Tablets Over Textbooks

Kyle Lavender
Western Oregon University
July 10, 2014









Introduction
Hand held tablets have become the new trend of technology ever since Apple
first released the ground breaking iPad on April 3, 2010. With its adaptability to users
needs, tablets quickly began replacing textbooks and novels that were stacked on
peoples shelves and lined classrooms walls. The tablet, which could be found in
numerous sizes and colors, allows users to quickly search the internet, check their social
media, play games and contact their friends all from the same device, much like the
desktop computer once brought to our world. Only now with the tablet, you can take your
personal computer with you anywhere. Apples iBook application has been a huge
success for the billion dollar company over the past decade. It allows users to download
books directly to their tablet and create a digital library of novels, magazines, journals
and any other form of literature. In the first three days after Apple launched its new iPad
textbook initiative in January, users downloaded more than 350,000 new iBooks
(Wright, 2012). With this enormous leap in iBook users, tablets have become the new
tool for reading. They have become increasingly more affordable, adapt to new forms of
information by providing monthly updates, and are being studied as a major contributor
to increasing student grades with continued use. As time goes on, these tablets will
completely replace novels and textbooks, reshaping the way we use literature in our free
time and especially the classroom. This eventual change from textbooks to tablets will be
explained by highlighting their adaptability to new information, steady decrease in
overall price for classrooms, their effectiveness in increasing student knowledge, and
how teachers can better develop their own technological skills to enhance their students
interaction with tablets.
Tablet Adaptability
One of the great features of these handheld tablets is their adaptability to new
forms of information. While connected to the Internet, tablets can download updated
versions of textbooks and newly released journals and magazine, keeping students and
teachers up to date with newly released information. These updates can make a major
contribution to decreasing the amount of paper we use to print these new pieces of
information in textbooks as well as the overall cost of production and distribution. Instead
of having to purchase a new version of educational textbooks, tablet users can simply
download the updated textbook to their tablet saving time and money.
Many businesses and educational institutions need frequently
updated documentation and text books. The pace of change pitted against
the cost and environmental impact of printing on paper (not to mention the
inconvenience of dealing with all of it) point in one direction: tablets.
There are data suggesting that companies that are introducing iPads to
their workforce are cutting back significantly on their printing activities
(Kosner, 2012).
With fewer printing necessities, companies and schools will begin to notice a large
amount of money saved from switching to digital forms of literature from the traditional
paper pages. But even with the convenience of updating new forms of literature, the
debate about tablet prices will continue to be a struggle for some schools.


Prices
Unfortunately, like all brand new products that hit the market, new advances in
tablet technology means higher prices for tablet users. This can become a major problem
for those schools that want to provide their students with the necessary tools to keep up
with other districts but lack the required funding. Some critics worry that the iPads
$550 price tag may make them prohibitively expensive for all but the most affluent
school districts (Wright, 2012). Fortunately, for these school districts that lack the
necessary funding for classroom tablets, Apple and its competitors have begun to create
tablets that are cheaper and more suited for a classroom setting. The British company
DataWind, who is in partnership with the Indian government, was the first to take this
daring leap, creating tablets under $100 that can be easily incorporated within the
classroom. The tablet will be available commercially for around 3,000 rupees. The
Indian Ministry of Education is buying some 100,000 tablets, subsidizing the costs so that
they are available to students for about 1,500 rupees, roughly $35 (Watters 2011).
Dubbed the Aakash tablet, DataWinds new device will be in the hands of thousands of
Indian students by the time they reach full production. The Aakash tablet allows these
students access to a mobile and internet-ready device that can browse the web, use
software applications, and access e-textbooks they never would have been previously
able to afford. These new affordable advancements in textbook technology have made
learning an entirely new and exciting process for students of all economic backgrounds.
Now that there are affordable tablets for all levels of education, the question still remains
if they actually aid student learning.

Student Improvement
Fortunately, because of these new forms of learning with tablets, school districts
have noticed student progress beginning to improve. According to a new study by
Houghton Mifflins Harcourt division (HMH) suggests that the iPad may have a bright
future within our education settings. The publisher ran a pilot program in partnership
with a middle school in Riverside, CA, comparing learning outcomes for students using
iPads vs. traditional textbooks. Students who spent the year using the companys HMH
Fuse Algebra 1 iPad app scored an average of 20% higher on the California Standards
Test than their peers using the equivalent content from a traditional textbook (Wright,
2012). If this outcome is the result from only 1 year of using tablets in the classroom, one
can only imagine where our students level of intelligence could reach when using tablets
every year of their schooling. But with more and more tablets being used within the
classroom comes a much greater need for knowledge of the tablets functions and
capabilities.
Teaching Technology
Luckily, schools around the globe, including colleges and universities, have
begun to create classes that teach students how to effectively work with tablets.
According to the Apple iPads School blog in 2012, Just over a month ago when Apple
announced iBooks Author software and the iBooks textbook distribution method, Apples
Phil Schiller said that 1.5 million iPads were in use in education settings, leveraging more
than 20,000 education applications (Kosner, 2012). These courses and applications
allow teachers and students to work hands on with tablets to help better improve the
relationship between technology and its user. As a result, teachers can better explain to
younger students how the tablet can better their educational experience and provide
examples. They can explain how to create a digital library of their textbooks and novels,
as well as provide the students with educational games they can play to better their
overall knowledge of a subject. These games can help increase students knowledge of
mathematics, geography, literature and many other educational subjects by requiring
them to think abstractly within the game.
Conclusion
Tablets and other forms of similar technology have become the new tool for
furthering our students educational experiences. They save money on paper production
and use by updating new versions of textbooks already downloaded to the tablet instead
of printing new ones. They are steadily decreasing in price, increasing the amount of
availability for classrooms, and they allow teachers to further develop their educational
skills, creating more effective learning environment. As a result, studies like HMHs have
concluded that the use of these tablets are actually improving student test scores over
time. We must use technology to empower teachers and improve the way students
learn, said Joel Klein, a former New York City schools chief who now leads News
Corp.s education tablet program. At its best, education technology will change the face
of education by helping teachers manage the classroom and personalize instruction
(Elliott, 2013). This personalized instruction will eventually make our young children
better students. Our world is increasingly becoming more technology dependant and we
need our young students to be ready for this change. Providing them the tools to be
successful in this world is the reason for our educational systems. If the tablet is
considered one of the superior educational tools, then students should use them to their
full potential instead of sticking to traditional textbooks.
























Sources
Elliott, P. (2013). The Washington Times. Schools Shift From Textbooks to Tablets.
March 6, 2013. Associated Press. Retrieved from
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/mar/6/schools-shift-from-textbooks-to-
tablets/?page=all

Kosner, A. W. (2012) Forbes. Tablets Will Take Over Sooner Than You Think: Five
Telling Trends. March 14, 2012. Retrieved from
http://www.forbes.com/sites/anthonykosner/2012/03/04/tablets-will-take-over-sooner-
than-you-think-five-telling-trends/

Watters, A. (2011). PBS.org. How a $35 Tablet Could Revolutionize Classroom
Learning. October 13, 2011. PBS. Media Shift. Retrieved from
http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2011/10/how-a-35-tablet-could-revolutionize-classroom-
learning286/

Wright, A. (2012). Education: Tablets Over Textbooks? Communications of the ACM.
March 2012, Vol. 55. Issue 3. Retrieved from
http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=4118c825-739c-4f4b-b390-
6b43c2336e42%40sessionmgr4004&vid=6&hid=4109