Tablets vs. Textbooks: The Debate in K-12 Schools

Textbooks vs. Tablets Jahrod Meyers Central Carolina Technical College Topic:Should tablets replace textbooks in K-12 schools? Specific Purpose:Explaining the advantages and the disadvantages Thesis Statement:Publishing for the K-12 school market is an $8 billion industry, with three companies - McGraw-Hill, Pearson, and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt - capturing about 85% of this market. Tablets are a $35 billion industry with roughly one in three adults owning a tablet. As tablets have become more prevalent, a new debate has formed over whether K-12 school districts should switch from print textbooks to digital textbooks on tablets.

Introduction A 4GB tablet filled with 3,500 e-books weighs a billionth of a billionth of a gram more than if it were empty of data - a difference that is approximately the same weight as a molecule of DNA. The same number of physical books would weigh about two tons. In San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles, robberies related to internet-enabled handheld devices (including tablets) have accounted for 50, 40, and 25 percent respectively of all robberies in 2012. Manufacturing one tablet requires the extraction of 33 pounds of minerals, 79 gallons of water, and 100 kilowatt hours of fossil fuels resulting in 66 pounds of carbon dioxide.

Students who used an interactive, digital version of an Algebra 1 textbook for Apple's iPad in California's Riverside Unified School District in 2012 scored 20 percent higher on standardized tests vs. students who learned with print textbooks. During the 2011-12 school year more than 13,700 US children, aged 5 to 18, were treated in hospitals and doctors' offices for backpack-related injuries such as contusions, sprains, fractures, and strains to the back and shoulders. Transition:getting into the pros and cons. Body I. PRO Tablet a. Tablets help students learn more material faster. b.

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Tablets can hold hundreds of textbooks on one device, plus homework, quizzes, and other files, eliminating the need for physical storage of books and classroom materials. c. E-textbooks on tablets cost on average 50-60% less than print textbooks. d. Tablets help students better prepare for a world immersed in technology. II. CON Tablet a. Tablets have too many distractions for classroom use. b. Many students do not have sufficient home internet bandwidth to use tablets. c. The average battery life of a tablet is 7. 26 hours, shorter than the length of a school day. d. Tablets shift the focus of learning from the teacher to the technology. * Transition:In closing, “Computers are getting smarter all the time. Scientists tell us that soon they will be able to talk to us. (And by ‘they’, I mean ‘computers’. I doubt scientists will ever be able to talk to us. )” Dave Barry. Conclusion I. Opponents of tablets say that they are expensive, too distracting for students, easy to break, and costly/time-consuming to fix. They say that tablets contribute to eyestrain, headaches, and blurred vision, increase the excuses available for students not doing their homework, require costly Wi-Fi networks, and become quickly outdated as new technologies are released.

II. Proponents of tablets say that they are supported by most teachers and students, are much lighter than print textbooks, and improve standardized test scores. They say that tablets can hold hundreds of textbooks, save the environment by lowering the amount of printing, increase student interactivity and creativity, and that digital textbooks are cheaper than print textbooks. III. 43% of Americans read online books, magazines, or newspapers. Amazon announced in July 2010 that e-books were outselling paper books, and a July 2012 report by the Association of American Publishers showed that e-book revenue IV. xceeded that of hardcover books for the first time ever. 80% of publishers now produce e-books. While e-books sales rose 117% from 2010 to 2011, the print book business declined 2. 5% in 2011 to $27. 2 billion from $27. 9 billion in 2010. However, over 90% of educational textbooks are still read on paper, and only 30% of textbook titles are available electronically. V. I feel that transfer to tablets isn't a bad idea. Considering you will only have to keep up with the tablet and not 5-6 different books for one class. It will also help the children in K-12 to learn and soon master technology

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