Tablets vs. Textbooks

Overview:

With tablets becoming more prevalent in today's society, there is a debate whether they should replace textbooks in the classroom.

Summary:

Pros/Cons:

In the article, Should Tablets Replace Textbooks in K-12 Schools, there have been many identified pros and cons to using tablets instead of textbooks in the classroom. The article had many researched facts about the benefits of both tablets and textbooks.

http://tablets-textbooks.procon.org/#background

Pros:

- tablets help students learn more material faster

- tablets enrich classroom education

- tablets can hold hundreds of textbooks on one device

- e-textbooks on tablets cost 50-60% less than print textbooks

Cons:

- purchasing tablets is more expensive than purchasing a textbook

- people comprehend more when they read print vs. digital text

- can cause distractions

- students without internet in their home may struggle with completing assignments

Tablets vs. Textbooks

By: Hailee Sapp and Sydney Giambrone

Our reactions:

With the technological advances, we realize that eventually, we will be making the switch to implementing more technology into the classroom. Some schools have already made the decision to switch. We think it is important for students to become technologically advanced at young ages. We don't believe that ALL text should be on a tablet, however, for educational textbook purposes, we think putting them on a tablet is beneficial to both the teacher and the students.

Questions:

1) Given the chance, would you replace textbooks with tablets in your classroom?

2) What do you think could be done to prevent some of the cons of using tablets as presented in the article? (i.e. tablets as a distraction)

3) If your school implemented tablets in the place of textbooks, would you assign homework on them or strictly use them for textbook purposes? Why?