Should tablets replace textbooks?

Students should be allowed to choose their preferred learning style

Question: Should tablets replace textbooks?
Position‹3 of 3: Tablets should be considered an optional alternative
Argument1 of 2›: Students should be allowed to choose their preferred learning style

With newly introduced methods of learning and studying, preferences would be diversified as well.

The argument

Different students have different learning styles; regardless of learning efficiency, some prefer to write their notes out by hand, and some prefer to type them out. The same logic should apply for the choice between tablets or traditional paper textbooks, whether their reasons are because they simply prefer the other more, or are concerned about costs. As long as the content is the same, it should not matter from what material (electronic or paper) the student chooses to learn from. Tablets certainly have their benefits as an up-and-coming learning media, but for some people the traditional paper textbook still has its charms.

Premises

[P1]Students have different learning preferences, and respecting those preferences supports their learning. [P2] When the educational content is identical, the medium through which a student accesses it (tablet or paper textbook) is a matter of personal preference rather than necessity. [C] Therefore, tablets should be offered as an optional alternative to textbooks rather than replacing them outright.

Counter-arguments

Critics argue that treating the medium as pure personal preference overlooks costs that fall on the school rather than the student. Offering both formats in parallel means maintaining two systems — buying and updating tablets and licences while also printing and storing paper textbooks — which is more expensive than committing to one, and can widen gaps if only some families can supply or maintain a device. They add that the "learning styles" premise is itself contested in education research, so preference may be a weak basis for a costly dual-track policy; a school might reasonably standardise on one medium for equity and simplicity.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1] The evidence for fixed individual "learning styles" is weak, so respecting a stated preference may not actually improve learning. [Rejecting P2] Even if content is identical, running tablets and textbooks side by side imposes real duplication costs and equity risks, so the choice is not cost-free or purely personal. [Rejecting C] Given those institutional costs, a school may have good reason to standardise on one medium rather than offer both as options.