Interesting Idea

Could technology render the bureaucratic battles over textbook content null? A school district in Missouri is considering replacing textbooks with Kindles (or other e-readers), which they argue would provide students with a wider array of texts available instantaneously. Apparently it's been done by a couple of school districts already. I see the appeal; e-readers are highly interactive and provide instantaneous access to learning tools like dictionaries, thesaurus, and references to other resources.

My question is what is the socio-economic status of these districts. How is it really possible that some school districts in the U.S. are considering providing students with such a high-tech piece of equipment, while others struggle to keep the lights on? It doesn't seem fair. Even though this Missouri district says it will only implement its plan if they can get the Kindles donated, I have to imagine that it's a fairly affluent district that can even dream of spearheading such an effort.

I have also seen firsthand how students treat their schoolbooks and materials, and I can almost guarantee that these Kindles won't last--I'd say that two years would be impressive, three at the very max. It's hard to see how that would really be a cost-saving measure, which is one of the arguments in favor of the plan that the district offers--saying that it would be saving money by not having to buy textbooks.

I can see points in favor and against making e-readers the primary text resource for students. Regardless of how I might feel about it as a teacher, parent, or community member, I think it's safe to say that e-readers are a technology that will be increasingly incorporated into classrooms. It will be interesting to see how this impacts the textbook industry, and by proxy textbook standards at the state level.