High Schools are Ditching Textbooks
Before you read
Have you heard of schools and other places that have stopped using books and replacing them with tablet computers?
How did you feel about carrying books to school everyday?
For incoming freshmen at western Connecticut's suburban Brookfield High School, carrying a backpack full of heavy textbooks is about to give way to tapping out notes and flipping electronic pages on a glossy iPad tablet computer.
A few hours away, every student at Burlington High School near Boston will also start the year with new school-issued iPads, each loaded with electronic textbooks and other online resources in place of traditional bulky texts.
While iPads have rocketed to popularity on many college campuses since these devices were introduced to the market in spring 2010, many public secondary schools this fall will move away from textbooks in favor of the lightweight tablet computers.
The principal of this high school says that investing in these tablet devices makes more sense because heavy textbooks get outdated quickly and in his opinion are therefore a thing of the past.
Match the words/phrases in the left column with the closest meaning in the right column. The answers are below the table.
|
ditching |
A |
1 |
To hit or knock something lightly |
|
Give way |
B |
2 |
Logical, sensible, seems a better idea |
|
tapping |
C |
3 |
To throw away |
|
rocketed |
D |
4 |
no longer used |
|
makes more sense |
E |
5 |
Old fashioned |
|
outdated |
F |
6 |
Increase at a very fast speed |
|
thing of the past |
G |
7 |
Move to allow something else to replace |
A=3, B=7, C=1, D=6, E=2, F=5, G=7
Some questions using the new words and phrases to help you understand them better. Try to answer using the new words/phrases.
1. Do you agree that textbooks will be ditched in the near future? Why?
2. What other things will give way to new technology in the future? Why?
3. Can you describe the difference between tapping and banging? Do you know anyone that bangs rather than taps on their computer keyboard?
4. From the reading, can you think of any other reasons why sales of these iPads are rocketing?
5. Would it always make more sense for you to ditch books and replace them with a tablet computer?
6. Can you agree that books are outdated? Why or why not?
7. Describe another technology that is a ‘thing of the past’ or will be?
Some example sentences using today’s new words/phrases
1. I feel so depressed; my girlfriend ditched me.
2. The older generation will eventually give way to the younger.
3. Last night someone was tapping on my door.
4. (A 2nd use of “tap”) Oil companies are tapping into more oil from the north of Canada and Alaska.
5. I have seen the price of energy in my hometown skyrocket by 25% over the past 3 years.
6. It makes more sense to invest in renewable energy, because oil and other energy will get more expensive and harder to get.
7. My girlfriend took me clothes-shopping, she said my fashion was outdated.
8. These days we use cards to use the subway, using cash and coins is really a thing of the past.
ECK Education
