Can e-books replace textbooks

Recently, one often heard about initiatives to switch to e-books instead of textbooks in schools. A cursory analysis of the news suggests that so far we have not gone further than words, but in neighboring Ukraine they are actively preparing for the introduction of readers instead of textbooks .

What can come out of this experience and is it useful to us?

Now there are two arguments in favor of readers: physical (less weight, easier to carry) and financial - an electronic book is cheaper than a set of paper for all 10 years.
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Let's go over both theses.

Weight factor

Indeed, one ebook weighs approximately like one textbook, and schoolchildren have to carry up to 6-8 books with them for one school day (a lad dragging a satchel into which he himself would easily fit is a common occurrence).

But the whole point of this decision is being killed by its half-heartedness. It doesn’t attract a fundamental change in the way of teaching in schools, because the main real minus of paper publications - the inconvenience of working with information - does not solve.

From the electronic pages of the textbook will have to rewrite the conditions of the problem or the desired paragraph as well as from the pages of the usual. In this case, there are purely technical limitations: for example, according to Amazon research, the possibilities of using the same Kindle in the educational process are very limited , because e-books “do not have enough flexibility to create the necessary level of involvement in the learning process. In particular, it’s not so easy to navigate between pages, documents, spreadsheets and graphs compared to how it happens when using paper editions. ” In principle, this also applies to all other ebukov.

But the matter is not even in technology. In the end, electronic readers will have their own niche, focused more on the consumption of information than working with it, content generation or communication. Reading books is the same. Opportunities to edit the text for this or make small marks - enough.

But this is not enough for the educational process, the basis of which is just the work with information, and not a stupid reading bog. All sorts of workbooks that have become popular in schools in the last decade - from this area. And the e-reader in its capabilities is even inferior to them. But around - a huge market for tablets, netbooks and laptops. And only the natural conservatism of the educational system while holding back their intrusion into the educational process. But such penetration in the foreseeable future in one form or another is inevitable. And then e-books will have big problems - in different parameters they are inferior to both books and computers. So, this decision is obviously intermediate, creating only extra stress on the education system already tortured by reforms.

Do I need to spend time and effort on its implementation? In the state order, sure, no. In the private - yes, it is possible. At the level of individual schools or parents. In the end, the 10-year (minimum) lag between the current moment and the radical informatization of schoolwork is a short period for the whole system — this is precisely the period of schooling for a specific child.

Financial factor

Proponents of the introduction of electronic readers rest on the efficiency of this solution - they say, ate and
order bought a book once, filled a set of textbooks for 10 years ahead - and learn.

The unreality of this model is obvious - and who will write and with what money to publish these books? Reducing the cost of printing and distribution does not make them free. Such an approach is justified except for the moss covered textbooks of the Soviet period - digitized and distributed to anyone he likes. And well, if this is a math textbook. And what about physics, literature, history? New editions, scientific and educational methods - this is a whole industry, which should receive money for their work. Therefore, in the case of electronic textbooks, the “learning app store” scheme is more justified - you go there from a tablet or even ebook there, and choose a study guide - recommended by a teacher or download rating :)

In such a situation, the publishing business could subsidize e-books, like cellular operators, for example - iPhones. After all, if you think about it, the benefit from this can be huge: negotiate with schools, or even better - with the Ministry of Education, purchase a batch of the simplest reading rooms from China, distribute them to schools and earn money by selling textbooks in electronic form, eliminating a lot of expenses printing publications and the need to share profits with stores. A huge (millions of children!) Market with guaranteed sales - still everyone learns from the same books of the same publishers - is open.

The consumer will benefit from this, having received the same books at a lower price + an electronic reader as a gift.

But this, of course, is utopia. The publishing business is very conservative and clumsy, as is the learning environment they serve. But, if conservatism is a blessing for education, in business it is almost always a guarantee of lost opportunities and profits.

However, without a commercial initiative, the introduction of e-readers in schools is a hopeless step, a waste of public money and nothing more. And certainly it is not worth trusting the ministry, which even the Unified State Examination cannot conduct without a scandal .

In general, read books, paper or electronic :)