Should Print Textbooks Be Replaced by eBooks on Tablets?

by SodaHead Living Posted 2012/07/27 20:48:25

Related Topics: Ebooks, Tablets, School, Back To School, Teachers, students, School Subjects, English, Math, Science, History, P.E.

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	Yes, that's what technology is for!	753 votes	31%
	No, printed books are more appropriate for students.	820 votes	34%
	Maybe in some classrooms, but not all.	862 votes	35%

Is it just us or did summer swing by faster than usual this time around? With August just around the corner, "Back to School" is the thing on everyone's mind. Well, if you're a student, parent or teacher at least.

It's almost time to swap bathing suits for books. And while you don't have to complete any tests or do any homework quite yet, we think now's the optimal time to get your mind juices flowing with our quick, 8-Question "Back to School" Survey. Don't worry: No matter the answer, we'll give you an "A+" anyway.

+28

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MercuryZero 2012/07/28 07:40:15

No, printed books are more appropriate for students.

+9
Technology may be more advanced but they aren't guaranteed to work all the time. You drop a textbook, no big deal. You drop a tablet...well you get the picture.

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Apricot 2012/07/30 17:05:06

No, printed books are more appropriate for students.

+3
I took a class this year in my school, and we had to do everything on the computer. Our teacher didn't do anything during class except babysit us, for the most part. None of the other students learned anything and it's definitely not appropriate for students at a high school level to be working on the computers. It's much more efficient to have printed textbooks and worksheets.

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Lex to Apricot 2012/07/30 17:58:38

+1
You'd could still have those printed worksheets but it's just easier on the back to have a 3 lb tablet instead of 4 10 lb books.

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william keegan 2012/07/30 17:01:34

No, printed books are more appropriate for students.

+2
Believe it or not there are some folks out there that can't afford to purchase tablets for all of their school aged children!

Oh, I guess you meant that the government should pay for all students to have tablet computers! Gee, I guess the government just has too much money and can afford this idiotic lunacy!!!

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DonFoust to william... 2012/07/30 23:27:56

+1
We buy books

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mk, Smartass Oracle 2012/07/30 16:59:49

Yes, that's what technology is for!

+1
Save the trees

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adeenmckenziekennedy 2012/07/30 16:53:07

Yes, that's what technology is for!

+1
Definitely! We are in the digital age now and things are changing.

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Amaya Winchester 2012/07/30 16:48:32

Yes, that's what technology is for!

+1
Its less to lug around

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BIG BAD JOHN R. 2012/07/30 16:44:04

Yes, that's what technology is for!

+2
E-books are in the near future.

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Aksana 2012/07/30 16:42:04

No, printed books are more appropriate for students.

+2
nope

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Digman14 2012/07/30 16:32:45

No, printed books are more appropriate for students.

+2
They're a lot more fragile then textbooks, and are much costly to replace if damaged. Considering the nature of children...

And personally, I cannot freaking stand the iPad.

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ticia.barnes 2012/07/30 16:32:39

Yes, that's what technology is for!

+1
They have taken away lockers for these kids and have them packing around all the books we used to shove in our lockers.

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Dub 2012/07/30 16:31:50

No, printed books are more appropriate for students.

+1
I'm not going to buy my kid a tablet because their textbooks are now on it. If the school wants to do that they can give the tablet to my child as well. Also tablets are the stupidest idea for an internet device ever. Get a PC or a phone, or both, and you can do more than a table ever could. Plus kids running around school with tables that cost hundreds of dollars. They wouldn't last more than a few days before they are all broke. Then the school would have increased costs because they have to buy millions of dollars worth of tablets again, which would cause a tax increase. Just stick to books its easier.

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Tony Cicarella 2012/07/30 16:23:55

No, printed books are more appropriate for students.

+2
Exactly who is going to pay for all these tablets? Then again I do own Apple stock...hmmm. No its not about me making money on the stock market. I don't trust kids to one take care of the tablets, secondly to use the as intended. And finally I think it's too expensive to purchase all the hardware and then provide technical support to them

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Andre 2012/07/30 16:21:47

Yes, that's what technology is for!

+1
eBooks or Tablets, no, notrbooks, yes There are notebooks like the Toughbook from Panasonic which are able to stand military campaign abuse, should be able to withstand student abuse too. The big advantage of electronic devices is that it is soo easy and cheap to keep them up-to-date in this fast changing world.

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Dolly 2012/07/30 16:12:29

Maybe in some classrooms, but not all.

+3

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koolkat 2012/07/30 15:58:28

Maybe in some classrooms, but not all.

+2
The more advances classes in high school middle schools not mature enough to handle them...

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waterlady 2012/07/30 15:54:04

No, printed books are more appropriate for students.

+5
All this technology is radioactive. Books are better. What if we have a power glitch or black out? should school be let out if the power doesn't work. Books are cheaper than ebooks equipment.

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jackolantyrn356 2012/07/30 15:45:24

No, printed books are more appropriate for students.

+3
Also texts can be changed too easily. from God Bless the USA to God Damn the hiddious country we call the USA

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Chuck-U... to jackola... 2012/07/30 16:18:57

+2
Initially I said yes but after reading you comment I have to agree. It is too easy to rewrite history which is what the right and evangelicals are trying to do.

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Mel Mar... to jackola... 2012/08/02 02:31:41

They also banned a lot of "controversial" books already. I think Mark Twain's classics got hardest hit at one point...I feel for your country's children :(

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Nyan Cat 2012/07/30 15:43:11

Yes, that's what technology is for!

+3
It sucks walking home from school and having to cary about four heavy books with you

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bacon.nivison 2012/07/30 15:39:11

Yes, that's what technology is for!

+1
They have for me. A hell of a lot more useful.

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Duane Freemantle 2012/07/30 15:30:12

No, printed books are more appropriate for students.

+1
It is a great supplement to learning. The technology just has arrived to make them really functional for either the student or teachers.

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snowleopard09 2012/07/30 15:28:43

Maybe in some classrooms, but not all.

+2
I'm voting this way because one part of me knows that technology can be good for learning. With e-book versions of textbooks, students can take notes and highlight passages since the device will be wiped yearly. There are also interactive diagrams and videos included on many virtual textbooks. At the same time, tablets are susceptible to breakage and battery drainage, so physical textbooks are superior in that regard. The senior class at my high school will be lent iPads this year as part of a pilot program, so I guess that I'll have a chance to learn which is best, at least for me.

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critter171 2012/07/30 15:27:54

Yes, that's what technology is for!

+1
In fact its cheaper easier to download and likely has more facts than text books

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Proud 2012/07/30 15:18:20
mishka1220 2012/07/30 15:17:11

No, printed books are more appropriate for students.

+2
oops!!! my battery ran out !!! ... an electronic gadget can't replace being able to flip through a textbook... plus reading off a screen sucks!

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cddjmikey 2012/07/30 15:11:07

No, printed books are more appropriate for students.

+2
Although in the long run it could prove to be more economical since you could use just one E-book for all subjects and just download the updates I have just two questions about it. How could you afford it for every student in the country with our present financial situation ? How could you justify the expense with all the teachers that have been laid off due to lack of funds ?

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darlenedoskas1969 2012/07/30 15:06:41

Yes, that's what technology is for!

+1
I don't think that the whole school library should be electronic, or anything, but it would be a good thing to cut down on what kids need to carry in their backpacks... I see little kids carrying piles of textbooks nearly as big as they are, and it's not healthy

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Arishanti 2012/07/30 15:02:13

Yes, that's what technology is for!

+3
It would save trees and also allow for more updates whenever we get new information

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nate 2012/07/30 14:58:50

Yes, that's what technology is for!

+2
e-textbooks are cheaper than printed books, and you can store multiple books on 1 device.

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PeeDonkeyPit 2012/07/30 14:52:46

Maybe in some classrooms, but not all.

+1
It's still easier to flip through physical pages than trying to find information in most eBook readers...

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mikeyavelli 2012/07/30 14:52:35

Yes, that's what technology is for!

+2
and one day soon, they will.

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charles nelson 2012/07/30 14:51:30

Yes, that's what technology is for!

+2
But technology has a purpose only if we use it.

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Rob 2012/07/30 14:41:54

No, printed books are more appropriate for students.

+1
Although the media makes it seem as if everyone owns one that's hardly the case. Who's going to pay for them?

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Jermaine Pollard 2012/07/30 14:34:05

Yes, that's what technology is for!

+2
It should it can be updated easily instead of wasting paper every other year creating a "new edition". College students would probably love it to.

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cat 2012/07/30 14:30:50

Maybe in some classrooms, but not all.

+2
The kids that are growing up today are at a big disadvantage. When the power goes off the really are in the dark. They can't add, subtract, multiply, divide. They are not taught to spell or even use cursive to write their names. They no nothing of how to balance a checkbook. All the electronics need to leave the classrooms till they are in 6th or 7th grade.

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dennisg40 2012/07/30 14:30:43

Maybe in some classrooms, but not all.

+1
It would be okay but who is going to provide the reader? Schools already require parents to BUY SO MUCH STUFF SOMETIMES UNIFORMS AND ALL KINDS OF SUPPLIES NOW. We have to remember not everyone is rich.or even near it.

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Franklin 2012/07/30 14:12:13

No, printed books are more appropriate for students.

+1
no mater what you say - no matter what you think , the move away from printed books is a move into a future with no past ...digital media is not safe and can edited

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Ben 2012/07/30 12:53:25

Maybe in some classrooms, but not all.

+1
Not at the moment, as in most schools there isn't the integration between tablets, desktops and school networks so their potential will be limited.

But just as the chalkboard was replaced by the whiteboard, which itself has been replaced by interactive boards, I predict one day soon tablets fully connected to the school network will become the norm in most western schools.

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