eBOOKS Helping reluctant readers
New technologies, not least the iPad, have fuelled debate around the use of eBooks. Andrea Carr looks at what schools need to know
teachers and for schools? It is important to look at the facts and to dispel some of the myths.
T Hardware?
Schools do not need eBook Readers in order to access eBooks and digital texts. Many eBooks can be accessed and read perfectly on PCs, interactive whiteboards (IWBs) and laptops, which many schools already have available to them. Schools may need to download some free
software for reading the eBooks (Adobe Reader for example), but once that is done, students can begin to access eBooks through a network, to read them in the library, in class, or even at home if they have home access.
Death of print?
The arrival of eBooks does not mean that print is dead. Quite the reverse in fact – eBooks can be used extremely effectively alongside print. Imagine using the IWB to display a “big book” version while groups follow in print. PCs allow students to read independently
and, for some teachers, eBooks offer a spectacularly effective route into reading for many struggling and reluctant readers. This then catapults children into print. Book “series” work particularly well with this. Try getting your strugglers to read the first
story as an eBook in school – if the stories are good they will want to take the next one in the series (the printed version) home to read.
Cost?
eBooks do not need be expensive. In fact, eBooks can represent the most cost-effective way of buying fiction and non-fiction. The beauty of eBooks is that they are digital and therefore protected by their format. They will not get lost (as long as they can be safely stored on your network). They do not get ripped or damaged. Students and teachers can write
on them, annotate them, highlight words or embed comments, but the original copy will remain as it was when you bought it. And while school licences may cost
10 SecEd • 5to7 Educator
he rise in the eBook has fuelled debate about a publishing revolution. So what does this mean for learners, for
“camouflage” of the eBook allows learners to read and re-read books which are more appropriate to their reading level, until they feel comfortable and confident to move on to trickier texts. As confidence and motivation are often the key to becoming successful readers, the freedom from peer pressure can have notable effects. The success of eBooks with reluctant
learners is hard to dispute: the image associated with technology rather than paper gives reading a new, contemporary and “cool” feel and the increased functionality means that pupils can become more engaged with the experience. If reading is to be seen as relevant, it needs to reflect the new world in which the youth of today are living. Steve Rowley, from Frankley City
Learning Centre in Birmingham, uses eBooks as part of group guided reading and said: “The children read sections of the book on netbooks and we discuss as a group. As a whole class I use ebooks to model the genres of writing.” Meanwhile, Jenny Langley of Manchester Academy adds: “The effects of using eBooks are hugely positive – leading to an increase in comprehension, motivation and overall attainment.”
a little more, you will have a book that can be read by every student in your school – simultaneously should you so wish.
A new dimension
For many adults, the concept of reading on screen for pleasure is alien, but students are not only accustomed to technology, many have come to expect this medium both in and outside of the classroom. eReading adds a new dimension to reading that can switch on those who previously shunned reading. Also, independent
reading on a laptop, netbook or handheld device allows for a degree of privacy that print books cannot give. Free from the scrutiny of their peers, the
• Andrea Carr is managing director of Rising Stars, whose eBook libraries will be at BETT (stand B25). Visit
www.risingstars-uk.com
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