Is It Time to popularize E-Schoolbags?

In the past two years, some schools in cities including Beijing and Shanghai have introduced tablet computers with e-textbooks installed into classes. Students do experiments,do their homework and even take tests via these tablets.

It seems that teaching and learning based on digitalization are becoming more and more popular. But debate on whether the time is ripe to introduce such initiatives remains widespread among education experts, teachers, parents, electronic textbook publishers and those interested in this topic.

Many teachers have expressed doubts about the use of new technology. In schools where eschoolbags are used, teachers also have to spend more time on the preparation of lessons and coursework in an attempt to improve substance.

Teachers also find it increasingly difficult to establish how much students learn in class. While eschoolbags may help collect more study materials and make information sharing possible, they might not ensure that students absorb more information than in a traditional class setup.

Parents fear that staring at computer screens too long may do harm to children’s eyes. Other worries include what if students are distracted by online games, and when most work is done on electronic equipment, will character writing degrade? The following are excerpts of opinions:

helpful in many ways

Ni Minjing (China Education Daily):Informationization is an irreversible trend in modern society. For example, in the past, teachers used waxed paper to print test papers, but nowadays, thanks to printers and copiers, everything is much easier. In retrospect, the wide spread of information technology in education can be divided into three parts. First is the introduction of PCs onto campuses; second is the spread of Internet, and third is information technology being applied in class for teaching and learning. Students can study everywhere.Education is undergoing profound changes in the tide of information technology popularization.

Zhong Lixin (China Education Daily):Whether you admit it or not, the development of digital technology is an irresistible trend. This technology is imposing an extensive impact on study in detailed and all-dimensional ways. Technological innovation will surely be widely used in education.E-schoolbags might incur disputes, but the development and application of advanced technologies are not supposed to be hindered by such debate.

Every coin has two sides

Mu Xuchong (Xi’an Evening News):E-schoolbags include videos and cartoons, so that students can enjoy vivid classes, which further stirs up their interest in learning new knowledge. However, some teachers think, eclasses won’t necessarily be more helpful than conventional classes in terms of knowledge absorption. Many parents also trust conventional classes more.

Nowadays, more than 50 countries and regions are pushing forward e-schoolbags in pilot schools. In China, some schools are also trying to promote the use of e-schoolbags. The significance of such technology is that modern information technology is used to enrich school education.Videos and cartoons will make teaching more visible and vivid, helping to stimulate student interest in learning. Besides, interaction between teachers and students are becoming more convenient and swift, which will improve the efficiency of teaching and learning. The application of information technology in education is an irreversible trend.

However, no matter how strong and helpful e-schoolbags are, it is nothing but a teaching and learning tool, with many deficiencies that conventional education means do not have.

E-schoolbags will affect young students’eyesight. Moreover, the use of e-schoolbags will weaken the influence of traditional culture.Depending excessively on computers will weaken the ability to write on paper. Those who often use computers might find themselves lost when trying to write something down, as in most cases computers will help them to do so. Sometimes, people are computers’ slaves, instead of their masters.When even adults are exposed to this danger, children who are much poorer in self-control will easily experience this negative impact. Besides, when most study materials are available on computers,which can be searched out immediately, students will not like to keep certain important information in mind, which is bad for their education. Also,because the Internet offers so much information,teachers might select more instead of less homework for students, worsening their burden. At last,e-schoolbag programs will unavoidably add to the economic pressure on poor families.

The key is to properly make use of this technology while respecting the basic rule of education,and to respect people-to-people interaction, instead of excessively depending on computers. The use of e-schoolbags should be moderately limited,and should only play an assistant role. Conventional class teaching must be maintained, as there are a lot of positive aspects related to it. Particularly, eschoolbags should be prevented from being used as toys by students.

Do not rush to introduce

Peng Fang (www.iqilu.com): E-schoolbags present students with more vivid pictures and richer information than traditional books, and thus helps stimulate an interest in learning.However, they have also brought many problems.

On one hand, e-schoolbags help save paper and wood resources, and schoolbags will thus become lighter. Nevertheless, the new problem is that students’ eyesight is deteriorating due to the overuse of computers.

E-schoolbags are a fresh thing, which young students are always curious about. The cyber world is so interesting that it poses a challenge to teachers on how to keep focus in class, instead of being distracted by the rich games and stories on the Internet. Also, it’s important to prevent students from searching for answers on the Internet while doing homework.

Electronic products can never replace conventional books. Indeed, it’s more convenient and fast to type on computers, but computer writing can never totally replace handwriting. In hand writing,students gradually get to know the structure of Chinese characters and this will help to strengthen their memory. However, this goal is unreachable when you use computers.

E-schoolbags are very much welcomed, but schools should take a prudent attitude toward this double-edge razor. It’s unwise to rush into e-schoolbags for fashion’s sake.

Han Shinan (Qilu Evening News): New attempts should be encouraged to reach the original goal of reducing burdens on students and improving education quality. Schools should try to avoid the side effects of e-schoolbags.

Nowadays, students in either colleges or primary schools are all frequently using electronic products like mobile phones and tablet computers. As a result, their eyesight is seriously damaged. Therefore, while trying to push forward e-schoolbags, schools must learn lessons from the side effect of such electronics, so as to better protect students.

Reading and writing are a very important skills for students. The experience of reading on paper is totally different from on computers, which will lead to different ways of thinking. Meanwhile, writing is equally important. On computers, you can’t tell how a person’s handwriting is, because everyone writes in the same style. This is harmful to student development.

To lighten students’ schoolbags, the key is education reform and not the use of e-schoolbags.

Zong Chunshan (Peninsula City News):E-schoolbags may be used in class, but they can never replace traditional reading and writing. In primary and middle schools, traditional writing needs to be further improved.

Chinese characters are important to Chinese culture. The structure and strokes of characters contain rich culture, which are easy to understand and remember. To write them by hand will help inspire new ideas, improve understanding and strengthen memory. Writing Chinese characters during adolescence will even help develop one’s intelligence. ■