New iBooks in the News in Maine

From Mike McLaughlin, "There was an interesting story in the Portland, Maine news (WMTW) this evening on laptops in education. Maine Governor Angus King, a big Mac supporter, is attempting to add funding in the state budget to purchase a laptop for every 7th and 8th grader in the state. In an attempt to sell his plan to legislators, King has been giving hands on lessons in the iBook's abilities. In this evening's story, King taught a social studies lesson on the battle of Gettysburg to 8th graders at Bath Middle School. First he taught the lesson using the textbook, then he taught the lesson using iBooks with wireless internet connections. Needless to say, the students and teachers responses were very positive. Wouldn't it be nice if Steve Jobs could announce that every 7th and 8th grader in Maine will be using an iBook." On Tuesday, Dana Baggett sent Maine Gov. King a copy of the Apple press release about the Henrico County, VA, public school system 4-year lease of 23,000 iBooks.