A large portion of today’s society has greatly adored the advancements made in technology, although one cannot deny that is has its own benefits and detriments when put into education. Paperless education is considered to have economic, environmental, and health effects to society. When asked a group of people on whether iPads or tablets can replace textbooks in the near future, one might get mixed responses. “IPads and technology are the future”, they’d say, while some would argue “Education is more important and not convenience”. Such opinions are truer than ever, these days. It’s not just computer science majors or information technology majors who are obliged to use computers inside the classroom. In the twenty-first century, globalization has vastly expanded, and people all over the world—teachers and students use iPads in the classroom to answer tests, read books, and take notes, etc.
The place of textbooks in educational institutions may be facing a growing challenge from tablets. With society becoming more dependent on technology in acquiring knowledge, illegal downloads or software piracy is becoming a trend, now with an increasing number of sites offering ways to download copies of software or media without paying for them. According to Aaron Doering, “The 2009 study by the Business Software Alliance found that software piracy was at a rate of 43% and results in $51 billion in lost revenue each year”. Replacing textbooks with tablets would also require enough