Al Darmi 1

Hamad Al Darmi
English 113B
Professor Spitler-Lawson
2 March 2016
Project Web Essay Final Draft
Word Count: 1459 words
Should Tablets Replace Textbooks in Schools
The use of wireless computers such as tablets is an increasing trend in schools today.
Tablets have become more widespread, and this fact has led to the debate over whether or not
schools should switch to digital textbooks on tablets from print textbooks. Tablet opponents
allege that the digital devices are costly, very distracting for students, they break easily and it is
expensive and time- consuming to fix them. They add that tablets contribute to eyestrain, blurred
vision, need expensive Wi-Fi connections and get outdated fast as new technologies are
produced. The supporters of tablets claim that they have the support of many teachers and
students, they are not as heavy as print books and lead to improvement of consistent test scores.
The proponents add that the tablets can contain many textbooks, protect the environment by
reducing the amount of printing, lead to student interactivity and are not as costly as print
textbooks. Both tablets and textbooks provide advantages to students but in different ways. The
argument presented by the proponents, however, seems more persuasive as they provide more
advantages of the use of tablets. Tablets should, therefore, replace print textbooks.
Digital tablets are new but common to the classrooms. They provide most of the features
that those of print textbooks, though in a different way. Tablets are portable, light and more
robust in the amount of content and their capacity to display, they are also capable of displaying

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photos, offering animation, and allowing the interaction of the user with some of the content
(Klindt). This feature of interacting and engaging with the student is a good combination. Tablets
can also hold many books in one place. The average tablet contains anywhere from 8 to 64
gigabytes (GB) of storage space. On the Amazon Kindle ire, for instance, 1,000 books take up
one GB of space (Should Tablets Replace). They are also capable of expanding memory for the
purpose of holding even more information. Tablets may be used to hold quiz materials and live
illustrations (Rossing). Students can also highlight text in tablets as compared to print books
which would be considered as the act of destroying the book (Klindt).
Tablets also permit students to get current information as compared to textbooks that
easily get outdated. Electronic books contained in tablets can be easily and quickly updated
allowing the students to have the latest versions of the books. It would be expensive to purchase
a print book every time it is updated or after every edition. They provide more open-source
material making the need to purchase books not necessary for schools. Open source can be
accessed by any person and normally requires no cost to use. Tablets also give teachers the
ability to design, develop, and use material they collect from online resources. It is usually timeconsuming for teachers though helpful to students. Collecting information, searching and
developing new lessons requires a lot of energy, but once the materials best suitable for the
students have been found, it becomes easy to use them. Students also perform better with tablets
as they are empowered to be responsible for their own learning. Students who have tablets have
the tendency of reading more books as compared to those who do not have ones. E-book
learning system could achieve a better personalized learning experience for elementary school
students. (Huang). Books on tablets can be read at any time and any location. Additionally,
teachers can customize student learning using tablets with hundreds of educational apps

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designed for iPad and Android devices. Students are also able to easily work together through
the use of online blogs and education-based social networks which are very good for learning
performance and social interactions of students (Klindt).
Studies have revealed that students are more motionless to educational stress and
disappointment when they are not able to keep up with what is taught in class. Multimedia
learning has offered an edge for the students who find it hard to remember what they were taught
in the past classes. The influence of emotional intelligence on digital learning has been
widespread in the Age of globalization starting with Web2.0 technologies (Railean). It is a fun
method of learning that makes the children have interest in the topic with good illustrations and
animated descriptions. Children tend to learn things that they are most interested in, and tablets
provide that interest. Motivation in students is also said to increase when they are using
technology instead of traditional means of learning (Should Tablets Replace).
The world outside school is very competitive. Students should be prepared to encounter
the challenges of the corporate world once they are done with school. Extend teaching and
learning through mobile devices, is often touted as a way to address the challenges of the world's
increasingly global, mobile, technologically savvy work force (Kaganer). Tablets are mostly
used at workplaces and students should be ready to embrace their usage right from the beginning.
More concentration should be given to skills together with job-oriented information, and the use
of tablets for that purpose is beneficial. The modern employer requires employees who are
technologically equipped. Students who use tablets in their learning will be better equipped in
these modern workplaces as compared to those who use print textbooks. Some of the work duties
such as submitting reports will be easy for them as they will be used to submitting typed
assignments (Kaganer).

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The use of tablets over textbooks is also more affordable. If one calculates the amount of
money that parents spend buying textbooks for their children annually it will be more than the
cost of buying a tablet. Rather than using one textbook, a student may refer to the numerous
books that a tablet may contain. A tablet, Offers a solution to parents for buying additional
books per year and students are provided with extra reference materials (Rossing). Tablets are
also not subjected to wear and tear in comparison with textbooks making them easy to pass on to
others. They can also be shared by many people on the go at a very small cost or at no cost as
compared to textbooks which will require photocopying costs.
Most school bags contain books weighing much more than the recommended 15% of
such students weight. Pediatricians and chiropractors recommend that students carry less than
15% of their body weight in a backpack. These books lead to back pain issues and exhaustion
after school. A tablet reduces the heavy weight of textbooks hence protecting the health of the
student (Should Tablets Replace).
Adaptation of the use of tablets instead of textbooks also leads to environmental
protection and is cost-effective for schools. The paper is saved if notes are taken on tablets. This
fact reduces the demand for exercise books. The use of tablets also reduces the need for printed
books hence less use of paper. It will reduce the number of trees that are cut down to make
textbooks and exercise books. Homework, presentations, and other projects are more
interactively handled with the use of tablets (Frey) Cutting down of trees have adverse effects
on the environment which may be avoided through the use of tablets (Kaganer).
In conclusion, the use of tablets in schools is on the rise, which evokes a debate on
whether or not tablets should be used instead of textbooks. Opponents of tablets have presented
various arguments such as high costly, distraction for students, fragility, etc. The opponents also

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claim the health disadvantages, such as eye problems, that the use of tablets may cause. The
proponents have presented arguments such as tablets providing motivation for students to learn
as they are a fun way of learning due to the graphics and other illustrations they provide. Tablets
have also been said to be cost-effective as compared to buying books annually and the fact that
books get worn out within a short period. Tablets have also been said to protect environmental
pollution as they reduce the need to paper products such as exercise books and textbooks. Tablets
also prepare students to be ready for the business world where the use of these devices is the
standard.
Tablets also give teachers the ability to design, develop, and use material they collect
from online resources. They provide most of the features that print textbooks provide, though in
a different way. These devices are also portable, light, and stronger in the amount of content and
their capacity to display (Klindt). The fact that they can contain many books, at times, different
versions of the same book is also an added advantage and a feature that is not available in
textbooks. Tablets make learning fun and allow education interactions through the use of blogs
and other forums. The use of tablets in schools should be encouraged.

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Works Cited
Frey, Nancy, Doug Fisher, and Alex Gonzalez. Teaching with Tablets: How do I integrate
tablets with effective instruction?. Reference and Research Book News, 28.6 (2013).
Web. 19 Feb. 2016.
Huang, Yueh-Min, Liang, Tsung-Ho, Su, Yen-Ning, & Chen, Nian-Shing. Empowering
Personalized Learning with an Interactive E-book Learning System for Elementary
School Students. Educational Technology Research and Development 60.4 (2012): 703722. Web. 19 Feb. 2016.
Kaganer, Evgeny, Giordano, Gabriel, Brion, Sebastien, & Tortoriello, Marco. Media Tablets for
Mobile Learning. Communications of the ACM 56.11. (2013): 68-75. Web. 19 Feb.
2016.
Klindt, Rob. Should Tablets Replace Textbooks in the Classroom. Online Education Degrees.
online-education-degrees.org 5 June.2013. Web.18.2016.
Railean, Elena. Psychological and Pedagogical Considerations in Digital Textbook Use and
Development. IGI Global, 2015, Print.
Rossing, Jonathan, Miller, Willie, Cecil, Amanda, & Stamper, Suzan. iLearning: The Future of
Higher Education? Student Perceptions on Learning with Mobile Tablets. Journal of the
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning 12.2. (2012): 1-26. Web. 19 Feb. 2016.
Should Tablets Replace Textbooks in K-12 Schools? ProCon.org. 9 Apr. 2014. Web. 18 Feb.
2016.