Apple on Thursday lifted the veil on its plans to remake the educational landscape in a way that centers on its best-selling tablet computer , the iPad . `` Education is deep in Apple 's DNA and iPad may be our most exciting education product yet , '' Philip Schiller , Apple 's senior vice president of marketing , said in a statement . At a press conference in New York , the company announced three products that aim to get students and teachers to use the iPad 's touch-screen interface to read , write , plan classes and communicate with each other . First , a free app called iBooks Author lets anyone create a digital , interactive textbook . In a demo at the event , an Apple employee created an e-book with the app in about five minutes , according to live blogs . Second , an update to a piece of software called iTunes U lets teachers plan their curriculum and communicate with their students over the iPad . The new iTunes U , which also is free and available on Thursday , will `` allow anyone , anywhere , at any time to take courses for free , '' Schiller said , according to Fortune.com 's Philip Elmer-DeWitt , who was live blogging from the event . Fortune is a partner site of CNN.com . `` If you 're an educator at a university , college , or K-12 school , now you have an easy way to design and distribute complete courses featuring audio , video , books , and other content , '' Apple 's website said Thursday . `` And students and lifelong learners can experience your courses for free through a powerful new app for iPad , iPhone , and iPod touch . '' Finally , a new textbook store called iBooks 2 , also a free app , will feature digital e-books for schools . Apple said it is partnering with several major textbook companies -- including Pearson , McGraw-Hill and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt , who will make e-books for the store , according to Fortune . High school textbooks will cost up to $ 14.99 , the company said . In another demo , Apple 's Roger Rosner showed off textbooks for the iPad that allow students to zoom in on pictures of cells , dissect digital frogs and make notes and highlights on the e-book pages . `` I do n't think there 's ever been a textbook that made it this easy to be a good student , '' Rosner said , according to Fortune . All of these moves are part of Apple 's larger strategy to remake the textbook industry . The company reportedly has been courting schools to make use of its popular tablet computer . At the press conference , Schiller mocked paper textbooks , saying , `` They 're not portable , not durable , not interactive , not searchable . '' Books on the iPad are all of those things , he said , according to live blogs covering the event . Some educators seem to be excited about the changes . `` Apple has recognized that learning for students is not a one-way street , '' Jed Macosko , an associate professor at Wake Forest University , said in a statement . `` Until now , most traditional e-textbooks have focused on linear content delivery , which is not the way people learn . Research shows that we learn by asking questions , '' said Macosko , the author of an interactive biology textbook . Others questioned whether the move could give Apple too much control over educational content . `` ( It 's ) not clear so far whether Apple 's new textbooks will be open formats ( ePub etc . ) or only in Apple format , '' Mathew Ingram , a senior writer for the blog GigaOm , posted on Twitter after the event . Or they mocked the fact that Apple is trying to take such a big role in education . `` For a small upcharge , Apple will put a huge logo on your school and tattoo an Apple on each ( student 's ) forearm , '' user @ irasocol wrote on Twitter .
Apple announces digital textbook publishing app . The company is also working on a new version of its iBooks app, which will be available for the iPad and iPhone in coming weeks. The company says anyone can make a digital textbook in five minutes . Moves are part of Apple 's larger strategy to remake the textbook industry .