Technology is playing an increasing hand in education today, from the way districts communicate with families to how kids exercise.

Should it be any surprise then that technology is altering that most venerable of educational icons: the textbook? That hardbound hallmark is going the way of the chalkboard, and, like its classroom counterpart, is being replaced by a much more interactive tool.

The electronic textbook or electronically delivered instructional materials -- as savvy educators and industry types prefer to call it -- is revolutionizing the way learning occurs in the classroom.

As you can imagine, the technology takes the subject matter to a whole different level, which, presented in simple print and paper, is static. But online, the material can come alive through sound, images, and interactivity.

“If you go to a sixth-grade science book and you look at tigers, they might have a few pages,” says Tom Greaves, chairman of the Greaves Group, which provides consultation services to educators on technology.

“On the Internet, if you typed in pictures of tigers, you’d get a million. The information available on the Internet is a million times more than what is in the textbook and that’s important,” Greaves insists, “because every kid is an individual, they may be interested in a different level of material, they may speak a different language, and it’s very difficult for a single page of paper to hit all those interests.”

To learn more about electronic textbooks, the advantages and drawbacks, as well as which school districts are utilizing it and what they’ve discovered, read ASBJ’s July’s cover story, now available online.

Naomi Dillon, Senior Editor