Digital or Old Fashion

Are Audio Books and Digital text the new printed books? There is a huge debate if the art of printed text on paper be obsolete sooner than expected? Hard Cover, paperback, magazines and newspapers might not be around much longer- now that we are in the digital era. Is this a move for the better to help students and others or is this a push backwards? What is the benefit of both? Is there a benefit to one verse the other? 

In the Scottish Government’s publication “Books For All: Accessible Curriculum Materials For Pupils with Additional Support Needs” discussed the benefits and drawbacks from having Audio books, “Within Scottish education, national plans require pupils to spend time on personal reading. For a pupil with a reading difficulty he (they are mostly male) is expected to sit and read a book for forty minutes at a time. Many absolutely hate doing this, so what is to be done? Staff find audio versions of the text to be extremely practical and beneficial: the media are cheap to copy; players are small, inexpensive and easy to use; and children listening while following the text at the same time can access the material at the same speed as the rest of the class”. This is great for children who have a reading comprehension issue or dyslexia, or other types of reading and decoding skills- but what about the students who have auditory issues? This is not the answer and will only hold them back in school. Shouldn’t we allow everyone the option to choose what suits them best and helps them learn? I think that having the concept of a Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) in every classroom is beneficial on this aspect of audio or visual texts. Allowing a student to choose which medium is best for them will only enhance learning. The content and meaning behind both mediums are exactly the same- just the method of delivery is different.

                

 When a computer crashes- it is ciaos- what will happen when all of your text books are deleted accidently because of a bug in your digital medium? Is there a way to recover them?  However there is a good thing for students when it comes to digital books- you can carry all of your text books in something that weighs less than the 50+ pounds the books weighed before.  “New technologies - both in hardware appliances and in software for general purpose computers - are developing to facilitate the use of digital books. These technologies emphasize support of books that are translated, rather than reconceptualized, for the digital medium. These new technologies should make many digital books more convenient, more readable, and more useable” Lynch wrote about in his Battle to Define the Future of the Book in the Digital World.

                Is there a right answer? Is there a better alternative to physical books?

That’s for you to decide!