. But these days, innovation have also helped to alleviate their burden by making the school bags like traveling luggages with wheels. My 4 year old girl goes to preschool like this. I am not sure if your education system has similar trends.
My point is this: how long will it take my education system to use technology like what you mention here to improve the lives of our student? Kids should no longer have to lug huge bags around anymore. In fact, each should be equip with an ipad and that’s it. School books, homework, projects, discussion and all in one little 500g device.
I personally believe that there is a conspiracy going on between my education ministry and text book sellers to remain paperful. What a shame.
Hi Jimmy, Yes, I certainly do remember you! Delighted to have you back at The Wonder of Tech. I’m so glad I was able to help you last time, but I’m sorry to hear that you find my tech articles confusing. Please let me know if I am being confusing. I want to make sure everyone can understand my explanations. I’m writing for everyday people not techies, so if you don’t understand, others won’t either.
I agree, backpacks are way too heavy. I don’t recall my textbooks being that heavy way back when.
The issue for most school districts is the initial cost for the iPads. If they were to make that investment, they could save money and time by purchasing ebooks as textbooks. But it doesn’t cost districts much to keep using 20 year old textbooks.
You’re right, Jimmy. There are many reasons for schools to switch to ebook textbooks, but unfortunately often the expense of the initial investment rules the decision making process.
Thanks so much for stopping back by and leaving your awesome comment, Jimmy! 🙂
I have a professor now who won’t allow e-books on his in-class open book exams. That is a big disadvantage for the people who only have that version because they are not allowed to use it. He’s getting away with it because the required book list only listed the hard copies.
Hi Shelly, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech! You present a very interesting dilemma. If a professor allows ereaders to be used during open book exams, a student could then access the internet during the exam and have an unfair advantage over those students who are using physical textbooks. That is an issue I hadn’t considered.
I will research this to see if I can find an answer to this issue.
Thanks for stopping by and leaving a very insightful comment!
Hi Carolyn,
Nice post. I’d like to see such interactive books. It’d be nice to have books which has videos and 3d images as its content. But it’ll take years to convert all the existing books to this version of ebook.
Hi Faran, I spoke with Mr. MacInnis about that issue and he said their rate of conversion is increasing with every book that they publish. Inkling might not convert all university textbooks, but they are focusing on converting all of the higher level textbooks they feel will be a good fit for their platform.
Inevitable I suppose, but because it is so interactive I’m sure the applicability is limitless. I think we have bought out last text books however……..I’ll let my kids worry about that now……….:).
It appears it will be right after Thanksgiving, but yes, I will have a new iPhone 4s………….sweet…………….
Hi Bill, Very exciting about your new iPhone 4S! I just spoke with a subscriber yesterday who got his first iPhone and it was a 4S. He’s a big Siri fan and is very happy with his new phone.
Wow, your kids have bought their last textbooks. I guess that makes them Old School. 😉 I wonder if their kids will have physical textbooks when they are in school.
What a beautiful app. Something tells me, this is the future of books, or eBooks. I installed Inkling, going to give it a try. Looks very interesting. Love what he said in the demo video: ‘A textbook doesn’t have to be text, not even a book’!
A year ago, I came across a Korean iPad dev company, funded by Silicon Valley VCs, who were doing under-the-sea exploration apps for kids. When you enter the app, you are swimming under the ocean, with fishes, turtles, jellyfish, shark etc. And when you see something swim by, you can click on that object, it will bring it closer, convert it to a 3D model, so you can check it from all angles, read about it, and then with another tap, release it. What a beautiful concept. Apps like these are certainly going to revolutionize education, set apart textbook.
Hi iRewardChart. I had a feeling you would like this app! You’re right, it is a beautiful app, the pictures are truly stunning.The interactive features are really amazing too. Good point, Inkling may not just be the future of textbooks but the future of education as well!
Is the app about undersea exploration in the iTunes App Store yet? That sounds like a fantastic app. How exciting that technological advances will be used to help our kids learn!
Hi there. I’ve been using Inkling and without a doubt, it truly is really helpful especially for medical students like me. It’s very interactive and I highly recommend it. I even told my friends to download this app 🙂
Anyway, would you know if Inkling accepts iTunes gift card as a mode of payment? My dad has been very supportive of my medical school but I don’t want to burden him of all the expenses. It would be really awesome if Inkling accepts gift card. Thank you. ( and I’m hoping for more titles soon! )
Hi Erica, Mr. MacInnis told me that their rate of converting printed textbooks to Inkling textbooks increases the more that they convert, so you should see many more textbooks from Inkling in the coming year.
You should have no problem purchasing your Inkling textbooks with iTunes gift cards as they are sold through the iTunes App Store. To save even more, try buying the books by chapter if the professor isn’t going to cover every chapter in the textbook during your course.
Good luck in medical school!