Chris Howard Digital School?

Schools and universities use lots of different materials in order to teach their students. This includes lessons, books, presentations, and now, since the technology is available, tabletstablets [tablet]tablets. Tablets and laptopslaptops [laptop]laptops are becoming much more commonplacecommonplacecommonplace in the classroom than they once were. Both the textbook and the tablet industriesindustries [industry]industries are now multi‑billion dollar enterprises, and as such, they have their own prospros [pro]pros and conscons [con]cons.

Many teachers will favour the use of tablets, because they can hold thousands of textbooks worth of information in one place. This is a benefit as it means students have access to more material. They are also much lighter in weight than traditional textbooks, meaning they are more portableportableportable. Imagine carrying a textbook for each lesson on a busy school day. It could become very tiring to carry so much. Using tablets could also mean that students do not forget the correct textbook for a specific class because all books are in one place.

However, there are also some people who raise valid criticismcriticismcriticism of using tablets in schools, such as the initial cost of buying a tablet. This is a stumbling blockstumbling blockstumbling block for poorer students because they cannot affordaffordafford to buy them. Another downsidedownsidedownside of using tablets is that they can often prove distractingdistractingdistracting for students. Tablets have access to everything on the Internet, so students may use them for other things than studying.

It has also been noted that the use of tablets can increase a student’s interest in a topic because the material can have a more varied form than the one in a normal textbook. Some ebooks will have interactiveinteractiveinteractive topics, which means that students' engagementengagementengagement levels could be much higher. If someone is enjoying their time learning, they are more likely to continue, which means that students using tablets often end up scoring higher on tests.

Another issue with tablets, however, is that they are much easier to break than a traditional textbook. Technical problems may make them unusable or in need of repairrepairrepair, which again costs both time and money. A textbook can withstandwithstandwithstand much more damage than a tablet, especially in the hands of younger children. The tablet screens have also led to some people getting headaches or eye straineye straineye strain, which means that the time they can be used should be limited.

An important argument in favour of tablets though is that they save paper. Unlike regular, printed textbooks, tablets are therefore environmentally friendly. This also usually means that the digitaldigitaldigital version of the textbook can be cheaper than a physical copy. Tablets are fascinating devices!

Overall, both traditional textbooks and digital ones on tablets have their pros and cons, and it is most likely down to the individual user to decide for themselves which they prefer to use. Both are great tools in education.

1 Źródło: Chris Howard, licencja: CC BY-SA 3.0.