Nicholas Carr Blog-Response

I decided to write about 2 blog posts that were from late last month because I found them most relevant to me. Carr writes about a zero tolerance for print in his May 20, 20011 post. Florida has recently purposed a timeline to start using digital-only textbooks starting in with the school year 2015-2016. Like Carr, I do not agree that this plan is going to "meet the students where they are in their learning styles". Isn't it readily recognized that each student has different learning needs? I do not think that banning printed texts are the best way to reach all students learning needs at all.
Earlier in his blog on May 12, 2011, Carr wrote about an early test with results not favoring e-textbooks. There are many perceived benefits of using e-textbooks. The first thing I thought of when I read about the suggestion of using e-texts was the benefit they would have on a child's back. I am one of those children that really had to walk a mile to school with a backpack full of books in the middle of winter! And I'll tell you that was not fun. Besides that, Carr states other benefit for using the e-textbooks:

"They can be updated quickly with new information. They promise cost savings, at least over the long haul. They reduce paper and photocopier use. They can incorporate all manner of digital tools." 

As mentioned earlier, students learn differently. The study finds that the learning experience is not necessarily enhanced by the use of e-textbooks. For example, some student may like to read by section while others read a text straight through. Personally, I skim most educational text. I find it a lot easier to refer to an index or a table of contents in the print form. With not enough literature or studies done on the subject, I feel that banning paper texts is certainly a hasty move.

Carr concludes by writing that it is "naive to assume that e-textbooks are a perfect substitute for printed textbooks." I wholly agree.