Students in schools reading on
screens seem to be relatively common in our school, and the devices are
wide-ranging in their functions. Some students use simple e-readers, such as
Nooks and basic Kindles. Other students are reading on their Android tablets or
iPads, which have a multitude of apps available besides just reading books,
including wi-fi internet browsing capabilities. Other students are reading on
their laptops or Chromebooks, which are full computers. All of these have
benefits, but they also have their pitfalls that educators must watch for. Be
careful to consider all sides of the discussion before making a decision to
include or exclude the use of digital readers in your school or classroom.
It has been surprisingly challenging to find evidence-based research in web searches that
provide a balanced evaluation of the use of e-readers in schools. As a teacher, I have encouraged and assigned that students use RazKids to read online in school and at home. I appreciate that students have a variety of reading materials at specific reading levels, a built-in assessment tool, and a way to document some sort of progress. The students are motivated to read so they can take the quizzes and earn stars, though I don’t see as much intrinsic motivation or excitement for reading.
After reading Nicholas Carr’s The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains,
I have to question whether reading online (or at least digitally) is what is best for our developing readers. I have explained in a previous blog post what his opinion is, but to summarize, brain research shows that when students are given choices while reading, like to click on a hyperlink or definition, comprehension suffers because it distracts full focus on deep reading or breaks concentration.
Finding recent evidence has been a challenge. Most of the articles I found on ASCD,
EdWeek.org, and others are from 2009-2013, which is when e-readers really became more commonplace. The articles seem one-sided and tell many positive things, or make suggestions on how to implement e-readers in your classroom, but do not share as much of the negatives to watch out for. They also lack the research that Mr. Carr’s book references, so its not truly possible to compare apples to apples.
However, teachers overall seem to be happy about including e-readers in their classrooms
at all grade-levels for many reasons. Some of the biggest pros include:
* improved reader engagement
* increased student confidence with technology
* better ability for vocabulary support for ELL students (embedded dictionary & read-aloud)
* ability for reading material to be updated quickly
* reader portability
* flexibility of reading choices
* some demonstrated benefits for students with dyslexia.
Some of the downsides mentioned include:
* the initial cost of the devices
* potential for breaking
* lack of functionality without internet access
* too much “screen time” as a major concern for student health and vision
* the possibility of distractions on the devices.
In my next blog post, I will try to find research and evidence to support both sides of the discussion. Below are the links from the articles I referenced in this post. As you can see, most of them are not more recent than 2013. There has to be more thorough recent research!
Do yo use e-readers in your classroom? What are the pros or cons that you find?
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