Introduction
It is hard to believe, but there was a time when going to the library was the only method of obtaining information during the learning process. At present, the sources forms which information can be obtained far surpass the printed books in libraries. Despite the variations in the learning sources, apart from printed books and journals, the rest of the sources share one attribute in common, they are all electronic. Such sources might include electronic books (e-books) and journals, video courses, interactive materials, web articles, audio lectures, and other digitalized versions of information. Despite such variations, it cannot be said that there is a complete integration of such sources in the classroom. Apart from distance learning, most educational institutions still use printed books as the main instruction materials in learning. Assessing the importance of both “categories” of learning materials, i.e. printed and electronic resources, it can be stated that there are two points of view that exist. On the one hand, there was a time at the start of the expansion of digital learning it was predicted that textbooks will gradually disappear.
Needless to say that such a thing did not happen, whereas in 2010 analysis revealed that the percentage of e-books is merely six percent compared to printed books, the implementation of a total conversion to digital sources might be seen as very costly. At the same time, it is obvious that electronic sources have many advantages over the printed information carriers, which might far surpass the aesthetic pleasure of using a printed book, especially in terms of the benefits for learning. In that regard, the present research paper will attempt to provide an analysis of both types of content, arguing for the opinion that electronic resources have an unmatched potential and at the same time have a positive impact on the learning process. The paper is addressed to a wide category of readers, although students can be seen benefitting the most, especially those deciding between obtaining either a printed or a digital version of course material.
Overview of Electronic Sources
Electronic sources used for learning can be categorized into several types. The main criterion for each type to be included in the list of electronic resources is for them to exist in a digital form. One of the types of electronic resources is electronic publications, including books, journals, magazines, etc, which exist in electronic form. Such types of resources can be accessed either from computers or electronic devices, usually called e-readers. Within the scope of this article, the term e-book might refer to any of the aforementioned types of electronic resources such as articles and journals, not only books. Other types of electronic resources are used in conjunction with the word multimedia, i.e. adding visual or audio elements that enhance the perception of the material. Such resources can be seen on either an interactive interface delivered on such medium as CDs or DVDs, or through accessing web-based portals. The main points are similar with e-books, a digitalized content to which certain visual or audio elements were added.
Nevertheless, in the context of learning, it can be stated that electronic resources are concerned only with books and journals. In order to be more specific, journal imply scholarly article, while under the term books, textbooks are implied, rather than literature used for personal reading. Usually textbooks are purchased through online stores, while electronic journals can be provided through databases. Such databases are usually external, and provide subscriptions to universities, the access to which are granted to students, either from campus or outside of the campus. In terms of academic activities and research, it is stated that “[t]here is an increasing preference for the electronic to the detriment of the printed format… [where] e-resources are being well used compared with CD-ROM databases” (Madhusudhan 493).
Benefits
The benefits of electronic resources are numerous. The general ones, i.e. those unrelated to the learning process and academic performance can be seen through the following points:
- Cost – the cost factor can be seen as one of the most influential for students when choosing which version of the resource they should obtain, i.e. the electronic version or the printed version. The latter is specifically true for textbooks. Unlike electronic article and journals databases, the access to textbooks is not provided by educational institutions. A quick comparison between the prices of electronic and printed versions of textbooks can quickly indicate that during the course of study students can save a substantial amount of money. An indication on the site of CourseSmart, a “provider of digital course materials” which library contains “over 90% of the core textbooks in use today in North American Higher Education”, shows that sums up to $2,625 can be saved over the course of 3 years (CourseSmart).
- Space – Large libraries require a lot of space to manage, and in that regard, it can be stated that carrying a couple of 600 –pages core textbooks every day is not an easy one, not to mention where they should be stored. When the number of textbooks to store increases from 3 to 6 it might became a little difficult. It cannot be said that such aspect poses difficulties to students, rather than the fact that a number of books more than 100 times larger than the aforementioned can be carried and stored on a device, the size of a single slim book.
- Environment – with the overwhelming focus of the global society in protecting the environment such factor as the influence of using electronic resources on the environment cannot be ignored. In that regard, the benefits of using electronic resources to the environment can be summarized through the following facts:
- Paper consumption is reduced.
- Trees are saved.
- Energy consumption used in books production is reduced.
- Elimination of packaging materials.
- Fuel consumption used in transportation is reduced (Pastore).
Numbers might indicate the nature of the impact on environment, where statistics have shown that about 200 million free e-books were downloaded from a website titled project Gutenberg. Such number actually indicates that about 2 million and two hundred thousand trees were saved (Pastore).
Impact on Learning
Learning can be seen one of the main argument supporting the usage of electronic resources. In that regard, the convenience in using electronic resources for academic research is one of the most obvious advantages in learning. The fast access to electronic resources provides great advantages for scholars and students when conducting a research. Publications are reached more frequently and in a faster manner, which makes electronic resources a good substitute for conventional resources (Sharma).
The results of a case study conducted on the usage of electronic resources in Kurukshetra University, India, published in Madhusudhan (2009) found that such resources became an integral part of information needs of research scholars (Madhusudhan). Electronic journals were found to be the most frequently used sources, with the main purpose being guidance from teachers, friends, and/or colleagues (Madhusudhan 497). Another study in Sharma (2009) that the usage of electronic resources is very common in Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, with a level of dependency on such researches to obtain the required information.
Conducting brief interviews with a couple of students who admitted being dependant on using electronic resources showed the main advantages of using such sources in learning. The main sources used were found to be textbooks, while the advantages revolved around the following factors:
- The ability for fast search through the text.
- Faster browsing through the books chapters.
- The ability to make individualized notes for important information.
- Mobility of the reading devices.
Additionally, it should be stated that in the long term perspective the usage of electronic resources might provide a lot of opportunities to enhance the learning experience. The latter can be seen through the successful integration of interactive elements into electronic text, erasing the differences between such different categories of learning materials. A simple example of the latter can be seen through the implementation of Apple’s internet tablet –iPad. There are many electronic books on the devices which are made in an application form making the experience “truly interactive” (Singer). Certainly, the price of the device might be seen as a hindrance at early stages, but the technology might have potential, where the usage of electronic resources will not be connected to just reading electronic books, or surfing the web for electronic versions of printed journals. At the same time, audio and visual aid materials will be seamlessly integrated making the most benefit in both research and study.
The Argument for Printed Sources
The argument for printed textbooks can be seen in that despite the fact of a huge interest in reading electronic versions of books the implementation in learning is far from perfect. There are certain hopes connected with using electronic devices for reading educational texts. Such hopes can be easily explained, where students would be able to have whole libraries in their hands, and at the same reducing the expenses associated with printed text books would be much less. Nevertheless, some experiences of wide implementation have shown that e-books are not yet ready to replace printed textbooks. At least that was the conclusion reached at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. The aforementioned educational institution signed along with other US colleges a contract with Amazon, considering testing Kindle DX during a particular learning period (Cannon; Darden School of Business).
The results were rather mixed, especially for the Darden School of Business which cooperated more closely with Amazon. The participants of the experiment, although admitting that Kindle served well as an electronic book, the experience of using the device in learning was less convenient than with printed textbooks. The students/participants were disappointed with the acquired experience, and the majority of them quit using Kindle by the second semester. The reasons that were quoted included the absence of sufficient flexibility to create the involvement needed in the process of learning, e.g. fast switching between tables and graphs (Cannon; Darden School of Business). Accordingly, the same argument can be applied to electronic articles as well, where they resemble the same type of electronic resources.
The arguments for textbooks against other types of electronic resources are not so apparent, but to some extent can be applicable in a way similar to e-books. For example, taking the multimedia interactive materials it can be stated that the same lack of flexibility can be seen similar to e-readers, if the course relied solely on such materials. In that regard, most courses implementing multimedia materials use them as a complementary aid to textbooks.
Against the argument of Printed Sources
The argument of a failure in using electronic readers as a replacement for textbook might be seen as an indication of the non-suitability of a device in a particular case, rather than the failure of the whole technology. In that regard, there is certainly the argument of wide integration and the amount of efforts needed for such project to be implemented. Accordingly, the usage of ready solutions, initially intended for personal reading, do not indicate the failure of the idea as a whole. The argument for printed resources only indicates that there should be a solution that would be better suited for students. At the same time, the success in using electronic journals accessed through university campuses imply that electronic resources are needed, while improvements in the methods of their delivery will only make them more accessible. At the same time, it can be stated that there is no current threat in electronic resources totally replacing traditional books and journals. Nevertheless, indicating the significance of electronic resources might set the direction of developing learning materials.
Conclusion
It can be concluded that electronic resources are not a threat for printed materials. They are just a suitable solution in an age in which the information is required to be easily accessed and quickly updated. Electronic resources currently have many advantages in learning, and at the same time hold a great potential to be widely implemented in the future. In that regard, looking at devices such as iPad, it can be stated that the direction for development were already set.
The present research paper supported the position that electronic resources have more advantages in learning and at the same time have a potential for the future. The paper provided an overview of electronic resources and the benefits that they might hold in general, and in learning in particular. Additionally, the paper cited the unsuccessful example of implementing Amazon’s electronic reader as an argument for printed materials. It is also emphasized that the threat of electronic resources replacing traditional method is a little bit exaggerated, where printed sources are still more used.
Works Cited
Cannon, Brevy. “Early Reviews: Kindle Great for Reading, but Stumbles on Textbook Duty”. 2009. UVaToday. Web.
CourseSmart. “About Coursesmart”. 2010. CourseSmart, LLC.
Darden School of Business. “Darden Shares Results of Kindle Experiment”. 2010. University of Virginia Darden School of Business. Web.
Madhusudhan, Margam. “Use of Electronic Resources by Research Scholars of Kurukshetra University.” The Electronic Library 28.4: 492-506 pp. Emerald Insight. Web.
Pastore, Michael. “Ebooks Save Millions of Trees: 10 Ideas for Sustainable Publishing”. 2009. Epublishers Weekly.
Sharma, Chetan. “Use and Impact of E-Resources at Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University (India): A Case Study.”Electronic Journal of Academic and Special Librarianship 10.1 (2009).
Singer, Brett. “Ipad for Education – It’s Not the Size of the Screen, It’s What You Do with It”. 2010. Parent Dish. Web.