Print vs Electronic Resources

I think part of the problem in this debate comes from the win/lose nature of the question - print VERSUS electronic. It suggests that one must be better. It also reminds me of the constant debate I participate in and overhear about Macs vs PCs. It has been my experience that those who are in the PC "camp" refuse to acknowledge Macs as having any worth, whereas, again in my experience, Mac supporters acknowledge PCs but prefer Macs. The same can be said for the print/electronic references debate. I feel that those who think electronic reference materials are superior feel that print references are useless and should not be considered. It seems that proponents of print references feel there is room for both. I realize this is an oversimplified generalization but it puts a bit of perspective on the debate for me.

When I scan lists of advantages and problems of print and electronic resources I can easily see how many points can fit in both columns. So how do we handle this? For me the answer comes in the form of options. I feel sad when I consider a day where print materials are not available. Will this happen in my lifetime? Will it ever happen? I do not know. But I hope that my children will feel the same joy I do in "cracking" open a new book or flipping through an atlas dreaming of places I would like to visit. I had a friend growing up whose step-father worked for Encyclopedia Britannica and sometimes we would get to go to the warehouse with him on a weekend. WOW! I remember being in such awe of all these amazing books. I remember my excitement when he pulled off a one-volume encyclopedia about animals and said I could have it. I still have that book and love to look at it with my girls. We talk about the animals, read the information about their habitats and wonder if we will ever see them "in real life." What will be the future equivalent of this experience? Will we sit around a tablet with the same feelings? Will it hold that same sense of awe?

For me part of the problem comes from the volume of information available in electronic form. A quotation I shared in a previous post, "Searching for information on the internet is like taking a drink from a fire hose" sums it up for me. My concern is that my students don't see this as a problem. They think quantity is good (love that Supersize mentality), and that more information means the research is "easier." They fail to see that this volume leads to so many more issues around authenticity, authority, appropriateness and plagiarism. I do not want to disregard the incredible resource offered us by way of the internet, that would be foolish. What I do want is for my students to understand the information they are searching, evaluate it, use it respectfully, and then evaluate again... hmmm, sounds like a research model to me!

In considering the importance of print and electronic resources what I have decided is most important to me is how I teach kids to use these resources. I want them to understand the value of both and then make an informed choice. I want them to be able to defend their choice with reasonable and accurate arguments. I work in a "Mac school" and am constantly faced with students whose answer to any computer issue is "Macs suck." I ask them what type of computer they have at home and most who do not like the Macs say PC. I then try to get to the root of their frustration - which is usually the speed that they are able to do something (or the inability to "right click" which I can solve easily if they are will to listen). I explain to them that their computer at home is faster, not because it is a PC but because it is one computer, on one line, getting its internet connection. At school we have a server that performs this function for all of our computers. When all three labs and the library are in use, the varying ages of the computers creates a slow down. Patience here, is then a virtue. Those students who are willing and open to listening to my explanation, will not complain so easily the next time they have a computer issue. The same can be said for the print vs electronic debate. If I can show students a variety of ways to gather information and use different sources, and they still prefer electronic, then I think I have done my job. I want to provide resources and tools so that they can make informed choices. I do not want them to choose something because that is what everyone else does, or they think its faster, better, easier.

Print materials are still an important part of our society. We still read newspapers, magazines, books, in print form. We have options today, and some may argue that we should move to electronic versions faster so as not to waste time in the transition. I think that there are still too many variables and problems - internet access, cost, consistency issues, on-line safety, plagiarism, that make it necessary to continue with print and electronic reference materials.