Future vs Present by Audrey de Varennes

   "New is always better." They say, well this is not the case for our education! Textbooks shouldn't be replaced by iPads for a learning tool. Our society believes that students should be using an iPad as a learning utensil instead of our good old textbooks. What they don't realize is that by using an electronic device as a learning tool, it will cause too many distractions, as well as having higher expenses and may result in students ending up with health problems.

    First of all, there are too many distractions on an iPad. With all the games,funny cameras and internet access, children and teens most commonly don't do the task at hand. For example, if a group of teens receive an iPad in class they are most likely to work for 5 mins then get distracted while going to an app, or researching something on google. After seeing this so called thing that is distracting them they will then tap on it and not work for the rest of the period. 4/5 students ages 8-18 usually multitask while on an iPad. Meaning they will eat,do homework,brush their teeth, etc while using their iPad. I am one of those 4 and you are probably too. If I only had a textbook this would not happen.

   The expenses are also greater when using an ipad instead of a textbook. It has been established that the annual cost per student is 71.55$ for an iPad and only 14.26$ for a textbook. That cost for the iPad doesn't also include the amount of money the school will spend for the internet connection or the cost of teaching every teacher and staff member to use the device. It has been proven that textbooks downloaded on the iPad will cost more then buying a newly printed textbook.

    Lastly, people have higher chances to end up with health problems when in use of an iPad, unlike a textbook. After a whole day of using an iPad (or any electronic device for that matter) you may experience headaches, eyestrain, blurred vision and dry eyes. According to American optometric Association. People who do use iPads have a higher risk of getting musculoskeletal disorders. This may also cause neck pain, shoulder pain, repetitive strain on muscles and so on. 

   In conclusion, textbooks shouldn't be replaced by iPads as a learning tool because of it's wonderful advantages. It's not a distraction to our young society, it costs much less for our economy and it has no health problems what so ever. So new isn't always better, play it old school and use a textbook!