Apple Has Already Defeated the Compact Disc, Is the School Textbook Next?

Interesting blog entry from Time Magazine's Techland regarding Apple's Education Event in New York tomorrow.   It appears Apple is going to jump into the textbook market, through Apps and their iPad.  Not only will Apple work with publishers to get textbooks onto iPads, but software may be revealed to allow teachers and instructors the ability to create their own material for classroom use.  Teachers will no longer have to reamin tied to a specific textbook for their classes.

Working in a school, I have to say the textbook may be entering its final decade in print form.  I do not imagine schools and students continuing to pay $70+ more for a single textbook.  At the high school level books are expected to last seven years or more, and quickly become outdated.  At the college level, students buy books, only to re-sell them for half of the original value (if they are lucky).  The eBook may save students and schools millions in the near future.