Digital Learning II: Linear Learning Materials

Another disadvantage that books have compared to digital learning materials is their limited nature. As already mentioned, information in books can only be arranged and printed („stored”) linearly, and a textbook can only have a limited number of pages.

While we can open a book in the middle and the last pages might contain an index, we can only flip pages forward or backward. Spontaneous reorganization is usually impossible. We cannot remove pages from one place and add them elsewhere.

A book is a closed object, and to rearrange or expand its content, it must be reprinted or even republished.

Furthermore, the size and clarity of a book’s content negatively correlate. The more information a book contains—the more pages pressed between its covers—the harder it is to overview (or even just open). Conversely, a thin book is easier to handle but gets read quickly.

For most types of books, this is fine. Novels and nonfiction are meant to be read from page 1. There is a beginning and an end, with interconnected content conveyed piece by piece in between. In other cases, the linear nature and limitations of books are an obstacle.

This applies to content designed for repetition.

For example, workbooks and exercise books that we had in some school subjects alongside the textbook. While the textbook was rather dry, the workbooks were interactive. Being able and encouraged to write in them led to quick successes and was fun.

Unlike the textbooks provided by the school, workbooks had to be purchased anew. By the end of the (half) year, they were full of scribbles, worn out, and disposed of.