State (AL) May Say 'Goodbye' to Paper Textbooks

A pair of state (Alabama) lawmakers are asking for $100 million in bonds to replace school textbooks with digital devices. Republican state Sen. Gerald Dial, of Lineville, and Rep. Jim McClendon, of Springville, said textbooks are obsolete and they estimate the state could eventually save $15 million by replacing them with laptops or tablet computers.

Advocates of the idea said allowing children to use tablets or laptops would give them more flexibility in terms of research opportunities, and chances to expand on what they've learned rather than working from prepared texts.