Dr. John Jennings (TESOL)

Is it time to Digitize Schoolbooks?

Recently the Irish Government announced plans to introduce free schoolbooks for students. This is a great idea as it removes some of the financial burden from parents. However, free books could be more accessible if they were available in digital format.

The problem with physical books

Creating a physical book is a very expensive process. It involves printing the book, which uses paper, ink and machinery. Then there is a lamination process for the book covers. After that there is packing books in bulk, which probably involves some large machine heating a plastic wrapper over a rack of books and then there is the delivery process involving trucks, vans and gasoline, not to mention the waste of throwing the packaging away and then pulping the unsold copies. That’s quite the climate impact and a large carbon footprint.

On top of that, every year or so there is a new edition. Looking at the cover of any schoolbook, under the main title, there will be ‘third edition’ or ‘seventh edition’ in small writing. Books are updated due to new images or assessments and features based on teacher feedback and if a student is working with an old edition, they won’t have a chance. This guarantees that the earlier editions will have to be pulped or dumped. This is more waste. Also, constant new editions make it impossible for students to pass along their History, Mathematics or even SPHE book to their younger siblings. Yet, governments are trying to encourage a circular economy. It just isn’t possible with new editions coming out all the time.

Digital books

School books could be uploaded as e-books online and students could be given access to them. They could log into their PC in school and read their book. Then when the student goes home, they just log into their home computer and there it is. This would save a lot of money and be good for the environment. An e-book would also allow the teacher to add notes and highlight relevant paragraphs digitally, it would be an excellent way to ensure that students are aware of every relevant section and the teachers comments can provide context and explanation.

As for the publishers, they already have a digital copy of the book to send to the printers, so it’s already in electronic book form. All they have to do is upload the .pdf (digital file of a document) to an internet portal. They would save millions in printing, logistics and waste. This also makes updating books a very simple process, as they would literally just update the file. All the students would automatically have the proper edition and be on the same (digital) page.

Student’s lives

This would make the students’ lives a lot easier. They wouldn’t have to carry heavy bags into school and worry about books getting lost or stolen from lockers. We have all seen those little kids going to school with backpacks that are almost bigger than themselves. It would be great if they didn’t have to lug around such bulky bags every day. It must take a lot of energy, and the kids may be tired after their travels too and from school, which could affect their energy levels and concentration. Carrying a large load may also serve as demotivation to go to school in the morning.

Tradition

Of course, there are some who say that they prefer students to be reading paper books rather than digital ones. However, those people lived in a world where a book was a book for life. In the past, you had a book and that was it. There was no new edition or new update every year or so. It would be passed down from sibling to sibling and generation to generation and there would be great fanfare if a new edition came out, because that would usually involve a complete revision of the ideas in the first release.

Currently, ideas change very rapidly. Research is advancing at an amazing rate. It is next to impossible to keep abreast of all the latest discoveries and updates in any research field. It is also unreasonable to expect governments and schools to pay for paper copies of new editions of books every year or so. It is environmentally irresponsible to produce all those paper products with the associated logistical costs.  The technology is already there. Freeing the schoolbook into the digital world makes them more accessible to everyone. It’s time to turn the page on paper books.