With back-to-school season here, kids aren't the only ones leaving the house this fall: money is also flowing from parents' wallets for pricey textbooks.

A new report from Nielsen found that 71% of students who use tablets are interested in accessing textbooks on them. Google is one example of a company listening to this emerging demand. Students can now rent or buy digital textbooks via Google Play.

See also: 9 Dependable Destinations for Online Tutoring

Among tablet owners over age 13 who use their device at school, Nielsen said 51% use it for searching the Internet, as illustrated in the chart below. Tablet owners at school are also using email (46%), reading books (42%), taking notes (40%) and completing homework/school assignments (30%).

For kids under 11, 78% of tablet-owning parents report letting these younger children play with tablets at home, according to Nielsen. Many of these parents (54%) say their kids are using the tablets "for educational purposes." But even some parents are expressing demand for more educational content. One in five parents who don't allow their children to play with tablets said they would "if there was more educational content on them," Nielsen reported.

The data referenced is from Nielsen’s quarterly Connected Devices Report, for the first quarter of 2013.

Parents: would you prefer if your kids had digital textbooks over physical books? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Lead image: Flickr, Johan Larsson. Chart: Nielsen