What the Tech... eBooks in the Classroom?

Changes to the world in education can come in what seem like waves, some larger than others. Electronic technology would be like the tsunami with a never-ending wave train, a significant wave being the use of electronic books, or eBooks. The greatest resistance to this innovation seems to be more financial than ideological. Basically, if students can only purchase eBooks from the school, they must have the physical technology needed to access them. Many school districts are implementing the use of iPads or tablets, which the students are able to take home for studying and homework purposes. But not all have the same resources, nor do all the families at any one school have the same financial circumstances. If a student's family cannot afford the school's electronic materials, the student misses out on learning at worst, and runs the risk of standing out in the class for negative reasons at best. Now, if all students had the same access to eBooks, other drawbacks may present themselves, such as health issues that science has not yet discovered and copyright infringement. But the advantages are as obvious as they are many. A primary one is that this may be a more environmentally sound method to distribute literature, as no paper would be needed for publishing. The way eBooks are put together is also innovative, as authors include links to videos, embed hyperlinks to websites and Internet resources, and children's readers come with all kinds of interactive features. This makes for more engaging reading and deeper exploration of content. eBooks are also easier for teachers to use, as they can be pulled up on SmartBoards, marked and highlighted in real time with the students, and accessed from more than one location. Also, the content of the book remains intact despite the conditions of its vehicle: while a worn-out book can become illegible, an eBook can be accessed from a smartphone or computer if anything happens to a student's iPad. For myself, I think that as many readers, textbooks and workbooks as possible should be electronic. I would have my students do their homework (yes, even writing, which can be done with a stylus on a tablet device) in an electronic workbook that I could access and make notes on in real time, read stories and chapters of books electronically, and explore the work of several experts at once through the site links in textbooks. I think this approach would both help make the material engaging and interesting for the students and strengthen their usage skills with technology, giving them that much more capability for riding technology waves successfully into whatever the future brings.