INNOVATION | tablets vs. textbooks
Tablets vs. textbooks
TextBook App for download:
the future of
Words Michelle Marais
Since the invention of tablets, the place of textbooks in educational institutions has been facing a growing challenge. Being labelled as “new generation textbooks”, tablets are providing students with advanced ways of learning, but do the benefits outweigh the disadvantages?
SIZE // Most tablets are
HEALTH // Tablets have
manufactured with storage
been connected to a
between 8 GB and 64 GB, which means
number of health issues. Heavy
that they can store more learning materials
usage is believed to cause
than textbooks. A single tablet can hold all
Computer Vision Syndrome of
the textbooks, quizzes and homework a
which the symptoms are eyestrain,
learner requires. COST // Electronic books
blurred vision and headaches.
cost far less than their print versions. With
ATTENTION // Users tend to get
billions being spent on textbooks annually,
too distracted. This distraction
the cost savings benefits are phenomenal.
comes from a number of areas
Even though the initial price of a tablet
including games, videos, emails
may be prohibitive, the great amount of
and countless entertainment apps.
data they can capture can be used to
TECHNOLOGY // Tablets have a
offset their cost. LEARNING // Growing
tendency to freeze or crash and
evidence supports the fact that students
can get infected with malware.
learn better with tablets. According to
These malfunctions can easily ruin
MOBILEDIA’s report, "Kids to Spur Tablet
productivity. In addition, the typical
Growth", a study conducted on algebra
usage hours of most tablets are
students showed that individuals who
far less than the length of a school
used tablets achieved better results than
day. Charging of tablets will present
those who used print textbooks.
additional challenges.
DID YOU KNOW? A 4 GB tablet filled with 3 500 e-books weighs a billionth of a billionth of a gram more than if it were empty of data - a difference that is approximately the same weight as a molecule of DNA. The same number of physical books would weigh about two tons.
Despite all the challenges, it seems as if the implementation of tablets in schools is inevitable. Independent schools are already taking advantage of technology by making tablets available to their students and it’s believed that the two standards will soon be complementary in most schools.
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SYNC MAGAZINE, ISSUE 1 | www.autopage.co.za