Index IntroductionCan digital devices replace traditional textbooks? (essay)ReflectionConclusionWorks CitedIntroductionCan digital devices replace traditional textbooks? (essay) The first eBook or electronic version of a printed book was noticed in 1971 and was called Project Gutenberg by Michael Hart. He used a computer for the first time to accumulate, retrieve and find information. “Since then, Project Gutenberg (has) created thousands of free texts and copies of books that can be downloaded or accessed online.” But it was still too early for eBooks to become popular because at that time the Internet was still very new and not available to the general public. For this reason, the development of the eBook market has been slow. But in 1998, four major events occurred: 1) the first e-book software, Rocket E-Book and Softbook, was launched; 2) the first ISBN (International Standard Book Number) for an e-book was released; 3) US libraries have begun providing free e-books to the public through websites and other services; and 4) Larry Page and Sergey Brin's creation of Google made it easy for online users to search for anything they wanted, which meant that anyone interested in eBooks would search for them via Google. Thanks to these discoveries, the popularity of eBooks was expected to skyrocket, but the growth was slower than expected and it didn't gain popularity until the early 2000s. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayFrom the year 1998 to 2006, there were fewer developments in the eBook market that could attract the attention of users, but the release of Amazon Kindle in 2007 made the popularity of eBooks increase. However, according to Weisberg's observation, eBooks available in 2009, "...offered little more than simple reading functionality", which were the same when they first entered the market. But later in 2010, e-Reader devices started entering the market with basic note-taking, highlighting, and searching capabilities. With this transformation, eBooks became easier to use and started to gain popularity. In 2010, Apple launched the iPad alongside iBooks and its iBooks store on iTunes, selling half a million eBooks in less than a month. Google also saw its eBook store finally take off, but more importantly, Amazon reported that its eBook sales surpassed hardcover sales for the first time. This was very important because Amazon originally started as an online book retail company and this increase in eBook sales clearly showed the change in user acceptance of eBooks, also underlining the future prospects of eBooks. An updated list of resources with free books In their article on eBooks Chen, Gong, J. Yang, X. Yang and Huang stated that “A digital textbook maximizes the convenience and effectiveness of learning by digitizing textbooks existing printed products, to provide the benefits of both paper-based and multimedia learning functions such as images, audiovisuals, animations and 3D graphics, as well as convenient functions such as search and navigation”. The development of modern tablets with longer battery life, together to these improved features of eBooks, have made everything more convenient for readers and have maximized their reading productivity. There are different types of eBooks available in the market today. Some of them are simple versionsdigitizations of traditional textbooks available in different formats, e-textbooks with additional features such as links to various media including videos, podcasts, live hyperlinks and other resources, and interactive e-textbooks. In my opinion, the most useful of all are interactive electronic textbooks. Since interactive eBooks contain concepts, explanatory videos, etc. and can store data about the student's progress, such as which chapters have been completed, which questions have been attempted, and so on. They would be very useful for people with special needs and disabilities. Furthermore, these books offer advantages, such as their portability; making them accessible for use on mobile devices that allow users to view videos, audio clips, images, presentations, etc. Therefore, these books are able to teach the concepts in the book like a tutor and provide the feel of a completely online classroom environment. To further my point, I would like to share my experience using interactive e-textbooks which have been a great way to learn statistics. As an online student, I have taken many courses and have experience using various types of electronic textbooks. Among these, the most useful book I used was the interactive textbook for learning statistics lessons offered by BYU Independent Study. Required an e-textbook from Macmillan Learning with access to Launchpad. They have built-in assessments and quizzes that help instructors monitor students' activities. The only downside I encountered was that I could only use the eBook for a year due to digital rights licensing restrictions from the publisher. This can be a little disappointing for the end user as unlimited viewing licenses can be expensive or even unavailable. Another advantage of using eBooks is their additional features that are able to improve the instructor's teaching process. They are used by many instructors to enhance their study material and present information to students clearly. This helps students better adapt to various classes that may be difficult for them. Since teachers play an important role in textbook selection, they must select the best instructional materials to meet their teaching needs at the lowest cost to students. In addition to this, eBooks are used in libraries all over the United States. Modern libraries will also benefit from eBooks: “Libraries of the future could be hybrid environments where different media contribute to the evolution of their service and meet the developing needs and expectations of users.” Digital libraries can eliminate manual and physical processing such as packing, unpacking, shelving and physical circulation of books, and also save costs in the entire acquisition process due to immediate delivery of the ordered e-book title. Additionally, there is no risk of the book being lost, stolen or damaged nor are there any physical space requirements. With appropriate licensing models, e-books provide simultaneous access to widely used titles. E-books allow libraries to stock a wider range of material on single subjects and access essential material. Along with current developments, the key feature that can be expected from future eBooks is its additional flexibility for readers. It must be adaptable to the needs of different teachers, students and student groups. “E-books have the potential to provide teachers with a teaching tool that can help themto effectively impart lessons to their students.” An eBook designed to meet the needs of the teacher and student will certainly be accepted more than printed textbooks. Many factors influence why users accept or prefer eBooks, such as readers' comfort, reading habits, cost of the book, familiarity with the function of eBooks, easy accessibility, etc. “… meanwhile, most scholars have recognized that eBooks have the potential to complement paper textbooks and expand their use in the near future only if some identified obstacles can be resolved.” Work is currently being done on issues such as eye strain so that eBooks come with better displays that replicate the look of a paper text such as the Kindle e-ink reader. Work is also being done to limit Internet distractions such as Microsoft's Focus Assist and Google's Digital Wellbeing that help users stay focused on their work and brake accordingly. eBooks can help when both instructors and students take advantage of all the features available along with cutting costs. Comparing the disadvantages of eBooks with those of printed books, both affect the environment in one way or another. However, using an e-book instead of paper books is likely to have a lower environmental impact. Every year in the United States, nearly 30 million trees are cut down to produce printed textbooks. On the other hand, eBooks are mostly read on computers, laptops, cell phones and tablets made from recyclable materials. Therefore, in comparison, eBooks are considered more environmentally friendly if properly recycled or disposed of. Duncan, Korey and Stuart in their article state that “E-waste is a global problem, but on the university campus, the already widespread use of portable and multifunctional devices that could support the reading of e-books (such as laptops or tablet computers) suggests that the environmental costs of producing and supporting electronics could be considered sunk costs (already incurred).” Furthermore, it is estimated that for a student, the electricity needed to use a complete electronic textbook program for 16 semesters is about half the electricity needed to print the equivalent program, including paper production. Therefore, it can be argued that the adoption of eBooks would reduce the environmental cost of producing textbooks, while solving the problem of what to do with bulky books at the end of the course. Another advantage of eBooks is that they will not take up as much space as regular textbooks. Therefore, eBooks are considered relatively cheap, convenient and interactive, but they may have a limited license that makes them unavailable to users forever, which may be a little unsatisfactory for them. Print textbooks, on the other hand, are always available and can be easily exchanged, unlike electronic textbooks with digital and proprietary rights. Shin states in his article that “When students find valuable information, they want it stored on their personal computer or in a computer network to protect it permanently. They don't view an e-book as a permanent place to store valuable information." Although there are many benefits with eBooks, many students still prefer printed textbooks over eBooks. The main reason for this preference appears to stem from the belief that printed books are more convenient than electronic textbooks. Traditional textbooks do not require any special reading devices or software. Many are of the opinion thateBooks are a distraction from printed books. Students find eBooks distract them while printed textbooks help them stay focused by keeping them away from computers and the temptation to check email, social media, or simply waste time surfing the Internet. Research seems to indicate that many users prefer printed textbooks over printed ones. eBooks because they find them easy to read, like the smell of traditional books, it gives them the satisfaction of highlighting important texts, reduced eye strain, and no distractions from the Internet, etc. Daniel and Woody state in their article that: “Electronic textbooks may actually be less efficient than paper textbooks because it takes students much longer to read an electronic textbook than the paper version.” Even navigating within of textbooks can be a problem. Mangen et al. in their article on e-books warn the reader that “scrolling is known to hinder the reading process, imposing spatial instability which can negatively influence the mental representation of the text by the reader and, consequently, comprehension.” In their article, Chulkov and VanAlstine observed that “achievement of learning outcomes was not significantly different between students using printed and electronic textbooks.” of student performance, the use of printed books has shown positive results compared to electronic textbooks. According to a study conducted by Jeong in 2010, the possible reasons were: “Reading on a screen may require more concentration than on paper, reading an e-book is more prone to errors than reading a p-book, reading from a screen is not the same as reading from a p-book and can cause eye strain and reduce concentration, which can also affect comprehension.” eBooks have attracted a lot of attention recently and many researchers have recognized the advantages of eBooks and its features such as portability, ease of searching for necessary text, hyperlinks, highlighting and sharing notes. But the lack of standards related to educational content and functional barriers in the use of eBooks (e.g., screen reading, licensing restrictions) are among the problems that require solutions. There are also other negative aspects of eBooks such as eye strain and headaches caused by the electronic display, which can be inconvenient for readers. ReflectionAfter reading various articles, I believe that both print and eBooks have their importance, advantages and value although there is a widespread fear among paperback book publishers that the eBook market will prevail over traditional books. In their article, Muir and Hawes specify that “Electronic and paper books can coexist, and the growth of the former represents more of an opportunity than an opportunity. threat". I agree with the statement that eBooks should be seen more as an opportunity than a threat to the printing of books. In another article by Mulholland and Bates, the authors express their opinion by saying: “E-Books are complementary to collections and do not replace paper books and should coexist due to the differential advantages of each format.” This is just one example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Although eBooks have many good features that replace printed books, they cannot replace printed books because people's perception about using eBooks is yet to be changed,, 21(4), 151-164.