Kindles and iPads VS Books

In recent times more and more people are turning to Kindles or iPads for the source of attaining textbooks. Do you think eventually school will substitute textbooks and reading books for either kindles or iPads in order to make things cheaper, more efficient and more convenient?

0 members like this

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by marissa barbarino on November 7, 2012 at 5:47pm

I do believe this is true, that more schools will eliminate textbooks and use electronic sources for textbooks. I myself always check to see if a textbook is available for kindle before purchasing a hard copy. I think it does make it cheaper and convenient. Books are almost half price online then in a hard copy and it will allow for students to carry less in their backpacks to class. When relying on these devices it is important for students to have them fully charged to mantain battery life in order to use it for class.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Meghan Woodin on November 10, 2012 at 8:50am

Great post! I do think that we will see more and more tablets being utilized for textbook access and novel access. When we consider the expense of textbooks for every student each year, loss of textbooks, and how quickly textbooks become outdated, it only makes sense to utilize digital resources. Students are able to access their textbooks from home or anywhere that there is internet access. Utilizing the digital materials allows for students to use up to date high end textbooks without having to lug them around in their book bags. When novels are considered, digital readers are great and I love my nook. However I do recognize that there are some drawbacks with these. When we are reading novels in school we often need to refer back in the book for information. With textbooks, we can utilize the table of contents to identify what pages to look at. However with novels it is not quite as easy to find a quote or setting description. As the tablets improve it is becoming easier to bookmark, highlight, and move within the novel but the old fashioned paperback is easier to navigate. Many students already own digital readers and prefer to read on them then with a paperback. Anyway that we can engage students in activities and assignments will help promote their leaning. Our students are growing up in a digital world. I think our classrooms should represent the world around them otherwise they struggle to find value in the classes and lessons.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Terry Smith on November 10, 2012 at 9:50am

I think that's where we're headed, Rodo.I'm particularly interested in the ability of teachers and student to create ebooks, for example as can currently be done iBooks Author tool. I made a sample book and it wasn't very difficult to do. The learning/information experience is certainly an enhanced one for kids in elementary/middle/high school as well as for college students. Only problem right now is that iBooks needs a Mac to run the full featured multimedia books with embedded video and swipe navigation. So I'm hoping for an open platform for doing this and a simple way to distribute to our students.

The previous comment about being more conscientious to the environment is also very important!