Along with the development of technology, tablets have taken over laptops and computers. The convenience associated with tablets has made it possible to be used as textbooks. Before introducing tablets to play the role of textbooks, it is important to take a look at the pros and cons linked with it.
Why it is good to replace textbooks with tablets?
- From the recent studies, it has been identified that most of the students deal with stress when they fail to keep up with the lessons. This can be eliminated through multimedia learning. It can keep the little ones engaged throughout the learning process. The graphical descriptions and illustrations help the students to learn the lessons with minimum hassle.
- Using tablets can be considered as an affordable option than textbooks. To get a clear understanding about this fact, you need to take a look at the long-term savings. The students will be spending a large amount of money on textbooks throughout their academics. However, all these textbooks can easily be replaced by a tablet.
- The students will have to deal with the hassle of carrying textbooks to school every single day. It has been identified that an average student carries about 15% of his total body weight per day, just because of textbooks. A tablet can simply assist a student to get rid of this unnecessary weight when going to school.
- Using tablets can be considered as an efficient option available for the schools to try as well. The students can be asked to upload their assignments and the teachers can easily mark them online. This can remove a lot of overheads that are linked with the traditional teaching process.
- Tablets can also assist the students to make their lives easy. They can easily take out the tablet and go through the books that they want to read at any time anywhere. This convenience is not delivered by the traditional textbooks.
Why it is not a good idea to replace textbooks with tablets?
- Even though we need to take a look at the technology in education, you should keep in mind that too much of technology can be harmful to the students. In other words, tablets can easily make the students feel distracted. The ability to access social networking sites and games can be considered as perfect examples to prove the above mentioned fact.
- Tablets in classroom can give life to health issues in the long run. For example, children who use tablets for most of their time will have to deal with the frustrating side effects of computer vision syndrome. Some of the side effects linked with computer vision syndrome include blurred vision, headache and strain on the eyes.
- All the parents are not in a position to afford internet connections. Therefore, it is not practical to introduce tablets for the students and ask them to upload their assignments online. This can restrict the usage of tablets only to a specific group of students in the society.
It is, therefore, the choice between tablets and textbooks, a decision that should be made based on prevailing circumstances around education policies, availability of resources and students’ learning style among others.
