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In the current times, not everybody will attest to the fact that they would love to read academic materials on their mobile phone, tablets, iPad, and computer screens. Even though it comes with a lot of conveniences and a drastic reduction in the cost of acquiring the reading materials, some students around the world do attest that e-books and screen learning come with some detrimental impacts on their ability to understand. A recent survey with students reveals that most students love to read hard copies of texts rather than soft copies on their mobile phones, tablets or even computers. Apart from the distraction caused by e-reading, it leads students to acquire shallow knowledge since when reading on their screens, they’re more likely to get distracted by several temptations such as multitasking. On the other hand, even though some people might perceive e-books as not as much benevolent as reading hard copies of texts, some students attest that eBooks come with some benefits. E-books are easily and affordably availed. This means that even when one is away from a library, they can still get to read books at a cheaper cost and at any time they wish to as long as they are connected to the internet (Al-Bataineh, & Brooks, 2003). Apart from the sharing capabilities which enables the students to share what they have read with other students globally, students also exhibit increased interaction and sharing of ideas. Such platforms where students can share what they have learned in class are so important in getting the point of view of a lot of people on the subject on top of exchanging ideas that could helpful for further learning (Kozma, & Voogt, 2003). In some other arguments by different researchers of the topic, it has been found out that students who use digital media are more and more connected to each other when it comes to sharing of knowledge and ideas. As a matter of fact, this has led to global communication and interaction between students of different countries, cultures, and ethnicities fostering global citizenship which is the predominant trend in education of the current times. Even though there could be some little drawbacks of e-books and technology in education, it brings about a more interactive and holistic learning as compared to the traditional hard copy reading.

There have been concerns in the recent past that e-books and digital learning resources are having some detrimental impacts on some courses such as humanities and social sciences. Baron, (2016), states that even though the –books are easy to find and one can find the knowledge they require for their academic reading easily, it encourages shallow reading because of the skimming skills encouraged as opposed to deep reading that is inherent in the hard copy text books. Most students attested that they could easily understand when reading traditional printed books as opposed to e-books and other digital learning resources because they can jot down some main points so that they can internalize them and expand their understanding on the subject they are studying. A research done by Baron, (2016), indicated that most students, especially in Japan, United States and Germany, loved using hard copy textbooks if they wanted to get some in-depth knowledge of what is written in the book. On the other hand, Lim, & Hew, (2014), posit that e-books come with a ton of benefits and apart from the capability to share with other people and accessibility, it enables the students to make reading fun. The researchers also found out that most students that were interviewed attested that use of e-books and learning no the screens make reading fun and engaging. This goes hand in hand with the fact that many students in the current times are getting bored when they have to read large books and information that might even be irrelevant in whatever they are learning. On that note, Mills, & Green, (2013), posits that students find digital literacy interesting and engaging as compared to the traditional forms of learning. This is because it enables them to share what they learned in their class with their fellow students, teachers, and even their family. With screen literacy and digital learning resources, students are now able to interact with others and share ideas that they've learned in class while relating them to a real-life situation, an important recipe in enabling students to apply what they've learned in class.

E-learning and use of e-books have also changed the way reading is done, and this had had some detrimental effects on the selection of courses by students. In a study done by Baron, (2016), students are now moving towards choosing courses that are more likely to increase their chances of getting job opportunities. On the other hand, this move has also led to a negative growth in the number of students choosing humanities in colleges and universities. This might be because of the fact that digital learning resources such as e-books have changed the reading culture of the students and on the other aspects of reading such as deep reading. As opposed to deep reading, that is inherent in some courses such as humanities; e-books has encouraged skimming of texts with the aim of obtaining some specific information. This means that with e-books, students choose courses that do not necessarily require deep reading and understanding of concepts. On the other hand, Lim, & Hew, (2014), argues that the use of e-books is even much more benevolent when it comes to reading and this is because of the fact that it optimizes reading time. Because humanities require a great deal of time to study and grasp the founding concepts, one gets access to books even on a trip, on vacation and even when traveling with e-books. This means that people get to read more conveniently. Besides that, use of e-books makes reading fun, and this is in line with the fact that students understand more when they love and like what they are reading. And because students are loving whatever they are reading, they are much more likely to understand as opposed to hard copy books which might bore them. On the same position, Mills, & Green, (2013), argue that e-learning which also packs e-books come with a better interface and engages the learner. Because humanities and social sciences involve an in-depth study of psychology and forming philosophical arguments, such students would be able to benefit from the shared views of other students on the same subject they are tackling.

There have been arguments in the recent past that students can better understand what they are studying when using traditional printed books as opposed to when reading e-books and other digital learning resources in their screens. Baron, (2016), argues that many students in United States, Germany, and Japan attested that they can better understand what they are reading and studying when reading traditional textbooks as opposed to digital e-books. This is because apart from being able to make points of whatever they are reading, students can form their arguments against the writer of the book or the ideas that are written in the book. In short, it enables the students to foster internalization of the ideas. On the other hand, Lim, & Hew, (2014), argue that learning happens when students can share ideas with other students and the general public. It is through this way that students can study something and then head over to come up with some better ways of doing it. In their research, they found out that most students attested that they learn better when they have an in-depth understanding of the subject. This is partly made possible by the fact that students when using e-books can find other resources on the same subject easily by researching a wide array of databases at their disposal. After getting an in-depth understanding of the area of study, students can easily share their points of view on the subject with other students and get to know what others think about the subject broadens their understanding. Mills, & Green, (2013), also argue that the use of screen literacy in studies brings about a rather near-real-time understanding of a phenomenon and fosters understanding of cultures of other people around the world. As a matter of fact, they found out that due to screen learning, students get more and more globalized and gain some much-needed knowledge of other cultures around the world. This is needed for better learning, it goes hand in hand with the findings of Al-Bataineh, & Brooks, (2003), that the more students get to understand the real-life situation in the world in which they live in, the more they are in a position to apply the knowledge gained in class in their day to day activities.

With the internet and other edge cutting technologies affecting the way nearly everything is done, nothing has been left behind; it has had some effects on education as well. Many researchers have ventured out in a bid to find out whether technology has come with much more benefits or has some negative effects on the education of the country. As a matter of fact, many researchers have found out that some students prefer using traditional hard-copy textbooks as compared to harnessing technology such as e-books and screen literacy materials. Even though e-learning can be a bit “fussy” to students, there are some alarms that have been raised in the current times because of the notable decline in students taking humanity and social science courses that need some in-depth reading and analysis of philosophical concepts. This is a clear indicator technology in education does is not benevolent all students taking some courses such as humanities and social sciences because they are required to take some in-depth analysis of the courses (Kozma, & Voogt, 2003). On that note, students and educators are inundated with a myriad of e-learning resources and hard copy textbooks to choose from. However, they must find a perfect balance between them and come up with holistic learning that would foster better learning in institutions.

References

Al-Bataineh, A., & Brooks, L. (2003). Challenges, advantages, and disadvantages of instructional technology in the community college classroom. Community College Journal of Research &Practice, 27(6), 473-484.

Baron, N. S. (2016). How e-reading threatens to learn in the humanities. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 14. Academic Search Complete.

Kozma, R. B., & Voogt, J. (2003). Technology, innovation, and educational change: a global perspective: a report of the Second Information Technology in Education Study, Module 2. ISTE (Internal Soc Tech Educ.

Lim, E. L., & Hew, K. F. (2014). Students’ perceptions of the usefulness of an E-book with annotative and sharing capabilities as a tool for learning: a case study. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 51(1), 34-45.

Mills, J., & Green, B. (2013). Popular screen culture and digital communication technology in literacy learning: Toward a new pedagogy of cosmopolitanism. Journal of Popular Film and Television, 41(2), 109-116.