I.

Introduction

A. Attention getter According to Open Colleges, 81% of U.S teachers think

tablets can enrich classroom learning, and 86% of students believe that tablets can

help them to study more efficiently. Pearson Foundations survey found that

more than six in ten college students and high school seniors agree that tablets

help students to study more efficiently and help students to perform better in

classes. The three largest publishers, producing 90% of all textbooks used in

schools are all partnering with Apple to sell digital versions. (W.B. Team, August

2nd, 2016) Though these statistics seem obvious in our technology-dependent

world, the replacement of textbooks with iPads is a lot more common than you

would think.

B. Background and Audience Relevance Now, Im sure weve all heard of the

broke college student stereotype due to the myriad of expenses we are

inundated with. From paying for our living situations to textbooks to tuition, its

safe to say weve all learned that college is not cheap. Our living situations and

our tuition can arguably be listed as essential elements to the college life, but that

begs the question: Are textbooks a necessity to a college students lifestyle?

C. Speaker Credibility Because I am also a broke college student who is a

strong advocate for the abrogation of textbooks, I thought it was important to

share with you all the reason iPads should replace textbooks.

D. Thesis Eliminating all textbooks and replacing them with iPads will aid students

in countless ways.
 E. Preview of Main Points First, I will talk about the positive impact technology

has made within the school system. Next, I will talk about the disadvantages

textbooks place on students. Lastly, I will talk about the new advancements that

can be made in the classroom with the help of incorporating iPads into the

schools curriculum.

F. Transition to First Main Point (Signpost and Internal Preview) Now, let us

discuss how technology has positively impacted the school system.

II. Body

A. Main Point 1 Over the years, we have seen a wide range in technology

advancement. Believe it or not, its only been ten years since the first iPhone has

been released, and since then, laptops, tablets, Apple Watches, Fit Bits, and many

other devices thought unimaginable have been created as well.

1. Subpoint 1 With the incorporation of technology within the education

system, teachers have been able to use additional, advanced tools to

convey information to their students. With over 65,000 apps designed

specifically for the education system, teachers have been able to find apps

that relate to a plethora of lesson plans. Nearpod is an app that enables

teachers to send quizzes, videos, and informative notes/articles directly to

students on their iPads. In return, students are able to send the work they

have finished right back to their teachers with the click of a button.

Another popular app called Kahoot gives teachers the opportunity to

help students better prepare for a quiz by allowing students to enter a

room and answer questions collectively during class time.

 2. Subpoint 2 Not only do iPads provide students with new opportunities

to learn and grow, but studies also found that a majority of students

became more motivated to come to class and learn the material they were

given. According to an article entitled The game changer: using iPads in

college teacher education classes, 86% of student believe the use of

tablets helps them study more efficiently and 60% of faculty thought that

students felt that students were more inclined to learn material through the

use of iPads as opposed to in a textbook.

B. Transition to Main Point 2- Now that weve talked about the advantages of the

use of iPads within the education system, lets talk about the disadvantages of

textbooks.

C. Main Point 2 Not only do textbooks place an inhibition on many students who

are short on money, they also can cause students to develop back problems from

the carrying of multiple text books across campus. Not to mention, it can really

hurt a student in a class if they forget the textbook, as they are unable to learn the

material since it is not in front of them.

1. Subpoint 1 To solve these problems, replacing textbooks with iPads

would help eliminate the cost factor; of course it can be argued that an

iPad is an expense investment, as it is, but the amount of money spent on

textbooks over the next four years will likely surpass the cost of one iPad

tremendously. Now this isnt to say that online textbooks shouldnt be

utilized as well. Of course, online textbooks can often come with a price,

but this price tends to be much lower and can often include interactive
 features that wouldnt be incorporated into a physical copy of a textbook.

To eliminate the weight in a students backpack, switching to the use of

online textbooks will leave students with a much less heavy load to carry.

2. Subpoint 2 As a college student, I personally have forgotten a textbook

before and it truly inhibited my ability to learn the material, even if I was

able to share the book with someone around me. Often times, I dont even

want to carry the weight of 3+ books in my backpack, so sometimes I

decide it isnt even worth it to bring the textbook anyway. This can be

detrimental to a students education, and should never be the reason a

student is unprepared or doesnt learn the material. The use of online

textbooks, however, would never cause either of these problems.

D. Transition to Main Point 3- Now that we have talked about the disadvantages of

textbooks within the education system, lets talk about the advancements that

could be made in students learning by incorporating the iPad.

E. Main Point 3 The incorporation of the iPad could lead to several new

advancements, including but not limited to: the development of proficiency in

students ability to use technology, it could help save the environment, benefits

for students with disabilities, and many other advantages.

1. Subpoint 1 As we live in a world where technology is becoming the

primary source of life, students need to be taught how to use it correctly.

This is because they will most likely be utilizing technology in whatever

work force they decide to go into, and in order to be successful, they will

need to have a great understanding of how everything works. This will

 also allow them to better communicate with people across the world, as

this could be helpful in jobs that require a lot of travelling or

communication with others who do not live near to us. This can also allow

future or even current educators to share new ideas with other teachers

across the world so they can help better students from across the world

with methods that helped their students in grasping a specific idea.

2. Subpoint 2 Just over the past few years, many apps have been created to

assist students with disabilities and/or special learning circumstances. In a

book written by Joseph Fong and Jeanne Lam entitled Hybrid Learning:

The Education System, they discuss this idea. Fong says the students

who lack motor skills can actually watch their finger move and write

directly on the screen, which greatly improves their fine motor skills and

he found that 80-90% of students who were diagnosed with autism that he

was able to test saw major improvement and results in their abilities after

using the iPad.

III. Conclusion

A. Signal Closing Because we have discussed the advancements that can be made

in the education system with these advancements in technology, lets review what

we have learned.

B. Restate Thesis Eliminating all textbooks and replacing them with iPads will aid

students in countless ways.

C. Review Main Points First, I talked to you about the positive impact technology

has made within the school system. Next, I talked to you about the disadvantages
 textbooks place on students. Lastly, I talked about the new advancements that can

be made in the classroom with the help of incorporating iPads into the schools

curriculum.

D. Clincher Using iPads within the education system can help new opportunities

arise for all of us as well as eliminate many of the inhibitions textbooks place on

our education and learning. So, when contemplating whether or not schools

should replace textbooks with iPads, remind yourself of the many advantages

iPads provide students with.