Today, new technology is
developed to replace many aspects of everyday life, often with the
intention of improving current methods, making them quicker or simpler.
Just one look around a metropolitan area demonstrates this. The growing
need for simplicity and speed has led to various advancements over the
years. This mindset has reduced communication time from months to mere
seconds, and has made information accessible with just a few keystrokes.
An example of relatively new technology is the e-book.
E-books, whose influence and sales have increased in the past few years,
are virtual copies of a book designed to be read on all kinds of
devices, including computers, smartphones, and e-readers. These
e-readers, such as Amazon’s Kindle and Barnes & Noble’s Nook, are
electronics exclusively designed for reading e-books and using the
Internet. This novel idea has been met with both criticism and praise
from all kinds of people, especially in the context of education.
Alas, technology cannot truly “replace” everything without retaining the same benefits of the original, and e-books are certainly no exception. Printed books are still an essential component of classroom education, and e-books still have many issues (e.g. practicality and cost-effectivity, accessibility, and their effect on the learning environment) preventing them from becoming widespread in schools. Despite this, e-readers still have exclusive and important benefits, like their portability and overall convenience.
In our technology-centric society, face-to-face interaction has been reduced by many of today’s new gadgets. Sure, it makes communication much quicker and research of information much easier, but it also encourages more time behind the screen of a laptop or a cell phone without true and genuine interaction. A disadvantage of online conversations (vis-a-vis personal interaction or face-to-face book discussion) is that it’s much harder to express or convey your thoughts clearly than it is in, say, a group discussion in school. I’ve contributed to forum discussions on the Internet before, and trying to come up with replies that won’t be misinterpreted is difficult.
Alas, technology cannot truly “replace” everything without retaining the same benefits of the original, and e-books are certainly no exception. Printed books are still an essential component of classroom education, and e-books still have many issues (e.g. practicality and cost-effectivity, accessibility, and their effect on the learning environment) preventing them from becoming widespread in schools. Despite this, e-readers still have exclusive and important benefits, like their portability and overall convenience.
In our technology-centric society, face-to-face interaction has been reduced by many of today’s new gadgets. Sure, it makes communication much quicker and research of information much easier, but it also encourages more time behind the screen of a laptop or a cell phone without true and genuine interaction. A disadvantage of online conversations (vis-a-vis personal interaction or face-to-face book discussion) is that it’s much harder to express or convey your thoughts clearly than it is in, say, a group discussion in school. I’ve contributed to forum discussions on the Internet before, and trying to come up with replies that won’t be misinterpreted is difficult.
Printed books, however, can encourage more personal
discussions with others, with one primary example being a book club.
Here, members actually take the time to meet each other and discuss
their opinions on several aspects of the book in a manner similar to
most classroom discussions. This also fosters collaborative thinking,
providing several outside-the-box interpretations from a variety of
opinions (which has happened in my class several times), as opposed to
the commonplace views forced upon you by summary websites, such as
SparkNotes. In addition, printed books can give a more “authentic” feel
for the story as if it was a freshly written manuscript, which can also
help readers envision what went on in the novel’s era and place
themselves into the story.
Another drawback to e-books is its lack of practicality and cost-effectivity in developing or third-world settings. Even in the United States, the Amazon Kindle still costs at least USD $200 (approximately PHP 8540), and each new book often requires an additional purchase. This puts e-reader devices like the Kindle out of reach for most people in third-world settings. Additionally, the absence of both Internet access (despite the Kindle’s capability of using a wireless network) and electricity (in most areas) provide obstacles.
Let’s say that you somehow do own a Kindle but have little to no electricity access. There’s no way to access your e-books when the battery (with a typical lifespan of one to two months) finally runs out. Additionally, credit cards are often required for purchasing e-books, but nearly everyone in such environments lacks credit cards. And on top of that, let’s say you do have a credit card and can purchase e-books. But without some kind of coverage by an Internet service provider, there’s no way you could even download any of them! Without any of these three key components, such e-books are rendered either inaccessible or present for a limited amount of time. This means it will be several more years before we can truly see e-readers as the educational norm.
But even if all these factors are present, especially in developed countries like the U.S., $200 for an e-reader just doesn’t seem worth it. Not only that, but you’d have to pay nearly ten dollars for every book you have to read for school — around the same price that bookstores sell them. In many cases, rather than having each student obtain their own copy of a certain book, teachers provide the copies of novels and textbooks. But the most cost-effective alternative for many students, however, is the public library.
Public libraries offer a variety of books from all kinds of topics for checkout, all at little or no cost to you. These libraries, especially in a certain metropolitan area, are often part of a library network, in which one portable and convenient “library card” can be used to borrow from a massive collection of novels, references, periodicals, etc. from multiple facilities in surrounding areas. Even if you can’t find the exact book you want to read, it’s almost certain that you’ll find an alternative reading from a similar genre or topic. When I was preparing for competitions and tests such as the National Geographic Bee, the Brain Bee, and the ACT and SAT college admission tests, the exact reference books I wanted weren’t present, but there were several other references that still helped. Whether you’re researching a topic or just looking to relax, libraries provide a much cheaper solution.
In addition, many e-readers are slowly straying from their original purposes (reading e-books and browsing the Internet) and beginning to make other applications, such as those for Facebook, available. This demonstrates how products such as Amazon’s newly released Kindle Fire and Barnes & Noble’s Nook Tablet are slowly metamorphosing e-readers into tablet devices (e.g. the iPad), therefore losing their original purpose as electronics exclusively for reading virtual books. The additional apps would easily detract from the user’s focus, and would be like having someone trying to read a book while a TV or a computer is right in front of him or her — not just at home, but also in places like the school library. This can lead to low grades or a lack of understanding of certain topics, and in my case, has disrupted my focus several times while studying, causing unwanted results on tests.
Although e-books do have their flaws, some of their features provide ease of access and convenience. For example, many e-readers have accessibility options that make it much less strenuous to read text, such as increasing the text size or using high contrast, both especially helpful for the visually impaired. Moreover, the screen and backlight provide enough light in the dark and reduce glare when reading outside. E-readers are also much more lightweight and take up less space than printed books, eliminating the hassle of having to carry multitudes of paperbacks and textbooks that can cause unnecessary strain to the body. Additionally, one single e-reader can hold hundreds to thousands of novels, newspapers, magazines, etc. in the volume of a thin paperback, also saving several trees in the process. This way, you can still catch up on any curricular or leisurely readings anywhere — from the beach to a long car trip — a convenient aspect I have taken advantage of while traveling. And with trusted references such as Encyclopedia Britannica going out of print and becoming available exclusively on the World Wide Web, e-readers may soon see these collections going on sale as easy-access reference guides.
Another drawback to e-books is its lack of practicality and cost-effectivity in developing or third-world settings. Even in the United States, the Amazon Kindle still costs at least USD $200 (approximately PHP 8540), and each new book often requires an additional purchase. This puts e-reader devices like the Kindle out of reach for most people in third-world settings. Additionally, the absence of both Internet access (despite the Kindle’s capability of using a wireless network) and electricity (in most areas) provide obstacles.
Let’s say that you somehow do own a Kindle but have little to no electricity access. There’s no way to access your e-books when the battery (with a typical lifespan of one to two months) finally runs out. Additionally, credit cards are often required for purchasing e-books, but nearly everyone in such environments lacks credit cards. And on top of that, let’s say you do have a credit card and can purchase e-books. But without some kind of coverage by an Internet service provider, there’s no way you could even download any of them! Without any of these three key components, such e-books are rendered either inaccessible or present for a limited amount of time. This means it will be several more years before we can truly see e-readers as the educational norm.
But even if all these factors are present, especially in developed countries like the U.S., $200 for an e-reader just doesn’t seem worth it. Not only that, but you’d have to pay nearly ten dollars for every book you have to read for school — around the same price that bookstores sell them. In many cases, rather than having each student obtain their own copy of a certain book, teachers provide the copies of novels and textbooks. But the most cost-effective alternative for many students, however, is the public library.
Public libraries offer a variety of books from all kinds of topics for checkout, all at little or no cost to you. These libraries, especially in a certain metropolitan area, are often part of a library network, in which one portable and convenient “library card” can be used to borrow from a massive collection of novels, references, periodicals, etc. from multiple facilities in surrounding areas. Even if you can’t find the exact book you want to read, it’s almost certain that you’ll find an alternative reading from a similar genre or topic. When I was preparing for competitions and tests such as the National Geographic Bee, the Brain Bee, and the ACT and SAT college admission tests, the exact reference books I wanted weren’t present, but there were several other references that still helped. Whether you’re researching a topic or just looking to relax, libraries provide a much cheaper solution.
In addition, many e-readers are slowly straying from their original purposes (reading e-books and browsing the Internet) and beginning to make other applications, such as those for Facebook, available. This demonstrates how products such as Amazon’s newly released Kindle Fire and Barnes & Noble’s Nook Tablet are slowly metamorphosing e-readers into tablet devices (e.g. the iPad), therefore losing their original purpose as electronics exclusively for reading virtual books. The additional apps would easily detract from the user’s focus, and would be like having someone trying to read a book while a TV or a computer is right in front of him or her — not just at home, but also in places like the school library. This can lead to low grades or a lack of understanding of certain topics, and in my case, has disrupted my focus several times while studying, causing unwanted results on tests.
Although e-books do have their flaws, some of their features provide ease of access and convenience. For example, many e-readers have accessibility options that make it much less strenuous to read text, such as increasing the text size or using high contrast, both especially helpful for the visually impaired. Moreover, the screen and backlight provide enough light in the dark and reduce glare when reading outside. E-readers are also much more lightweight and take up less space than printed books, eliminating the hassle of having to carry multitudes of paperbacks and textbooks that can cause unnecessary strain to the body. Additionally, one single e-reader can hold hundreds to thousands of novels, newspapers, magazines, etc. in the volume of a thin paperback, also saving several trees in the process. This way, you can still catch up on any curricular or leisurely readings anywhere — from the beach to a long car trip — a convenient aspect I have taken advantage of while traveling. And with trusted references such as Encyclopedia Britannica going out of print and becoming available exclusively on the World Wide Web, e-readers may soon see these collections going on sale as easy-access reference guides.
In conclusion, both printed books and e-books have their own
unique advantages. On one hand, printed books foster face-to-face
interaction and collaboration, and are still more practical and
cost-effective than their alternatives.
On the other hand, e-books are much more portable and convenient than
printed books, and can help save the environment as well. There’s no
telling what new ideas will be the next revolution in e-books, but for
now, I believe that the benefits of e-readers simply cannot outweigh
those of printed books.
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