Recently, I wrote about eReaders being used for school. I wrote that eReaders may not be the panacea for to improve reading in school. Today, I came a cross an article in the New York Times (NYT) where it is pointed out that eReaders are generally not suitable for school textbooks. Anne Eisenberg wrote in her article, “Devices to Take Textbooks Beyond Text” in NYT:

“Even dedicated e-readers with their crisp printlike displays can’t handle textbook staples like color illustrations or the videos and Web-linked supplements publishers increasingly supply.”

This is a valid observation. But she goes on to highlight a better alternative which are “two-screen e-book readers with a traditional e-paper display on one screen and a liquid-crystal display on the other to render graphics like science animations in color.” Until these type of eReaders become the norm, school textbooks will remain un-digitised.

In addition, another article, this time from by Annie Gowen of the Washington Post, describes how the digital divide has developed and has led a greater advantage to those who are well-off. This reinforces what I had written about the cost issue of eReaders, and this issue can be applied to all the ICT equipment that is used for education. Of course, this has implications for equitable educational opportunities for all. Will those without be severely disadvantaged in the learning process in terms of speed and efficiency?

This digital divide can lead to issues in assessment of learning. A teacher must be very mindful that ICT does not give undue advantage to those who can afford, for example, laptops or PCs. These tools give students greater efficiency and also makes it easy for them to produce a nice report compared to those who probably have to resort to photocopies and a cut-and-paste work. Those without will be severely disadvantaged if teachers do not take note of this digital divide.