TECHBOOKS REPLACING TEXTBOOKS
In todays society we have made many technological advances. We now incorporate technology in almost every aspect of our lives. Technology has replaced many jobs, and now it has replaced a traditional educational tool, textbooks. Schools that worked with certain companies, such as Discovery, have replaced their textbooks with techbooks. These techbooks offer more than the traditional textbooks such as, videos, virtual labs, and downloadable content. These techbooks offer more than traditional books. Textbook companies have always been dealing with a decline in their business. Although this will cause revenue to decline more, it is a better decision. Schools will no longer have to worry about purchasing expensive book. They will no longer have to use worn out, outdated books. This also benefits students as well. They won’t have to carry around heavy books. They also won’t have to worry about how fragile the book is, and if they are going to break it. Many schools will not let a student graduate if they do not pay for their damaged textbook. A lot of these students can’t afford that though. Using these techbook will eliminate that problem all together. With benefits, there are also disadvantages to this. Technology has been replacing jobs for quite some time. These advances could possibly lead to replacing the job of a teacher, as online schools do. Society wants adolescents to be very familiar with technology and its sources, but should there be a limit? Also, sitting a student in front of a computer will tempt him or her to get sidetracked by the Internet. Many students would rather get on Facebook than follow along with their class. Even though there are disadvantages to this, the advantages out weight them. “One way to describe it would be an act of ‘creative destruction.’ By this I mean we’re intentionally tearing down an outdated, industrial model of learning and replacing it with more personalized and connected experiences for each student (Will Ethridge).” The chief executive of Pearson North America, part of Pearson P.L.C., the world’s largest education and learning company stated this when being interview about this topic. I think he is right. Many school’s textbook are outdated along with their information they offer. With these techbooks, information will be updated every year. The chance of students learning false or outdated information will become eliminated. Many schools cannot replace their textbooks with techbooks simply because they cannot afford to do so. I believe that the government should offer aid and help these schools become digitalized. If our society wants technology-savvy students, then they should help schools to make this happen. School’s budgets should be raised so schools will have a chance to improve the learning of their students. Using these techbooks will help schools with their “going paperless” goals. It will save them money, and offer constantly updated information. These books also offer more help than the traditional textbooks. “When a student reads a textbook and gets to something they don’t know, they are stuck. Working with the same material on a digital textbook, when they get something they don’t know, the device can let them explore: It can show them what a word means, how to solve a math problem that they couldn’t figure out how to solve (FCC chairman Julius Genachowski).” This is a good transition, and it will benefit students, teachers, school, and the techbook companies. Hopefully these techbooks will soon replace the traditional textbook.