Paper has officially been replaced with tablets. Just kidding, but there are over 1.5 million
tablets that are being used in classrooms by students on a daily basis, instead of the use of printed
textbooks as main learning resource. With recent advancements in technology, many school
districts have turned the focus off of traditional learning methods, and are now focusing on
integrating the use of tablets and computers as the main means of learning for students. With the
advancement of technology going digital is gaining more popularity within educational system.
Even with statistics that show the increase of learning, there are questions arising to how
effective technology is when used in the classroom.
The opportunity to use technology to enhance learning should and is being seized, but
this I believe should not drive textbooks into extinction or become a secondary learning method
due to the use of technology. Textbooks are reliable, can be used by anyone, and are affordable
enough where each student can have their own. Also, technology is impacting the way the brain
receives information as opposed to it counterpart. Reading digital print isn’t as productive for
readers as printed text. There are limits to what resources are accessible in order for technology
to be effective when used by students. On the other hand, there are benefits to using tablets and
other forms of technology in the classroom, such as homework and assignment being easier to
turn in or access through email or other school based systems like icollege or blackboard. In
most colleges because of this style of teaching and retrieving, many core classes use tablets and
computers, and no longer require textbooks.
One reason that textbooks should still be in use by students as a primary learning
resource, is that when digital text is compared to printed text in the areas of reading speed and
accuracy, as well as the retention of the content, printed text dominates digital text. Many studies
have been conducted since the late 1990’s on whether there is a difference between the use of
digital text to printed text. In 1994, researchers found that reading was 20-30% slower when
using digital text rather than printed text (Noyes). In a more recent study in 2001, studies still
conclude that there is significant difference in computer based reading, confirming that printed
text reading is still superior to digital text reading (Noyes). While using computers and tablets
seems like a great advancement for students, these advancements could in fact, make reading
take much more time. Technology is supposed to be used, as a tool to enhance the student’s
knowledge, not make reading and other tasks more time consuming.
In terms of reading accuracy, some studies that were conducted saw little difference
between the two mediums, but the majority of studies “generally favored paper” (Noyes).
Reading quickly and accurately without their speed or comprehension being inhibited is
important for students. Students don’t want to take more time to finish a task while using a tablet
if they can get the same reading done while using printed text in less time. As a student myself, I
have found that many times I am able to read material more quickly, and have a better
understanding when I read from printed text, rather than off of a computer or tablet.
Memory of content that is read is critical for student’s success as well. If the material isn’t
known after reading it once or twice, there was no point in reading it. Kate Garland a professor at
University of Leicester in England, did a study on the effects of e-books on the memory of the
psychology students at the university after reading digital and printed versions of texts (Crow).
The study showed that students that read digital text had to read the text several times to have the
same knowledge as those who had read from the printed text (Crow). There was also a difference
in the level of understanding that students had with printed text rather with an e-book, “students
reading printed books seemed to more fully digest and understand the material” (Crow).
Memories come in two ways, knowing something and remembering something. If something is
known, then it will “just come to you”(Crow). If something is remembered, it is the act of first
deciphering something within the reading and being able to recall it. “Knowing” is a higher level
of memory because these thoughts come naturally and more quickly. In the experiment
conducted by Garland, it was found that knowing the material came more quickly to those who
read from the printed text; the people who read from the e-books had to repeatedly read the
material, but in time came to the same state of knowing that those that read from the printed text
had (Crow). If the content is just remembered the knowledge of a subject doesn’t come to the
student after reading the material just a couple of times.
Though reading speed and accuracy, as well as the memory of material show that printed
text is superior, there are downfalls of using only printed text. Textbooks are easily worn, and are
often times heavy and awkward to carry around everywhere, and become outdated. In some
