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President Obama and his administration are urging the need to increase the usage of technology in every school. In his attempt to promote great technology literacy among young people, Obama calls for e-textbook in schools.

Education secretary Arne Duncan and Federal communications commission chairman Julius Genochowski suggested that k-12 schools can use taxpayer funding, which was reserved for printed books on iPad and software once.  They recommended that state legislation must alter to enable K-12 schools to use this fund. Obama’s ambition is to equip every student with an e-textbook by 2017.

The Administration is promoting online resources as a way to help students learn more effectively and to give real time information to teachers on how well the students understand the materials. Julius Genochowski said that we spend $7 billion on textbooks every year and they are out of date for many students all over the country. 

We will spend less on textbooks and get more for it by using e-textbooks. The transition from paper to digital textbooks would ensure every classroom in the US is using up to date content. Tablet computers are expensive. Hence, it is better to move from paper books to digital books. This can save a lot of money in the long run.

It is important to push every school on digital textbook to achieve this goal. The Government offered a guide for schools to implement digital textbook transition plan. However, there is no mention about funding and other aid.

Matt MacInnis, the founder and CEO of Inkling e-textbook company said that the transition from paper to digital is critical. He added that the future for American education will not be bright, until we understand the importance of this transition. Almost all industries in the world rely on technology to get their job done. Hence, moving from paper to digital is essential.

The proposals to move from paper to digital by Obama Administration have attracted mixed reviews. Robert Pondiscio, a spokesman from a nonprofit organization said that he is not sure that simply moving material platforms would improve academic excellence significantly. A sound, cumulative and content specific curriculum is essential. Pondiscio added that digital textbooks are not magical bullets. It is very hard to achieve more than 10% of what is actually expected. We need to think about what is on the tablets, before giving them to kids.

Karen Cator, the director of technology department of U.S education felt that moving from paper to tablets would provide the students with the ability to research and analyze their work and get feedback from their teachers. He also expressed his belief that it would give an opportunity to extend the school day by offering better interactive and engaging environments outside the school.

The transition plan recognizes the need for higher education in our country to keep pace with technological changes.  However, it will be very difficult to implement this plan. If schools cannot get funds to give tablets to each student, it will need to take steps to make digital textbook available to all. The department of education and the Federal Communications Commission will arrange for a meeting to discuss how to implement the e-textbook plan nationwide.