In 2009, the New York Times published an article titled: In a Digital Future, Textbooks are History. Since then, many have queried whether textbooks are needed in a digital world, given that extensive and often free on-line resources are now available.

The digital era has challenged conventional practices on textbooks. Should physical textbooks be replaced by packaged digital materials? With free on-line resources, should governments stop allocating budgets to textbooks? Are schools in developing countries using digital sources to improve learning?

The answers to these questions are not binary, but depend on the development context of countries including their digital infrastructure availability, affordability and capacity. Even as developing countries catch up on the digital curve, the good old physical textbook cannot be debunked.   Digital learning materials are indispensable in the modern era. — blog.adb.org/blogs