The first phase of a multi-step plan to replace hardback textbooks in favor of the digital kind is under way at St. Francis Borgia Regional High School.

Last Wednesday, every faculty member at the co-ed Catholic high school received an iPad2 tablet computer.

The plan is for the teachers to begin using the tablets and exploring the availability of electronic textbooks that can be downloaded on to them, as well as other online resources, according to George Wingbermuehle, school president.

And if all goes well, beginning as early as next school year, students too will be toting the tablets in place of some of the traditional and expensive textbooks, Wingbermuehle said.

“We won’t be able to replace all textbooks with the digital ones all at once, but we want to start moving in that direction,” he said. “This is something more and more schools are doing and I truly feel it will completely revolutionize education. It’s that phenomenal.”

Wingbermuehle was quick to point out that many details still need to be worked out on how the tablets will be rolled out for student use. For now, the focus is on teachers and staff gaining knowledge on how to best utilize them, exploring the available apps and the best way to share that information.

“This is just the beginning, but already the school calendar has been downloaded on the tablets. The teachers can access their e-mails from it, do grades and so much more. The applications are endless,” he said. “And every day, more and more school-related apps are being added.

“This is the future of education and the goal is to get them into the hands of every student, possibly by next year, but if not then, the next,” he added.

Still to be decided for student use is who is paying for the tablet and which one to use, Wingbermuehle said.

“One possibility is BYOT — Bring Your Own Tablet, but nothing has been decided,” he said, adding that despite the upfront cost, it would be cheaper over the long haul than the textbook fees which runs into the hundreds of dollars each year.

“It may also be possible that students could choose which tablet to use, since several would work,” he said. “The cost savings is huge and in many cases, the school only pays for the chapters used, and seldom does a teacher get through an entire textbook.”

And no longer would textbooks become outdated, he added.

Wingbermuehle said a total of 43 tablets were purchased for faculty members. That money came from the school’s endowment fund. The school also upgraded its infrastructure for wireless.

“We’ve made a major investment, but we truly believe this is the way of the future,” he said. “One of the greatest things about the e-textbooks is the interactive aspect of it.

“You can be reading about the first walk on the moon and seeing it too. You can read about Martin Luther King’s speech and watch the video. This is about educating our students with the way they are learning today, not teaching them the way we used to learn.

“The world has changed and education needs to as well,” he said.

Wingbermuehle said the response from faculty and students alike has been very positive.

“The teachers are loving it, and they’re all finding out so many ways to use the tablets, it’s very exciting to see,” he said. “The kids are excited too. A lot of them are already using some kind of tablet now. They can’t wait to use them in the classroom.”