Tablets should replace textbooks in Indian education system!
Tablets should replace textbooks in Indian education system!
Advanced nations all over the world are equipping children with tablets instead of textbooks. Now, with an increasing emphasis on Digital India, can Indian schools and colleges also look to empower students by providing them with tablets? Can technology be used to bridge the digital divide? Let us examine if Indian educational institutions can provide better learning assistance to children!
Tablets should Replace Textbooks
1. Multimedia learning provides an edge- Difficulty in remembering what was taught previously can be eliminated through interactive learning across multiple mediums.
2. Tablets offer graphical representations that are 3D- Tablets offer more complex visual and graphical representation making it easier to understand the subject. You can also cover better illustrations and graphical descriptions using tablets as these provide scope for deeper, richer, more meaningful diagrams.
3. More affordable- Using textbooks for students scores low on affordability. If the entire amount spent on textbooks for a single year is calculated, it will be more than the price of an average tablet. Also tablets can be reprogrammed and used across successive years as against textbooks which can only be used for that particular grade.
4. Reduce the weight of schoolbags- Using tablets will reduce the burden of carrying thick textbooks and associated instruments which require separate toolboxes. Research studies have shown students should carry less than 15% of their own weight in terms of schoolbags or backpacks. This is no longer a reality in present day conditions. Using a tablet would lighten the burden on the students
5. Tablets are eco-friendly- Taking notes on tablets would save paper. Schools would find the use of tablets more cost effective as well as eco-friendly. Moreover, presentations, tests, assignments and projects could be interactively handled through tablets providing a rich and affordable learning experience at nominal costs to the environment.
Tablets can’t be a replacement for textbooks :
1. Tablets are distracting - Addictive games, social networking and media sites and other distractions would take away from studying time and act as unnecessary and unrequited distractions for the students.
2. Taking care of tablets is costlier - Textbooks are easier to maintain. Students will not be able to take care of tablets in schools and public places, especially if they have to travel long distances.
3. Lost or dead tablets can be a real problem - Lost notes, textbooks and assignments will be the result of a malfunctioning or misplaced tablet
4. Tablets require heavy maintenance - Tablets are gadgets that require extensive maintenance and repair and children would have to get used to studying on tablets rather than textbooks.
5. Students may face health problems - Using technology such as tablets for extended hours can lead to health problems such as Computer Vision Syndrome, strain on eyes, head and blurred vision as well as carpal tunnel syndrome and orthopaedic problems.
6. Internet is costly - In many rural and isolated areas, Internet has not yet made its mark and tablets would prove counterproductive. Moreover, internet connections with high bandwidth will make education costlier for parents and create monetary hurdles.
7. Bad impact on grammar and handwriting - With the use of tablets, handwriting would be eliminated and grammar rules would be bypassed through spellcheck. This will contribute to the ignorance of students and their inability to work without tablets or technology in the future. Handwriting and grammar would both suffer as a result of extensive tablet use.
Conclusion
Tablets over textbooks remains a luxury for the Indian education system. In a system where basic infrastructure is not even in place, the use of technology to bridge the digital divide remains a distant dream. But if efforts are made to connect parts of India through the Internet and tablets do replace textbooks, it will represent a quantum leap in the Indian education system. Technology can make us more capable and using tablets instead of textbooks will utilise the benefits of this scientific innovation. It will also revolutionise education.
Discussion
- RE: Tablets should replace textbooks in Indian education system! -Deepa Kaushik (12/31/15)
- India is neither a country of rich, nor is the technology so developed to reach the remote parts of the country. In such a country where we still have numerous illiterates and the backward thinking of avoiding education to the girl child, thinking of replacing textbooks would be a much fast-track thinking.
Tablets which is the usage of technology has its own benefits. It would reduce the load of books and bags to the school children. The tablets would open up the regular usage of internet source in studies which could benefit students in many way. The tablets would give the students a wide range of books to study. It would be less space consuming providing immense knowledge.
Still, we should not forget the drawbacks of the technology. If the software gets corrupted or the technology gets dropped anytime, the students would have to suffer a lot. The text-books could have a better shelf life and the contents underlined and written while studying makes children more close to the content of the texts. The text books give more better companionship to the students who prefer to have handy notes along with the text book for glance. Such a comparative study becomes difficult with the tablets.
Last but not the least would be the interest of the poor children who might not be able to afford the tablets. The inability to afford the technology would be no wonder in a country like India. Hence, tablets could never be a consideration for replacement of textbooks in India.
