Opinion: E-textbooks Should Be Cautiously Considered

In the "Chapter and Verse" blog in the Christian Science Monitor (8/12), Husna Haq writes that schools "want to do away with dead-tree textbooks and replace them with digital editions." However, in an article in the Dallas Morning News, Nicholas Carr writes, "'In theory, the benefits of electronic textbooks seem clear and compelling.'" But in practice, Carr cautions, "schools may want to pause before jumping on the e-book bandwagon.'" Haq concurs, adding, "I wonder, like Carr, whether schools have done their research before jumping on the bandwagon." She then cites studies that indicate that "concentration and focus is reduced with e-textbooks."