In an era dominated by digital technology, e-books in schools have gained considerable popularity based on the numerous advantages they seem to offer. However, digital reading materials have their own set of disadvantages that cannot be overlooked, which we explore.
Earlier this week, it was reported that the Government of Jamaica was investing in providing electronic versions of printed textbooks (e-books) to secondary school students. Specifically, the focus will be English Language, Integrated Science, Principles of Accounts, and Principles of Business, for which approximately JMD 158 million, or just over USD 1 million has been spent (Source: Jamaica Information Service).
To be clear, the above-listed e-books will not be given to all students. To be eligible, students should not own or possess hard copies of the books, own or have access to a tablet computer or laptop, and should have internet access both at school and at home.
e-Books have been a growing segment of total book sales, accounting for 21% of the market in 20222 in the United States (Source: About EBooks), but globally was estimated to have a market size of USD 19.95 Billion in 2022 (source: Future Market Insights). Moreover, the segment continues to grow in terms of projected revenues and number of users, even though we are reading less now than we did even five years ago (Source: Gallup).
Having said this, the growing shift to e-books is welcomed across the Caribbean region, where textbooks can be expensive, can sometimes be in short supply, and can get lost or damaged. As a result, many countries, not just Jamaica have begun integrating the use of e-books into their education system. However, there is still a lot to consider and manage when facilitating the more widespread adoption of e-books in schools.
Infrastructure access considerations
Although not specifically limited to Jamaica, internet connectivity difficulties still exist across the region. To varying degrees, connectivity in schools has been improved, but most still have insufficient bandwidth delivered to facilitate efficient and enjoyable use of the internet by teachers, students and/or school administrators. Whilst in the home, internet access can be a challenge in low-income households in particular and in remote areas where the infrastructure might still be underdeveloped.
Further, although much of the focus is on internet connectivity, electric access is also critical. Depending on the Caribbean country electricity may be, at best, unreliable in some areas, at worse, not available. Depending on the computing device, battery life may be relatively short or may decline quickly depending on the applications that are being used. Hence access to reliable electricity at school and at home is another critical factor that often is not considered.
Device access considerations
Further, we also ought to consider matters related to access to a suitable device. A significant proportion of school-aged children are unlikely to be in a position to have access to their own individual computing device, until it is being provided by the Ministry of Education or by alternative sources through their schools.
Moreover, although a household might be able to provide its children with smartphones, the smaller screen size tends to make them less desirable for educational use. Further, with devices of varying price points being increasingly available to suit a broad range of budgets, some smartphones on the market have limited functionality and may not be suitable for e-book (or education-related) use – though they facilitate the tasks and uses of the family who purchased them.
Health challenges
One of the biggest concerns about e-books is their impact on our health. Every electronic device, like mobile and laptop, generates blue rays that typically harm our eyes. In addition to vision difficulties, eye strain and headaches are common occurrences, and the blue light emitted can adversely affect sleep.
It is also important to highlight that e-books keep their users digitally connected. For students who need to access study material, such as e-books, both within and outside school hours, there may be limited opportunity for them to disconnect, which may negatively affect their physical and mental health, and have long-term repercussions.
Studying limitations
First, provided the licence has not expired, e-books once downloaded are available for use as and when needed. However, emerging research indicates that people struggle to read e-books generally as the sensory experience of handling a physical book is absent. This lack of a tactile quality in e-books may result in students, who are not necessarily reading for enjoyment, feeling less connected to the material and reading.
Additionally, although it is relatively straightforward to highlight and annotate text in an e-book, it may not feel as intuitive as when using printed books, and so might be as effective when using e-books. Having said this, it may be argued that studying practices with printed books do not work in this new digital modality, the challenge is techniques that are better suited for electronic (e-)learning are not being taught at school, though the shift to online education is happening. Ultimately, we may have a cohort of students struggling in schools, as we try to straddle traditional learning formats whilst also leveraging today’s technology as we should.
Image credit: Julia M Cameron (Pexels)
