Valen Schaefer
Bryan Feliciano
Rosa

Tables: Better than Books The focus of our group project revolves around the notion that tablets, regardless of type and name brand, are more beneficial and easier to use than regular textbooks. Textbooks have been a way of life for generations. Many of you may remember carrying 4-6 books in your backpack every week from Monday to Friday during school. In college, you would normally have to purchase the textbooks you’ll need for whatever classes you’re taking. And some of those textbooks are hundreds and hundreds of pages long. This was never really an issue in the past, but now, all this has been made simpler thanks to the advent of tablets. Our group will discuss the history of the tablet, its cost effectiveness and weight savings over textbooks, how it’s easier to find information for any research you may be doing, and how some of the schools have begun integrating the use of tablets. The very first tablet PC was introduced during the 1980s, in those days however, it was referred to as pen computing. Pencept is the name of the company that’s often credited with creating the first pen computer. The company teamed up with CIC in 1985 to create a line of PCs that used handwriting recognition technology. Windows pen computing came in the 1990s, but the application had limited use and sold in small numbers. It wasn’t until 2002 that the first portable tablet was released into the world. Initially, these tablets were bulky and very expensive. Nowadays, you can find a tablet loaded with features and abilities for less than $100.00. Technology wise, tablets have become much faster, have high definition displays for better viewing, and can access a great deal of information. We mentioned earlier about having to carry textbooks while at school. For kids, this includes walking to and from school five days a week with a heavy backpack. Problems that can arise from heavy backpacks may include muscle strain and irritation to the spine joints, rounding of the shoulders, and a reduction in balance due to leaning forward while carrying the heavy backpack. The cost of textbooks can get pretty high as well, but this usually affects students going to college. The price of a textbook varies, and having to buy three or more per semester or quarter could cost you hundreds of dollars. For school children and college students alike, having to carry just one tablet vs a small batch of textbooks (each weighing 6-10 pounds) is more convenient and way easier on your back. And because tablets come in different sizes, you’re bound to find one that suits you. The price of a tablet when compared to a single textbook is usually higher every time. Then again, you can’t really use just one textbook for all your different classes. Over time, the tablet will easily become more cost effective than textbooks during your studies. Also, downloading the applicable books you need from a type of app store is much cheaper than buying the actual book itself. Conducting any kind of research is a time-consuming process. And utilizing textbooks for this research can become frustrating at times. Even doing simple homework from school can take time, especially when you’re still trying to find the answers to the questions. With tablets, you can punch in a key word or statement and instantly find a list of resources to look up via the web. The same method of finding information works for e-books as well. Just enter a few key words, and a list of pages with those words will appear. So as you can see, tablets are far better for quick and easy access to a plethora of information, the info can be obtained literally anywhere, and because of the tablets portability, you won’t have to strain yourself carrying heavy research books. Most schools in the world are still using standard textbooks for learning and research. However, some schools have either made the switch to or have begun field-testing tablets for students. One program, called “Tablets for Schools”, have done research into the use of tablets in various schools dating back to September 2011. The research is broken down into phases. In the first phase alone, the feedback from students, teachers, and parents was overwhelmingly positive. Anything from “Improved communication and collaboration”, “Improved environment”, “Innovation in teaching”, and “Easier to monitor progress and provide feedback” were brought up. In March of 2013, CBS News made a report on how schools are shifting from textbooks to tablets. The article mentions that “2,000 schools already have partnered with Google to use its lightweight Chromebooks, which start at $199. Some 20 million students and teachers are already using them, company officials said.” It also says that “a study from the Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life Project found that more than 40 percent of students or teachers use some sort of tablet in their Advanced Placement and National Writing Project classrooms.” Another article published in 2013 discusses Arkansas State’s ‘iPad Initiative’. The program requires that all first-year students either have an iPad or procure one in the near future. Once these freshmen have their iPads in hand, they’ll be able to download an ASU-developed iBook called “Making Connections”. According to the article, “Making Connections will be aimed at teaching students how to use the iPad in a learning environment. It's designed to help transition high school students into college-level learners.” Jill Simons, the Executive Director at Arkansas State, says “ASU makes iPads available through the university's IT store. Students have the option of purchasing an iPad or iPad mini, or they can rent one through the university. But many students don't even need to go through the school to be prepared.” We conclude our analysis of tablets being better than textbooks by saying that tablets are definitely the way of learning in the future. Any and all information can be easily accessed and obtainable practically anywhere you go, carrying one tablet vs many textbooks is so much more comfortable and won’t cause any strain on your back or shoulders, e-books of all kinds can be downloaded into the tablet devices and cost less than the actual textbook, the cost of the tablet is cheaper than the cost of having to buy two to four textbooks per semester or quarter, and the tablet makes for a far better classroom experience for students and teachers alike. To get an idea of the schools using iPads and tablets since Feb 2013 for example, you can visit the following link: http://www.zdnet.com/article/map-back-to-school-drives-100-huge-ipad-tablet-deployments/#comments.