The trouble with online textbooks
Today, Jessica Meyers writes that more Texas school districts are considering electronic textbooks.Of course, there are a number of advantages to online textbooks, starting with a lighter load in the backpack. Information can be updated easily, and it should -- emphasis on should -- be less expensive without all the glossy paper, ink and logistics of getting books to schools. Probably the biggest plus is the opportunity for multimedia supplements to the dry old page. And companies could furnish only the chapters schools would actually use.
The other way to lighten loads on students is to furnish classroom copies of textbooks. And, while the opportunity to make textbooks more timely is undeniable, some question whether publishers will really charge less for online textbooks, according to Myers' story:
One of the greatest perks to electronic textbooks is supposed to be a lower purchase price, said Alice Owen, the Irving district's director of technology. But publishers aren't providing cheaper electronic replacements.What is the real cost of providing paper textbooks? Owen says $425 per student per student per year in her district.
There are drawbacks to the e-textbook plan, too:
Districts would have to provide some kind of tech tool, at least to those who do not have computers at home, and how much would that cost? Even an e-reader costs several hundred dollars.
