Article #2 Post-Apple Textbooks

     The idea of having an Ipad in the hands of every child is great in theory.  Having a faster, more up to date, lighter version of a textbook on a five pound tablet could make the life of a student a lot easier.  Is easier where we are headed in society though?  I understand that we are in a digital age and these students are growing up in a different time than anybody could have ever imagined.  I also understand the financial strain that the textbooks put onto a students family.  But these things will not be solved by the Ipad.
     First of all an Ipad costs roughly $500 and then each textbook is going to run around $15.  Now while the cost of the textbook is intriguing compared to the $70-100 that they usually pay, the unforeseen costs that are involved with technology cannot be planned for.  In an average elementary school where Ipad's are given out to every student, we are talking about around 350 Ipads.  Forget about the original price of them for a minute because that number is astronomically high for a school and think about the maintenance costs that will build up.  With 350 Ipad's in a condensed area, being handled by young children keep in mind, a school would have to have someone to fix all the bugs, problems, malfunctions, and software updates.  A teacher is not qualified in this area so a school would be in need of an apple technician on a daily basis.  Add this to the price of wireless routers all around the school, enough to feed wireless internet to 350 individual Ipads.
     Second, the poor get poorer and the rich get richer.  The schools that are in need of new textbooks because theirs are outdated or torn up are the ones in low socioeconomic areas.  These schools cannot afford to purchase Ipads.  The schools that can afford to buy the Ipads are the ones in "rich" neighborhoods or high socioeconomic places.  These schools are already well funded and have all the resources they need.  I have seen both, the "rich" school usually has computer in every classroom with extra laptops available for checkout.  The technology is the newest versions and students more often than not have at least one computer at their disposal at home.  In the "poor" school there were no computers in classrooms, they had a class designated for the learning of computer programs.
     Lastly, the University of Washington did a study where they gave 100 students kindle fires for free.  These students reported back after the quarter had concluded.  The overwhelming response of the students was that they did not like having the electronic version of their books.  Since an online textbook can only show a few pages at a time and depending on the font you use, the page numbers differ.  It makes it nearly impossible to refer back to a previous page when you are studying for a test or doing research.  Furthermore, students said that they did not like being able to post sticky notes or highlight information that they found informative to their cause.
    This is why I do not believe we should move to an all electronic base of text.  The value of holding a book and reading paper adds to a child's education.  The cost of having these Ipad's would bankrupt schools and students families.  I think that the Ipad's would be great for in class work within groups, having a few within a classroom would be extremely beneficial.