Should laptops replace textbooks?

there is no need to purchase laptops for all students when they could get their own; and would gather that half of the students own one now

I seem to remember that this was tried somewhere in Texas a number of years ago and that a large number of lap top computers ended up in pawn shops.

Sure, for lots of subjects, in the upper grades and college. As many have already pointed out, the textbook per se is riddled with problems: rapid obsolecence, weight, expense, etc. However, I'd hate to see books disappear entirely, and I'd hate to see screen-based instruction trickle down to lower and lower grades (where old-fashioned textbooks don't really belong, either); kindergarteners don't belong on a laptop. I also cringe when I see education becoming nothing but edutainment -- instead of catering to the craving for sound-bites and flashy media presentations for absolutely everything, let's find ways to get people to READ! The written (not flashing, not animated, not read aloud) word is still an important means of communication everywhere. I consider myself reasonably tech-savvy and use my beloved Macs all the time, both at work and at home, but I also savor getting to stop staring at a screen and curl up with a good (paper!) novel. Too, laptops don't solve all the waste problems of the textbook -- already we can't optimally handle all the toxic junk that the latest laptop turns into in a few short years.

I agree with most of the comments made on this question. As a high school library media teacher in CA, I unfortunately have the responsibility for the 75K+ textbooks used in our school. We have a high expectation on the part of most of our parents and students that they all have books, and after the Williams Case here in CA, the requirements got stiffer. Students do get textbooks stolen here, as other students want a second copy for their tutor, for their car or whatever. We have had the experience of having 3 of our science textbooks and our new health textbook available to students online or on CD. The students have not bought into this format and the real reason finally started coming out. Inspite of what their parents think, when they are on the computer, they are not always doing homework and having to use their textbooks on the computer is too distracting for them. This is one problem that will need to be addressed when we finally get to the point where they all have laptops.

Cut out the middleman! Textbooks are obscenely expensive and outdated the day they are published.

The short answer is, yes, it will happen. All three of my sons watch free downloaded classes from Columbia, Harvard and (their favorite) MIT's Open Courseware. Our fifteen year old son is going to take 2 AP classes on line next year. My twelve year old built his own PC, and he is not the only child doing it. My husband is using his laptop and his ipod in his EMBA classes at Pepperdine. My 70 year old father takes his electronic book every where. We have seven computers, both PC and Mac in our family. In the bigger world laptops have already replaced textbooks.

Student laptops make sense at many levels: they have less weight, contain current information, reflect real world use. However, until available programs contain the content available in textbooks, a class set of texts would be a good idea. Guided reading in the text will keep information in context for students, who on the internet are receiving masses of pieces of information out of context. I have used the TASA programs in geology for freshman earth science classes, and I find that students learn quickly with this format. I would first like to see other programs of this type before the textbooks go the way of the slate.

Today (2006), textbooks are obsolete or misleading the day they come off the press. Their greatest value is to publishers, authors, salesmen, censors and paper mills. For students, they have only marginal utility and reinforce the feeling that education is boring. Textbooks have no resale value. Students lose them and mutilate them, but never steal them. Between 1934 and 1979, I've estimated that I was exposed to a mimimum of 150 textbooks (50 in grades 1-12; 50 in undergraduate study and another 50 at the graduate level) and none of them were memorable. Years later, I learned that Muzzey's U. S. HISTORY text (12th grade) was "controversial." Unfortunately, no one ever pointed out what was controversial about it. The great triumvirate that is proving that education can be informative, entertaining and worthwhile are Brin, Page and the founder of Wikipedia!

I beleive that at some point it would be good but wrong at the same time. On the good side, it can help students with the research they need and it makes it easier for them to do their homework. But on the bad side, the students can get distracted very easily instead of focusing on what the teacher is teaching. Anyway, in this case it would be a complicated situation!

More than 5 years ago, I saw a working prototype of an 8 1/2 X 11 inch tablet format e-book that had terrific resolution, high storage capability, and simple page turning capabilities. The primary motivation for creating it, according to the Japanese developer, was to reduce the waste caused by paper-based media. As technologies like this reach marketability, maybe in the form of electronic notebooks, the environmental benefits will be significant...imagine just the tonnage of newsprint to be saved daily on a global basis, let alone magazines, paper-based advertisements and books. We have no choice...and the kids can become the first users and believers that this transition needs to happen.