This week’s readings presented an interesting fork in the road for the digitization of text. Audrey Watters’ article “Apple and the Digital Textbook Counter-Revolution” had me realize what was really going on. She believed that Apple could have made better decisions with their program iBooks. The software allows users to publish their own books and post them through Apple. The catch: Apple has exclusive rights of user’s books. This business decision really defined Apple as a money-first, people-second company.

So let’s keep in mind that Apple’s mentality is MOE (money over everything). Now one of the biggest things Apple is known for is their sleek and simple design. Therefore the king of book covers is moving to the front shelf of the store. Anne Eisenberg discusses design techniques in her “Making Science Leap From the Page” article. She talks about the evolution of textbooks and the incorporation of more videos, visuals, etc. In the article she states that these new digital books have “pizzazz.”

The fork in the road is split in two: design and substance. The battle, which is common decision, is looks vs. personality. Sure, you can sit there and with your sleek and sexy iPad, but can you hold a meaningful conversation with it? Can you learn something from it? When you want to take things seriously, is it there to help?

The answer seems simple. But it’s so easy to say, yet tough to do. Apple, I’m talking to you. If you’re going to dip into the educational system, you need to be serious. You need to swim to the top of your money pool and take a deep breath. You have to realize that we’re dealing with the future of education, not a new iPhone app.