To e-Book or Not to e-Book...That is The Question

Okay, so that’s pretty bad paraphrasing of The Bard, but my point is, what do you think of e-books anyway? Certainly the electronic book reader a certain online book vendor has taken off, but that’s more in the trade book market. I like the idea of going on vacation and taking one little rectangular, electronic thing instead of a stack of books. But what about when it comes to textbooks for elementary school, or high school science textbooks?

My son’s fourth grade math book is available online. They sent home the access instructions this week. Kind of a cool idea, especially with a fourth grader who forgets to close the freezer, feed the dog, and take his shoes upstairs (and that’s just the first five minutes after dinner!). He can forget his book at school, but still get his homework done.

I can see where having your high school chemistry textbook online would be a great option to lugging it home. Is there a certain level for which it works best? Maybe education textbook publishers should be making all elementary education books available in e-book format. Or perhaps it’s more appropriate for high school science textbooks, and middle school math. I don’t know. What do you think?

Comments for To e-Book or Not to e-Book...That is The Question

Tuesday, October 6, 2009 by Marixi Carlos:: I happened upon your blog while doing research. I live in a developing economy, but was educated in a private schools in California & Massachusetts. I think e-textbooks can drastically change and improve the quality of education in less developed countries. I am thinking more along the lines of a textbook device, rather than an online learning experience ... primarily because I believe in elementary, it is so important to teach focus and discipline. There is just too much latitude with a computer connected to the internet. I'm very much interested in the quality of the content available to deploy this on a wide enough scale to make an impact as a model for education and educators ... as well as enough impact on our eco-system. Appreciate your thoughts.
Thursday, October 8, 2009 by Dianne Lorento:: Marixi, thanks for your comment! I think in the early grades, 1st through 12th in the U.S., most all e-textbooks are via a secure learning portal used by the school, where students can only login to that portal, can't surf the 'net randomly, etc. On the university level, of course, it's less of an issue.
Monday, October 12, 2009 by Christa:: Online textbooks would be very good for my children's backs. And it would save us money on new backpacks, as the old ones develop holes where the textbook corners push through...