E-book Readers to Replace Textbooks?

With children immersing in the quickly advancing digital age, in a couple of years they're likely to forget what a new text-book even smells like. Apparently, Australia may be the pioneer country where school-goers will experience this drift.
According to a news report, e-books will replace school books in Australia as soon as in three years time, as quoted by Richard Siegersma, executive director, DA Direct, Australia's largest distributor of portable reading devices and e-books.

What's likely to happen?

The Good

Moving beyond notebooks and netbooks, we're talking e-books, or electronic books, here. A single e-book reader will be able to house many textbooks, reference books, notes, etc. Access to a huge resource of content being available at one point - online and offline - students will be able to garner more knowledge about a subject than they could using just a textbook.

"There will be just-in-time and customized delivery to flexible, full-color screens; textbooks with audio and video components; touch screens for handwriting and margin note-taking and text highlighting," says Siegersma.

There will be no burden on the back to carry a bag full of books, and yet a student will never have to worry about forgetting a textbook at home.

Libraries will lend students e-textbooks to students, or they will be able to purchase them from online stores. Perhaps, the digital content will be cheaper too?

Goodbye, school bag!

The Bad

Is the seemingly good actually bad?

How do you feel when you lose important data on your computer? With all possible notes jotted digitally, imagine the stress of losing this data - unless, of course, one saved it online.

Along with data loss, add problems like bad handwriting and bad spellings. The addiction of auto-text input and spell-checks, it is a common phenomenon even nowadays. With vast amount of content available on e-books to read, students will be glued to the e-book reader for hours - add bad eyesight to the list!

Further, there will be no excuse to share a book with the cute girl who sits across in the next row as students will be able to share text instantly online.

Lastly...

Of course, there cannot be total elimination of tangible books in the next couple of years - unless some angry person magically burns down every single book on earth. But yes, a digital domination of the text is inevitable. Further, years down the line, we won't have enough trees to make paper - expect to pay a bomb for buying a hard cover book collectibles!

Reference: http://www.techtree.com/