The use of online textbooks decreases the understanding of students and creates inefficient learning and studying habits.

According to James Madison University, processing information becomes significantly harder when students use an online source of information. Readers tend to skim the text more often, process the material in a more shallow manner and retain less information when utilizing these sources.

This tendency to quickly retain information causes a large loss of understanding and causes students to require more time to actually study, as they have to reread sections in order to comprehend.

Not all students have access to the internet or the electronic devices necessary to connect to many online textbooks. Additionally, even if an internet connection isn’t needed for some online resources, buying technology for students to even access these resources is extremely expensive. The added economic costs of tablets combined with the ineffectiveness of online learning materials shows the clear advantage of using printed textbooks. Although at first glance online textbooks may seem as if they are less expensive, the long-term price compared to paper textbooks is larger.

In addition to the price of the technology as well as the program, online resources cannot be reused or sold like paper textbooks can. 

Educators must always strive to utilize the best teaching tools for their student’s learning experience and ensure students are able to efficiently comprehend with the given materials. Online textbooks are not the answer, as they present issues with learning efficiency, cost and accessibility. New technology can be interesting and engaging, but compromising a student’s education is not worth the expense.