Digital textbooks are increasingly popular with French teachers, but 91 % of them do not want the paper textbook to disappear, according to a survey carried out last summer by TNS-SOFRES and made public last week. Two-thirds of digital textbook users believe that the two products will coexist with more differences and complementarity within 3 to 5 years.
About 16 % French teachers use at least one digital textbook in the classroom. However, they are less likely to do so in elementary school, barely 1 in 12, compared to college and high school. Currently, around 30,000 classes have access to a digital textbook.
“In middle school, the combined effects of curriculum reform and the“ digital textbooks through the digital work environment ”experiment are clear. The only levels 6e and 5e concentrated 75 % of the totality of student licenses and 45 % of class licenses, it is written. In high school, the reform of the curricula immediately led almost 7 % of second year students to use one or more digital textbooks. "
The survey shows that the digital switchover is recent in most cases. In 2010, 80 % of users had been using a digital manual for less than a year. In 2011, this was the case for 57 % of them. It must be said that the offer of digital textbooks is expanding more and more. Since 2009, each school textbook has systematically both paper and digital versions. There are currently 950 digital textbooks on the French market, including 21 % for primary school, 31 % for middle school and 36 % for high school. Nevertheless, they still represent less than 1 % of the turnover of printed books.
Paper vs digital
According to the survey, the manuals are popular with users. Indeed, 85 % consider the complementarity satisfactory between printed and digital textbooks and 90 % consider that the transition is easy between the two.
The two products appear to be used for different purposes. The survey shows that the printed textbook is still more widely used for studying texts, doing exercises in class and performing assessments. As for the digital manual, it is appreciated for the study of figures, images, photos and friezes. More and more teachers are also using it for oral activities through sound and for studying science experiments.
The main advantages of digital textbooks cited by respondents are the mobilization of student attention (90 %), access to different media on a single medium (70 %) and legally available resources (80 %).
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