Palo Alto High School is prepared for more widespread use of online textbooks in academic classes, according to teachers, students, and district technology director Anne Dunkin.

Dunkin says that it is probable that the adoption of digitized textbooks will occur hand-in-hand with that of new portable technology.

“I think that within the next five years, we’ll see a significant shift to online textbooks in K-12,” Dunkin said. “The idea that, at high school, I can send you home with a Kindle … or a new Apple Tablet … instead of six or seven textbooks is appealing for a number of reasons–cost, wear and tear, portability, etcetera. So, I think that as e-reading technology catches on, so will online textbooks.”

Math teacher Suzanne Antink uses portions of online textbooks to supplement her Analysis Honors class. She posts portions of a calculus textbook online that students can access through InClass.

“I think they [online textbooks] are fantastic,” Antink said. “They are a good way to use the textbook environmentally. However, I love holding stuff in my hand so it’s hard for me to say that.”

Social studies teacher Hilary McDaniel uses an online textbook for her U.S. Government class.

“I think that online textbooks are very appropriate for social studies,” McDaniel said. “But access is the biggest problem. I frequently hear students say ‘my computer didn’t work.’ However, online textbooks can sometimes improve access; for example, students with two homes don’t need to transfer a textbook between them.”

Senior Benoit Collignon feels that online textbooks may represent education’s turn towards more technologically sophisticated learning.

“I am definitely open to the idea of online textbooks, but I think it may be some time before everybody is ready to use them,” Collignon said. “But I think it might be the direction that education is going to take in the future.”

Dunkin agrees with Collignon.

“From a technology standpoint, we could have online textbooks now,” Dunkin said. “We have e-readers where you can read, annotate and in some cases, print sections. You can read your textbooks on a computer or an e-reader. So, we’re ready technologically.”