Lesson 18: Tablets for Textbooks in Schools

        This lesson discusses about the tablets being a replacement to textbooks in clas

sroom setting or in the teaching-learning process. Today, books are still the primary medium of instruction in most schools. Yet, there is a disadvantage of using books for learning that are being debated upon. The errors in public school textbooks have also been exposed, errors resulting from wrong information, technical mistakes and editorial lapses. Today, technology is being viewed as a savior because the students are enamored by computer games. By that, the educators have begun to think that the computer screen can very well serve as a power point educational medium.

            As to the experience, I find tablet as a useful tool in learning the lessons in the classroom especially if it deals with Science and other field of study. I do not have any of one yet I just have a netbook so, I will use my cousin as an example to express my experiences on it. He was a Grade 3 and had a tablet already, and as to my observation upon using it as an educational tool his performance in the class has been good. He always ask me to download apps that will help him to learn the subject far better, but it also have a negative effect for every weekend he cannot do his assignments because he is so busy playing with COC and he just do his homework at the morning before he will go to school. This is the reality of using a technology because whether we like it or not there will always a two sides of the new inventions.

            As to the reflection, using tablets as a replacement of the textbooks will have advantages and disadvantages. As to the advantages, tablets will be less burden to bring in the school unlike books, you can access with the information you did not understand in just one click, it is more interactive and it suit to the 21^st century learners. As to its disadvantages, not all schools in the Philippines can implement in using tablet in the school for not all can afford to buy one, it is expensive for typical family, learners may not focus on the information given yet may play online or offline game if they are already bored listening to their teachers, etc. By that, the CHED as well as the DepEd should think many times about this issue before implementing it to the Philippine educational system.

            As to the application, future educators cannot meet this if they are assigned to the public or government schools as well as not all private schools will agree to this. So, for us it would be a challenge on how we find alternative ways upon integrating technology in the teaching-learning process for the students to learn far better. We can employ different activities and strategies that will cater the lesson as well as the objectives that will not solely based on textbooks or the students keep on reading with their textbooks without comprehension. But we should not also close our minds that someday all the textbooks will be replaced by tablets or even by the technologies that are being planned to be created for the new millennium learners. By that, we should always be prepared because whether we like it or not, these inventions will stay and progress from generation to generation.