In the 1980′s Apple took the bold initiative of offering its products to schools, giving away thousands of computers to schools across California. The Apple IIE was the computer that all kids in the 80s grew up with, and even though going into the 90s no one would be caught dead using an apple, its always been known by kids entering college in the 90s when the new line of Macs were introduced into the world. Today Apple announced that it is entering the educational text book market with the new iTunes U.

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. And students and lifelong learners can experience your courses for free through a powerful new app for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch.

I’m sure college students across the globe will rejoice in the fact that they’re not going to have to lug 20lb books across campus, or wait in hour long lines in the book store anymore. The worse part was trying to resell it back and get a few bucks for something you bought for $100 just five months ago. The world where parents are using their tablets as entertainment devices for their toddlers this should be seen as no surprise. The move is pretty genius as it moves them into a position to sell more of their products while at the same time not technically having to update their functionality at the exponential rate the people expect to see every year now.

My biggest fear as a future parent is that soon enough public schools will now stop purchasing books all together, and have parents buy books just like we had to in college. Its not like public schools are going to have the money to distribute iPads to every student and you know kids are going to demand that they be able to use their tablets in class. Its definitely a boon for the environment and backs of children everywhere, but definitely something the worry about for pocket books of parents.