The ache of trying to find what a child needs to study for their test, amongst hundreds of open tabs, dozens of apps with similar sounding puns about education, and thousands of unopened emails, may make you long for the days of a dog-eared textbook at the bottom of a school bag, dusted in the crumbs of sandwiches and soaking in the ink of forgotten pens. The impulse to reject this new mode of learning is strong. How do you engage with information, exercises and study material that is now in the cloud? We offer some reasons to lean into the digital textbook.
As educators, we aim to provide learners with opportunities to practise a ‘flow state’ as popularised by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (Csikszentmihalyi, M.,1975), in the early 1970’s. This is the state where clarity and focus are found in the action of learning. Do digital textbooks aid in reaching this state? One major concern is the potential for distractions. Sal Khan of the Khan Academy reached thousands of students in an almost accidental manner, the way in which he did this shifted the idea of the presentation of learning material. Access to information is a priority in the South African context, and the evolution of the mechanisms of textbooks is vital.
Although some schools had already entered the digital classroom, the recent Covid pandemic threw many learners into online platforms and digital textbooks, depending on socio-economic factors, while leaving many parents and guardians trying to find structure in single-screened devices.
The digital textbook is not just a resource for a particular subject, but an opportunity to develop skills for digital citizenship. Google is a search engine, but also a verb to seek information. As we become more aware of sponsored ads, algorithms, and fake news, developing the ability to recognise legitimate, evidence-based, research-informed information is critical. This makes digital textbooks the perfect foundation for learning.
Hardcopy, physically published works are a limited resource. They quickly become outdated when knowledge is so often updated in this age of research. Access to a mode in which authors are constantly trying to improve our understanding of subjects, and can update information, is a realistic way to treat knowledge. Stagnant facts are few and far between, parrot and rote learning is obsolete, and an inability to accept change is detrimental in our ever-changing world. Online textbooks cultivate critical thinking skills. Core learning strategies are incorporated into this shift in assisting learners in scaffolding content and becoming critical thinkers. In our current fast-paced, content-creating world, it is more important than ever that learners can assess and evaluate digital information.
The digital learning experience is supplemented by media-rich, interactive features like multimedia content, quizzes and search functions enhancing engagement. The shift from reading in print to digital platforms requires mediation. The development of existing skills such as note-taking, and the skill of unpacking information through shaping and individualising online textbook material, is in the hands of educators and facilitators.
Research conducted at Dartmouth College found that readers who read digital texts tend to have lower comprehension levels compared to those who read printed materials, yet a study published in the Journal of Learning Design (Edwards, S., Watson, J. et al, 2007). has shown that interactive elements enhance engagement and promote active learning.
To succeed in using digital textbooks, learners should develop effective time management skills, avoid distractions, expand reading and note-taking techniques to organise information and promote active engagement, practise self-discipline and make use of effective study techniques.
As the stylus glides across the glass screen of our device when drafting the digital Venn diagram listing the benefits of digital textbooks and hardcopy print for this article, we are left with the thought that of primary concern, is that we continue to reimagine education. In his famous TED Talk in 2006, Sir Ken Robinson challenges traditional education systems that undermine individuality and discourage original thinking. We echo his thoughts that creativity is essential for solving complex problems and preparing students for an unpredictable future. For more information, visit www.bellavista.org.za
Bellavista will be hosting their Annual Bellavista S.H.A.R.E. Conference: Maths Matters, on
References
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1975). Beyond boredom and anxiety. San Francisco: Jossey-bass.
Edwards, Sylvia & Watson, Jason & Farrell, Ann & Nash, Robyn. (2007). Delivering on the e-learning promise: a case for a learning environment that enables Collaborative Online Problem Solving (COPS). Journal of Learning Design.
