Although there seems little doubt about the educational benefits of using computer software applications instead of textbooks in the classroom for students (they are more engaging, make them learn both more quickly and productively, and make it easier to monitor and improve students' academic performance), the problem is with the cost. It is not only that the software is more expensive to purchase than textbooks, but the schools will also have to install a new or better computer network, pay for somebody to look after it and provide a tablet or laptop for each of their students to use. It is this cost which I believe that will mean that most schools will continue to use textbooks for a long time into the future.

Not only do they encourage students to learn more quickly than textbooks can, but they can also be used to monitor the individual performance of students. As students complete tests and exams on applications they are using on computers, a record of their results is automatically kept. This makes it easier for the teacher to identify issues any of their students are having with a particular area of a subject, so they can undertake the necessary actions to solve them.

So if educational software is so much better than using traditional textbooks to educate students, why are most schools still using textbooks? The answer is quite simple, cost.

The main problem about using computer software to teach subjects instead of textbooks is that it is a lot more expensive. Not only is the software more expensive per student than a textbook, but all the teaching staff will have to be professionally trained to use it. On top of this, schools will have to pay to have a new or better computer network installed and to employ new staff to look after it.

It is this cost which means that the only schools which will be able to afford to replace their textbooks with computers will be private schools. For schools in most countries (and especially in the developing world), the cost of replacing their textbooks with computer software will be too expensive.

In addition to the cost of the software and the network, schools will also have to provide each of their students with their own tablet or laptop to use. And as children have a habit of dropping or losing things, schools will also have to pay for the replacement or repair throughout the year of many of the tablets and laptops which they provide to their students.

There are even some educational software applications which can do this automatically. The application itself monitors the students' performance on the exercises and tests they complete. If it identifies an area or topic a student is struggling on, it will give the student extra exercises and/or help on the area to ensure that they understand the concept they are learning. Although a teacher can do all of this without the need of a software application, it takes a lot longer to do it manually. And if a teacher has a lot of students, they won't have the time to monitor every student effectively.

For hundreds of years, textbooks have been used by schools as one of the main methods to educate their students. But with the rise of technology (computers, the internet etc...) many experts are now saying that students should learn many subjects (from maths to geography) at school using computers instead. So why do these experts believe that software on a computer is better for learning than using a traditional textbook?

One of the reasons which people who support the idea of replacing textbooks with computer software for teaching in classrooms give is that it makes the learning environment more enjoyable and productive. As most educational software applications on computers are interactive (they can contain videos, animations, games etc...), they are more engaging for students to use. Making students want to use them more than reading a textbook. As a result, students learn not only more, but do so more quickly than they would by using a textbook.