Significant parts of the educational experience have changed over the last few decades, especially as new technologies have emerged. One thing that seems to have stayed the same, though, are the textbooks used by most classes. Given the presence of online books and other resources, the question must be asked – is there still a good reason for traditional texts to be used in school? In fact, do we still need textbooks at all? The answer to the question may be a bit more complex than some imagine.

Changing Academia

If you’re going to talk about these books, you have to first start by talking about the context in which they are used – academia. On one hand, it’s very easy to think of the academic setting as incredibly progressive and forward thinking.

In reality, though, traditions are deeply embedded in academic settings and moving away from traditional textbooks will always be something of a fight. If you’re going to ask if traditional texts need to be removed from the environment, it’s important to ask if that’s something people actually want.

So, how do you answer that question? The easiest ways are to look at the two populations most clearly impacted – students and teachers. Both groups care a great deal about utility, while one might be impacted by factors like cost more than the other. If you’re going to make any decision about the texts used in class, you’ll have to figure out what making the change brings to the table for both groups. It’s not an easy question to answer, but it’s definitely something that’s worth exploring.

The Benefits of Going Electronic

Most people who look at getting rid of traditional books point at the ubiquity of electronic sources as a good reason to make the switch. After all, e-books are easy to use, they usually cost less, and they don’t force students to lug around gigantic books from class to class. They often seem like they solve many of the problems that both teachers and students have with traditional texts, if only by providing a much more friendly format.

Great electronic books do much more than reducing weight, though. Some e-books have hyperlinks to other sources, while others might include embedded videos. In many cases, electronic books are simply better than their paper counterparts because they can do more. They even have the benefit of being immediately available, allowing students to purchase their books in the middle of class rather than having to go down to a bookstore or to wait for a book to be shipped.

If you’re going to look at replacing the current books, electronic books make the most sense. They help students and they provide a level of accessibility that can make the lives of teachers much easier. That does not, however, mean that totally overhauling the current system is without its potential flaws, though.

The Limits of Technology

One of the major arguments for keeping the current books is that they are incredibly accessible. Once you buy a textbook, you own the textbook – you don’t have to worry about a license expiring or having the book deleted. In fact, ownership of these books is so central to the process that many students depend on the secondary market to both buy their books from other students and to sell textbooks once they are no longer useful. If you choose to eliminate traditional books, this market goes away.

There’s also the fact that electronic books require some kind of device to use. While it’s nice to think that every student will have access to an internet-enabled device, the truth is that this isn’t always possible. Requiring electronic books would put certain students at a disadvantage and increase the already-astronomical cost of education. The costs of tablets might be going down and online-enabled devices might be more ubiquitous than ever, but society isn’t quite in a place where more traditional books have completely lost their utility.

To a degree, the book format has its own real benefits. Books never run out of batteries. You never have to worry about wi-fi coverage when you use a textbook. You also never have to worry about students accessing multiple versions on one text, as you can set a specific version as the chosen volume for a class. Traditional books bring a sense of sureness to the educational process.

Choosing a Middle Road

For many, the best choice might be choosing a middle path. We may still need traditional texts, but we can supplement them with electronic sources when necessary. That’s why it’s nice to see sites like BooksRun that sell textbooks as well as electronic books, which allow students to make the choices that work for them. There’s no doubt that the format of the texts might change some day, but for now it does seem like they still have a place in the academic world.

Shift Frequency © 2019 – Do we still need textbooks?