Replacing Textbooks with Digital Content

Last year I was contacted by a Norwegian educator and asked to take a look at digital textbooks that were being developed in Norway.  Having been in a 1:1 tablet school previously in Asia, I was interested to look at these - our students had accessed digital media via the school's Sharepoint portal rather than by using digital textbooks.  Today I was reading an article in Education Week about how South Korea is to replace all paper textbooks with digital content accessed using tablet PCs (to read the article in full you will need to register with Education Week).  I was interested to read about how South Korea, as well as other countries in Asia such as Japan and Singapore, are forging ahead with touch screen technology for primary students.

Studies show that on-screen reading has a positive effect on literacy:

The 2009 OECD study says there's a positive relationship between students' use of computers at home for leisure and their digital navigation skills. "Proficient digital readers tend to know how to navigate effectively and efficiently," the study said.

The study said students who read online more frequently also read a greater variety of print material and report higher enjoyment of reading itself.

Photo Credit:  Drawing with finger by Long Zheng