Benefits
Tablets can pack in more learning materials than textbooks. a single tablet is
more than capable for holding all the textbooks a learner needs plus quizzes
and homework. With such capabilities, there will be no need for physical space
for storing learning materials.
Cost is one of the
outstanding benefits of tablets. Electronic books obviously cost less than
their print versions, meaning the same amount of money can be used to buy more
textbooks.
There is also growing
evidence that students learn better with tablets than with textbooks. According
to a MOBILEDIA report titled "Kids to Spur Tablet Growth," a study
conducted on algebra students showed that those who used tablets scored higher
than those who used print textbooks.
Tablets are also lighter, can easily be
updated and do not age as fast as printed books. But they also have their
drawbacks.
Disadvantages
One of the foremost disadvantages of tablet is that they have been connected to a number of health issues. Heavy
usage of tablets is believed to cause eyestrain, blurred vision and headaches,
symptoms which are collectively known as Computer Vision Syndrome.
The other disadvantage
of tablets is that students who use them tend to get too distracted, as opposed
to those who use textbooks. This distraction comes from a number of areas
including games, videos, emails and countless entertainment applications. This
is why many digitally connected students tend to have short attention spans.
Other issues with
tablets include their tendency to freeze, crash or get infected with malware. A
school day can easily get messed up due to a successful widespread hacking.
Also, the typical usage hours of most tablets are shorter than school day
lengths. School charging will present additional challenges.
Despite all these
challenges, however, it seems as if the adoption of tablets in schools is
inevitable. Even before their adoption is integrated in education policies,
independent schools and parents are slowly making tablets available to their
students. Though complete replacement of print textbooks is still many years
away, the two standards will soon be complimentary in most schools.
