The digital book market boom is not limited to fiction. More than a thousand publishers for grades K-12 and higher education offer digital textbooks. Publishers have quickly jumped on the bandwagon of digital books because they know many consumers enjoy the essential features of tablets in book publication; the convenience of e-books, especially when it comes to large, heavy textbooks that can be burdensome to carry.
For years, the U.S. Department of Education has been investigating avenues for schools to pursue learning through technology.
In 2013, the Federal Communications Commission launched the connect Ed program under the direction of President Obama. This program aimed to provide schools and libraries with access to high-speed Internet for improved digital learning.
Additionally, in 2015, the Every Student Succeeds Act established annual grants for schools to support digital learning. The grant money is used to educate teachers about digital technology, to provide students in under-served communities with helpful resources, and to provide funding for projects that are taught partially in the classroom and partially online.
Now that high-speed broadband connectivity in K-12 school districts has increased significantly in recent years, up now to 99%, the debate about tablets vs. textbooks in the classroom has grown. Though many educators and administrators cite the cost as their primary reason for not including tablets in class, K-12 schools spend nearly twice as much on printed materials than digital materials per year.
As technology becomes more integrated into the classroom environment, many educators believe paper textbooks will become obsolete within the next decade in favor of digital textbooks.
Essential Features Of Tablet In Book Publication
Tablets Are Convenient and Light Weight
One of the most essential benefits and features of tablets in education is convenience. Rather than carrying around several heavy textbooks, students can carry all of their digital textbooks in one lightweight device.
Tablets only weigh a few pounds, while print textbooks are so heavy, they can cause injuries to students. On average, students carry more than 15% of their body weight in their backpacks, which can result in injuries, swelling, and fatigue.
Tablets can also hold a student’s homework, quizzes, and other files. This will help students stay organized, as they will not have to keep track of multiple papers, notebooks, or folders. School districts and educators can also save money by eliminating the need for these additional classroom materials.
Teachers can also easily download items from one tablet to another, making the transference of files a quick, simple task. Teachers can access files and digital textbooks stored on a server from other devices.
Digital Textbooks Cost Less and Can Be Instantly Updated
An essential feature of tablet in book publication is that digital textbooks and tablets are more affordable and accessible for consumers.
Unlike print textbooks, Digital textbooks can be updated instantly with new information. With print textbooks, schools have to regularly purchase new editions, software, and hardware, whereas tablets eliminate the need for schools to purchase new material constantly.
With educational tablets for schools, students will no longer have to learn from old, outdated textbooks, which is especially important for areas of study that frequently change, such as computer science.
Reduce Waste With Tablets
Imagine if schools could completely eliminate the need for paper assignments and handouts. The massive consumption of paper in schools hurts the environment, and it’s a financial burden on school districts. Schools spend a significant amount of money on paper, toner, and ink each month, and if you include the expense of printers and technical support, the costs are even higher.
Tablets Offer Technological Features
Another essential benefit of using tablets in education is the abundance of technological features, which don’t exist in print textbooks. Textbooks are limited in what they provide students beyond words and images on a page. On the other hand, tablets provide users with the ability to write notes and highlight without ruining the textbook for the next student.
On a tablet, students can search a book or document for certain words or utilize a backlight for reading in dim lighting. Tablets also offer a built-in dictionary, so students can conveniently look up words they don’t know without having to navigate away from the textbook.
Tablets also include videos and interactive diagrams that can increase a student’s attentiveness, motivation, creativity, and engagement with educational materials.
Relevance To The Teachers
Many K-12 teachers believe that tablets can enrich the education of their students within the classroom and make their students more motivated to learn. Tablets are more fun for students than textbooks, and by extension, learning becomes more fun. Teachers can customize student learning by easily adapting lessons to a student’s learning style.
Relevance To The Students
Technology-based instruction can reduce the amount of time it takes students to reach new learning objectives by as much as 80%. They also tend to read more books when provided electronically.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, a textbook publisher, provided a digital interactive Algebra 1 textbook to a California school district to test how students scored after learning with digital textbooks versus how students scored after learning with traditional print textbooks.
The results showed that of the students who used the digital version of the textbook, 78% scored proficient or advanced on California state tests, while just 59% of the students who only used the traditional textbook scored proficient or advanced.
Using a digital version of the same technology use is increasing worldwide, and introducing students to it early in their development will prepare them to work with technology in their future careers. Technology-based jobs make up the highest-paying and fastest-growing fields in America.
Are Textbooks Outdated?
While the trend toward tablets in the classroom note taking and one-to-one programs continues to rise, proponents of textbooks claim tablets are distracting for students, easy to break, and expensive to fix. Though the list of reasons why tablets should be used in schools is lengthy, not everyone will be easily convinced that print textbooks should be replaced entirely.
Originally posted 2022-09-13 19:49:51.
