Electronic Textbooks: Why the Rush?

摘要

The race to replace traditional textbooks with electronic versions is on. although electronic textbooks have been most carefully tested in university students, the Obama Administration is advocating their use in elementary and secondary schools. In February, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan recommended that states allow school districts to spend money once reserved for textbooks on Kindles, Nooks, and iPads (7). As educational tools, electronic textbooks offer the promise of easy updates, cost savings compared with print, flexibility, and integrated features such as video, hyperlinks, and software that allows students to collaborate. However, electronic textbook sales (2) have not followed the upward trend of e-books (5), and scientific studies of students reading and learning from e-readers suggest caution (4-11).