Supplement your textbooks

Textbooks are a traditional medium of learning. But now, technology is making significant inroads into schools and colleges as students are becoming highly tech-savvy. Toddlers, today, know how to use smartphones and tablets way before they even learn to write a single alphabet. In this context, it is important to bridge the gap between textbooks and technology while giving due importance to both.

While learning how to use a digital medium like a laptop or tablet would equip students with the prerequisite skills to perform well in the increasingly competitive tech-led job market of tomorrow, using textbooks has its own benefits.

Better retention

Reading from textbooks helps us absorb, retain and remember more when compared to e-books. We can comprehend better if we read from textbooks.

Also when we use textbooks, there is less distraction when compared to browsing the net for information. Several studies show that children who spend more time on gadgets lose interest in studies. More screen time also affects the sleep pattern of children.

Education experts suggest tha textbooks and books should continue to be used at the pre-primary and primary levels to develop handwriting and enable students to enjoy drawing and colouring.

Additionally, proponents of retaining textbooks argue that being solely dependant on technological devices like tablets will be unsustainable due to cost factors.

Strike a balance

Therefore, it is appropriate to strike a fine balance between textbook and technology. A textbook should ideally be supplemented with additional, verified study material sourced from the internet. While textbooks set a good, chronological guideline for content of a particular chapter of any subject, technology helps a student expand their knowledge.

Schools should initiate the process of creating smart classrooms and teachers should be trained on how to use new-age technologies which can boost the impact of teaching and learning.

From middle school onwards, students should be taught how to use laptops, tablets and other electronic devices for their projects and to search for additional study material.

They need to be taught how to verify credible study material. Having a monitored e-library is a good start. These days there are several e-learning platforms which aide in exam preparations.

While technology is the way forward and the gap between textbooks and technology is narrowing, it is important to monitor children’s internet usage and guide them in terms of the dos and don’ts while using the internet.

(The writer is CEO of Oswaal Books)