Will the iPad and
other electronic tablets replace textbooks in science classrooms? Many people
think so, not only those who make or sell the devices, but also some educators
who believe textbooks are insufficient for modern students.
Certainly textbooks
have a lot to answer for. The very word “textbookish” is pejorative, implying
dullness and stilted language. The books are inevitably out of date by the time
they are published, and much more so after five years (a typical replacement
period). Unlike the World Wide Web, they have limited content. Most textbooks
present science more as a body of knowledge rather than as a continuing process,
so inquiry by students may be discouraged. Only a few scientists can be authors
of any single book (though many may be involved as consultants). A teacher who
wants to excite students and help them to carry out individual projects and
explore topics in depth may find a tablet a more useful tool than a textbook.
Using the
Web presents other problems,
though. Almost anyone who has tried to research a disease to learn its causes
and treatment has been frustrated by trying to get a clear picture. Some
information is so simplistic it is useless; other information is so technical
the average layperson can’t understand it. Some sites are reliable sources, but
others are filled with misinformation or dangerous advice. Anyone trying to
learn about a subject on the Web gets little help with the stepwise progression
textbooks provide. (For instance, can anyone who is ignorant of basic chemistry
understand the structure of DNA?) In the time it can take to research one
science topic on the Web, a student can read an entire chapter in a textbook.
Having spent half
a century as a textbook writer and editor, I confess a fondness for real books.
They can provide the inexperienced teacher with a curriculum and needed
background information, and the student with relevant labs and field work. If
created by scientists and science educators, they can successfully present the
current thinking in a field. However, textbooks do have drawbacks that can be
serious. If I were teaching, I would use a textbook from a reliable curriculum
project, such as those sponsored by the National Science Foundation, for
planning the curriculum and for assigned readings. To provide the latest
information on a topic or to help students carry out individual projects, I
would make use of the Web. Within a few years, tablets may be as ubiquitous as
cell phones are now, but at present “traditional” computers can serve the
purpose. This combination of textbooks and Web can give teachers and students
the best of both worlds.
