16:03 Gulf News: Tablets help students prepare better for a world immersed in technology.
16:04 Maria Vincent: I agree because tablets help us prepare for a world immersed in technology. In this greatly advanced technological era, schools push us forward in IT in the best ways possible.
16:04 Ramachandran Nair: I disagree because tablets are very much part of a new digital world, but its usage in classrooms will not help students in the learning process. Although, the world has embraced several changes in technology and education, traditional thoughts and perceptions are better in the early days of the learning process.
16:04 Touseef Ashfaq: I am undecided, however, a lot of trees will be saved if tablets were implemented as it would include less papers.
16:05 Aasha Eapen: I agree because hands-on experience is simply better than learning theories. So in that respect, learning about technology from a tablet is more plausible than learning through a tablet.
16:06 Tahseen Shaikh: I agree to the fact that using tablets rather than textbooks will help save the environment as we can then prevent deforestation.
16:07 Sandhya Shetty: While I do agree technology plays an important role in today’s age, there is nothing like holding a book as we used to in the golden days.
16:07 Gulf News: Tablets help students learn more material faster.
16:08 Ramachandran Nair: The entire learning concept changes when tablets are introduced to the learning process. It seriously affects students’ developmental skills and learning faster alone, doesn’t support understanding the subject well.
16:08 Sandhya Shetty: In the name of technology, it has become difficult to explain to our children that certain gadgets are not allowed. Using a gadget may indicate that you are tech savvy but it doesn’t really prove whether the child has learnt anything at the end of the day…
16:10 Tahseen Shaikh: Tablets definitely do help students learn more material. However, I also think that instead of having one book for each subject, students can carry only one tablet and learn all the subjects from that.
16:10 Maria Vincent: I disagree because the textbooks used in schools are lucid enough and provide the required information aptly. They are specific, unlike a vast array of encyclopaedic facts accessed through tablets. Textbooks still hold an upper hand in education.
16:10 Syeda Nazneen: Using a tablet has not only made learning faster but also easier as they can hold hundreds of textbooks on one device, plus homework, quizzes, and other files, eliminating the need for physical storage of books and classroom materials.
16:11 Touseef Ashfaq: We do need multiple sources of information, but only as optional information as we don’t want students wasting their time looking for information instead of studying it.
16:11 Sandhya Shetty: In today’s age, even my little toddler who is only three years old is so far more tech savvy than I am. He hasn’t even learnt how to hold a pencil but seems to be far more knowledgeable than me in handling gadgets just by watching his elder brothers.
16:12 Aasha Eapen: Textbooks narrow the sources from which a student searches information. Otherwise, unnecessary amounts of time are wasted on simply browsing for relevant material. Education is not something that should be placed in the hands of those who are able to afford tablets and Wi-Fi but those who genuinely have the determination to study regardless of their financial status.
16:14 Gulf News: Tablets cause too many distractions in classroom use, detracting from the learning experience
16:14 Aasha Eapen: I definitely agree as with the ever-increasing number of apps and games available online, students are increasingly tempted to play various games instead of using that time to research for projects.
16:16 Sandhya Shetty: While I do agree that being tech savvy is important, but there needs to be ways and means as to how the same can be controlled. Like you have parental control buttons on various gadgets, but how can one be assured that the child is not abusing the classroom time to browse the net?
16:16 Touseef Ashfaq: Although the use of tablets in classrooms can help bring a solution to the problem of keeping students interested in various subjects, there is a whole set of problems related to technology too and distraction is one of them.
16:16 Tahseen Shaikh: I agree that they may be distracting, but strict rules can be made to ensure that they are put to study use only.
16:16 Ramachandran Nair: It is definitely possible that students may turn the usage of tablets to access net-based programmes, if they are active in classrooms. This will obviously have the tendency to be followed by others close to them and in turn, changes the classroom ambiance. In addition to all this, some students may have different approach to the learning practice, as they may not prefer to follow a digital way of learning and rather follow a traditional classroom approach.
16:17 Maria Vincent: I agree as tablets give us access to a wide range of things. Applications and versatile browsers distract our focus from the central topic of study. If students carry calculators to mathematics class and use them when they aren’t allowed, they can’t stop themselves from exploring the wrong things in a tablet.
16:20 Syeda Nazneen: But you can’t possibly deny the vast benefits of easy and handy learning via a tablet just because of the fear that your child may be distracted or may play games instead.
16:21 Gulf News: Tablets are too expensive and marginalizes students who cannot afford it, creating a divide.
16:23 Ramachandran Nair: Yes, not all the students can afford to procure a digital device; instead their preference goes to the usage of traditional textbook practices. And for them, it helps as well in their learning process.
16:23 Sandhya Shetty: I definitely agree that this leads to a lot of unnecessary discrimination. It adds to the divide woes, especially the morale of children whose parents can’t afford it. Nowadays, people fall under too much peer pressures and parents are forced to give in to their children’s demands without knowing where to draw the line...
16:23 Aasha Eapen: I disagree because a low-cost student tablet was promoted by the Ministry of Human Resource and Development in India. Governments are realising the direction in which education is heading and so are picking up their pace. In their efforts to do so, they need to cater to all sections of the society, including those who wouldn’t be able to afford it and those who don’t have access to the Internet.
16:23 Ramachandran Nair: The introduction of tablets in classrooms further adds up education expenses, especially for students who come from different backgrounds. This, indeed, creates a divide between the students and affects the entire classroom setting and psychologically the ambitions of each individual student. As education has already become expensive in this new era, adding up more technologically supported elements creates further encumbrance to majority of the people.
16:24 Tahseen Shaikh: Just like every student in a school can purchase uniform, stationery etc... Tabs must replace books. They should be made affordable as they are using it for educational purposes
16:25 Maria Vincent: Tablets indeed create a digital divide. They do not come at a price affordable by all. Students who are able to use it tend to be technologically advanced (as many believe). Those who don’t have tablets are many times left disappointed and they lose confidence.
16:25 Maria Vincent: Ms. Eapen is right to a certain extent but low-cost tablets don’t reach every nook and corner of the world.
16:30 Syeda Nazneen: It doesn’t really create a divide, but I feel that it’s the best way to replace heavy textbooks, which can be a source of burden and various other physical problems.
Facebook comments:
Tablets should replace textbooks as that would save paper and hence, would be much better for the environment. It would also save the hassle of carrying heavy bags, save recurring cost of notebooks, as well as a faster and more efficient way of learning.
From Ms Arushi Madan
Dubai
Constant staring at tablets can damage children’s vision. I am against tablets as an alternative to books.
From Ms Zeynep Deniz
Sharjah
It is true that we have to move along with technology, but that does not mean tablets can replace books. Though tablets give a wide range of information in all fields, they are highly distractive. Children get easily carried away as they are unable to decide what is right or wrong. Reading, writing, drawing and playing outside are reduced by the usage of tablets. Social life in school and even in the school bus has been reduced as children dont need anyone. Tablets should only be used for certain tasks, but should never replace textbooks as the knowledge you get from books, will last forever.
From Ms Neeraja Thiyagarajan
Dubai
Definitely, tablets can be equipped with applications that can make learning more hands-on than just theories that are very common nowadays.
From Ms Nilofer Taher
UAE
Yes, the amount of paper saved from implementing will be imense. Also young students have to carry a huge load of textbooks to school, which can be replaced easily by one single tablet or an e-book reader.
From Mr Aly Mehdi Hasan Abidi
Bombay, India
- Compiled by Donia Jenabzadeh/Community Web Editor
