Can eBooks Help Reluctant Readers?

Kathy Schrock wrote a two-page article about eBooks in the current issue of i.e. magazine from SMART Technologies. E-Readers: Can Electronic Books Help Reluctant Readers? starts on page 10. Certainly the answer to the title of the article is a resounding yes!

Kathy mentions Dr. Terry Cavanaugh's book, The Digital Reader: Using E-books in K-12 Education. The book is full of advice and resources for teachers. It offers a list of five strategies for high school teachers to support reluctant readers. Though, these strategies can surely be used for all readers. Kathy briefly explains the strategies:

• Offer a wide range of reading materials.
• Use pre-reading techniques.
• Incorporate large-print materials.
• Engage multiple modalities.
• Teach important vocabulary.

Kathy summaries why eBooks are great for students: "The use of electronic books and the myriad of features available, can be of help to all students. The ability to access reference material while they are reading, highlight text with a virtual highlighter for note-taking and studying, and create a side note within the e-book to come back to later, are all key factors that enhance student's reading ability."

You can download the Autumn 2006 edition of i.e. magazine in PDF format. You can have a paper edition mailed to you by subscribing for free here.

Comments

[JMcIntyre]

Hi there!

So glad to see someone else is excited about eBooks and eBook readers helping kids with their reading. As a teacher who has used eBooks for the past six months, I am surprised at how well certain students seem to take to the format. For whatever reason, some kids are just able to "get" a book on a screen better than in print. The latest strategy that I found works quite well is to purchase a workbook in eBook format (http://www.dedicatedteacher.com is a great resource) and then have a student complete it on the computer. The student generally views it as a game rather than work, and the other features like referencing the dictionary help speed up the comprehension process and reduce frustration. Either way, I'm definitely sold!

Thanks for the great post,

Joan