By Naeha Sajid
In today’s world, there is no need for you to carry the baggage of voluminous books to and from the library. Through the e-book technology, you are able to carry your document in a low memory storage disk and use it anywhere you have devices that are able to read the e-books.
Having E-books is just like having a huge library with ourselves. Students can walk around holding a library of books larger than all those in the bookstores and libraries of their country. It’s a device that is bigger on the inside than on the outside. While it might not matter to the occasional or recreational reader, the E-book presents a host of challenges for the role of the book as transmitter, carrier, and shaper of our written word cultural heritage.
It would be a big relief to the students that they don’t have to carry their heavy backpacks. The low cost of E-book conversion is the driving spirit that makes people to start relying more on E-book than the printed press. The transfer of the e-book is very easy since they can be uploaded and downloaded at any location as long as the user has internet access.
‘One report also states that people who enjoy e-reading are also more likely to enjoy print reading as well’. As Mr. Baraniuk said: “We’re trying to create the books that will save the most students the most money”.
In spite of so many merits of E-books, there are also some demerits. I am partially in favor and partially against it. It do not promises 100% reliability of its authentication as it requires registration. So, How can you trust the source??
There is a restriction on electronic equipment, internet reliability, fragment reading, compatibility of software, and unreliable life span in term of long term digital storage. When the electricity is out and the battery runs flat, you cannot read your book(s).
If in schools this system started then a flood of discrimination can come in the way, as students in every school are not from the same financial class. Also you cannot take notes on the e-books as u can do on the printed ones. Do you think if there was no image on the book would it affect your choice of reading?? As most of the E-books don’t have it.
Think, Analyze & Share 
E-books or not. Personally I prefer not.
I find e-reading to be the most unnatural and inhuman experience since forks and spoons. the e in ebook must stand for uneasy. Reading off a screen burns my eyes, the light source is never right- its either too luminous or dim, gives a strain from just an hour worth of reading a novel, the text is too small, passage break is uneven, don’t know whether to bring the screen closer or zoom and not to mention there is no cover picture (on most books). what the hey?!
I for one would like to hold a real book in my hand made of paper. I would like to feel that paper with my fingers and get the smell of it…Ah the smell of a freshly printed fiction novel. Oldschool I am indeed.
Now about that statement: “Cost effective ebooks”
What in the world is cost effective for a guy like me who has to buy a $200 device to read slides of text? what are we saving? Paper? Trees? I am pretty sure we’ve had to clear more trees in one way or another to create power surplus so we can charge up the darn readers.
And whats with these capitalist herders who put i in their devices. I am looking at you apple. Technology like eReaders, laptops and the whole ‘one connected tech hub in schools’ is utopian horsetalk. Not everyone is made of money, neither does everyone have bandwidth, electricity or roads for that matter.
POINT MADE.
REBUTTAL.
I prefer t the answer of a question asked by Naeha from the article “read and write” that “ whether I am in favor of E-books or I am against to it and how it is an authentic source in education”? This article says that technology is a basic triangle between teacher, students and their ideas and I am agree with this statement because it enhance the outcomes at both domains (student, teacher). Through technology like tablet, laptops and i Pods, we are able to save as many books as we want at a time and can able to move them with us anywhere like a small library with a huge amount of knowledge. Thus I am in the favor of E-books no matter they cost us because their prices come on decline on daily basis.
1. I strongly support the unavailability of material found on E books. The point raised is completely veiled that the absence of pictures will surly effect the interest of readers. As we know how fast new gadgets are hitting market every day, so there will be an unhealthy competition between the students which will strongly effect unprivileged students.
2. I do agree that the E books come in very handy and are easy to carry, they make a lot of things very easy but it is as easy to lose them to they be stolen, which could be a very big issue, as it has been seen in many institutions.
I partially agree and disagree with Naeha’s point of view.She is correct to some extent that one of the biggest advantage of e-books is student need not to worry about heavy load of books as we did during our school life however it have a lot more benefits such as they are time saving both for students as well as teachers for example children do not have to look up for pages and teachers can easily explain it their students by modeling it on multimedia or on their personal laptops.As far as its disadvantages are concerned the main one is as mentioned not all the students are from the same financial status because some of the e-books requires money for their downloading in addition it might be some students do not even have access to INTERNET what they are going to do? Lastly in Pakistan the major problem is electricity if someone is unable to download the book due to outrage of electricity and the next day one have to appear for a test how will they prepare their test? So, I am not against e-books as they saves time in fact it depends on scenario.
I wouldn’t prefer ebook personally.
Paper books just feel good in your hands, even the best designed eReader is a cold, lifeless steely contraption by comparison. Paper books are also seen as more personal because no eBook could ever replace the memories it evokes whenever I pick any of my old books up.
I downloaded a book on my iPad last month, but it turned out that the eBook was missing half of the image of an obscure painting that adorned the front and back covers of the paper edition. The eBook just had the front cover art, not the back cover art. This is one small example of how paper books can have a more beautiful package than eBooks.
Books are as easy as it gets in terms of use; you just open them up and start reading! No computers necessary. Books can be shared and resold, unlike those eBooks locked in special computer files and licensing terms. Many eBooks cannot be shared due to licensing restrictions and Digital Rights.
EBook readers can break when dropped or wet. Some current eBook files might not work with future readers or software. Computer viruses can destroy files. Whereas books can withstand much abuse and even last for centuries.
Books are generally more available than eBooks, and this will be so indefinitely due to copyrights, international legalities, publishers’ decisions, and the preference or need of buyers to own certain titles in print or other formats. Due to copyrights and related issues, there is not an eBook for every printed book. Most eBooks cannot be viewed completely until bought. So eBooks may not be very cost effective.
I think I would agree to what Wajeeh said about the essence of reading a real book instead of an e-book; that feeling of having a book in your hand and reading it and especially turning the pages and the curiosity attached with that. I do agree with a fact that we can have 4-5 or numerous e-books in our laptops, but its more about reading them, I mean forget about reading the whole novel, I personally can’t even read one chapter in one go. we can’t make notes on e-book, we can not underline or highlight anything on an e-book. And then again there are electricity issues here in Pakistan and not everybody can afford tablets, ipads and laptops. So, i would support paper books than e-books.
I wouldn’t prefer ebook personally.
Paper books just feel good in your hands, even the best designed eReader is a cold, lifeless steely contraption by comparison. Paper books are also seen as more personal because no eBook could ever replace the memories it evokes whenever I pick any of my old books up.
I downloaded a book on my iPad last month, but it turned out that the eBook was missing half of the image of an obscure painting that adorned the front and back covers of the paper edition. The eBook just had the front cover art, not the back cover art. This is one small example of how paper books can have a more beautiful package than eBooks.
Books are as easy as it gets in terms of use; you just open them up and start reading! No computers necessary. Books can be shared and resold, unlike those eBooks locked in special computer files and licensing terms. Many eBooks cannot be shared due to licensing restrictions and Digital Rights.
EBook readers can break when dropped or wet. Some current eBook files might not work with future readers or software. Computer viruses can destroy files. Whereas books can withstand much abuse and even last for centuries.
Books are generally more available than eBooks, and this will be so indefinitely due to copyrights, international legalities, publishers’ decisions, and the preference or need of buyers to own certain titles in print or other formats. Due to copyrights and related issues, there is not an eBook for every printed book. Most eBooks cannot be viewed completely until bought. So eBooks may not be very cost effective.
Using e-books is very helpful but at the same time reading books is also good. E-books are more useful as we can read as much as we want. We can surf any book and article or topic. While using paper book we have the limits. I prefer to use e-books as today living in technology world we have to cope up with all. Now we can’t just stick to just one or few books. E-books don’t need space as we have to make places in our room for the books. E-books are easy to use and give more knowledge while paper book s the waste of paper. E-books effect the human health as it need laptop or computer which emits toxic rays which are not good for health it manly effects the eyes. It takes energy and in Pakistan we don’t have much electricity. We can’t use e-books at all places. So all in all, we should use both.