Tablets vs Textbooks There is much controversy around whether schools should start implementing the use of tablets or keep around textbooks. Before technology was advanced enough to create these e-books and educational tablets, only textbooks were used in the classrooms. Both tablets and textbooks have their good and bad, but textbooks definitely do serve their purpose of providing information to students, without the harm to the environment or student health. Handheld technological devices, such as tablets, are known to cause various health problems. According to the American Optometric Association, prolonged use of such electronic devices can cause Computer Vision Syndrome, with symptoms such as eyestrain, headaches, blurred vision, and …show more content…
Tablets shift the focus of learning from the teacher to how to handle and use the technology. According to education reformer Mike Schmoker, until the basic elements of literacy and critical thinking are understood by every student, “it makes little sense to adopt or learn new programs, technology, or any other innovations”. Many textbooks would not be available on a tablet used by a school, or generally on all tablets. As of 2012, “only 30% of textbook titles are available electronically.” Tablets are unnecessary because print textbooks that have been around for many years still bring relevant information to K-12 students. A K-12 student learning from an older print textbook still learns the basics of anatomy, physics, algebra, geometry, and the US government. Overall, though advanced technology allows for technological devices to have some educational uses, such devices, like tablets, used in classrooms would only bring more harm than good. They can be hacked, be costly for schools, inevitably create distractions in the classroom, and their production brings much more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, being environmentally destructive and harmful to human health. Textbooks, although old and may be seen as outdated, still serve its purpose, which is bringing information and knowledge to students. They don’t cause the plethora of