An Associated Press story, run on CNN.com on Oct. 16, profiled a charter school in Ramona, Calif., for using exclusively e-books as a substitute for actual textbooks. The issue at hand is whether the relief of the weight of textbooks on students' backs is worth the eyesight problems, the cost of the textbook replacement, the social and economic gap widening between rich and poor schools, the distractive influences of computers in class, and the potential for a detachment between teacher and student. As some states consider switching entirely to e-books in the nearby future, it becomes clear that an exclusive e-book policy is not worth the opening of such a Pandora's box.
While weight-induced spinal curvature is not a light matter, the damage that can be done to one's eyes by working in front of a computer's monitor for a long enough period of time can be devastating. Students are given lockers in schools for a specific purpose - to allow them to store excess book weight when not needed. Then, too, it is not certain that a portable computer will be any lighter than the weight of textbooks in a backpack.
In addition, the costs of implementing this policy are too high for many districts. While a charter school in a wealthy neighborhood might not have such issues, a poor district has little chance of purchasing up-to-date textbooks, much less hardware or software to allow students access to e-texts. Furthermore, students' families may be unable to purchase a computer for their homes, let alone the laptop necessary to carry "books" from class to class and to and from school.
One proposal would be for the school to buy or loan students a computer with the e-books, so the students do not have to pay out of pocket. The problem there is simply that the neighborhoods where people are not wealthy enough to buy personal computers comprise the very school districts that will likely have difficulty funding these purchases. Even if these districts could gather the funds for such expenditure, they would most likely not be able to update the systems once they become obsolete, as information technology often does.
Furthermore, computers are notoriously chancy. A textbook will never crash, and unless juice is spilled on it, it rarely causes any stress to the user. A computer could be used to study for a test, but if the power goes out or the system collapses, studying becomes impossible. Presently, the computer is a supplement to academic study. Should a computer freeze or crash, the textbook can always be used as the primary source of course material.
Computers in class will also inevitably create distractions. Students connected to a network can pass the 21st century equivalent of notes, an instant message, and do it with impunity because they sit behind a screen out of sight from the instructor.
This leads to another point against the proliferation of e-books and computers in class - the detachment that could develop between teacher and student. It is hard enough for a teacher to command the attention of between 15 and 45 students at once with just a notebook in front of them; add a computer, and the problems magnify. To keep order in such a classroom, a teacher would have to be almost superhuman.
Electronics and education will coexist as long as the two continue on their present paths. Taking this with a laissez-faire attitude, however, is not the answer; just because this can be convenient, does not mean that it will be in the best interests of the students.
