Facebook user Daniel O. asks “How do u think the new iBooks 2 will realistically change the educational world or will it not have any affect on it?”

As most of you probably know, Apple released iBooks 2 this week. This update to the Apple-branded eReader application maybe wasn’t as exciting and hyped up as a new product launch, but it was still pretty important – Apple is now offering a new form of digital textbooks.

Our favorite tech company has teamed up with some of the biggest names in textbooks, including McGraw Hill and Pearson, to bring a totally new generation of textbooks to students through iBooks and the iPad. These digital textbooks offer interactive 3D models, video clips, and pictures along with top-notch information. Even better, they max out at $15, so they’re super affordable.

On the whole, the Internet has been pretty excited about this. iBooks 2 with textbooks will apparently revolutionize education and change the way students acquire knowledge. And it’s certainly a step in the right direction, but I must admit I have mixed feelings about the whole thing.

For the past year and a half, I’ve seen people take notes on iPads and laptops almost every day. And while technology can often be a plus in the classroom, it can also be quite a distraction. Most of the time I’ve seen people with laptops in class, they aren’t being used solely for schoolwork. In fact, I’ve seen everything from Facebook, to Twitter, to YouTube, to episodes of The Office with subtitles on screens that were supposed to be devoted to schoolwork. I fear that bringing so many iPads into a classroom, especially a classroom of elementary or middle school children, could only increase these distractions.

Secondly, the videos and diagrams are an undeniably great way for students to immerse themselves in the subject matter they’re studying, but I can’t really see a way 20 students watching a video simultaneously in class could work. Headphones are out of the question, because then no one would be able to hear the teacher, and if the videos are played out loud, it’ll be impossible to hear the teacher or the content of the vid.

In fact, the only way I can imagine these videos working would be if a teacher projected a single iPad onto a big screen and played it for the class, or assigned students to watch it for homework. Of course, these aren’t bad implementations of this feature, but it’s certainly not as versitile as I originally thought.

And finally, iPads are expensive. I mean, text books are expensive too, but the price of a $70 textbook kind of pales in comparison to the iPad price tag. What’s more, because of all the interactive content contained within the iTextbooks, they can weigh in at up to 3 gigs each. So, for students to carry around all the textbooks they need, they’ll need to spring for the 32 or 64 gig iPad model. And while it may save money in the long run to buy an iPad and then get these $15 textbooks, I think the price tag of a few paper textbooks is a bit easier for parents or schools swallow than an $800 iPad.

Now, I don’t mean to be so negative about this, and I really do think iBooks 2 could spell a positive change in education, but it can’t do it alone. Apple has provided the necessary tools to bring schooling into the digital age, but it’s really up to the parents, teachers and school districts to take those tools and implement them in an educationally beneficial and affordable way. So, I think it’s too early to tell what changes iBooks 2 will bring, but hopefully we’ll know soon enough.

What do you guys think of iBooks 2 and textbooks? Will it revolutionize the way children are educated? Weigh in down below in the comments or hit me up on twitter.

Thanks again to Daniel for the question! If you think you have a question or thought that would make a good article, you can submit it to be part of Social Saturday in one of two ways. Either tweet it to me at any time with the hashtag #SocialSaturday, or comment on the Social Saturday post on our Facebook page on Saturday morning.