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[ICTs in English] RE: Re: Re: Re: E-Books for Novel Study


Chronological Thread 
  • From: "Catherine Lee" <le AT eggs.school.nz>
  • To: <ictenglish AT mailinglist.tki.org.nz>
  • Subject: [ICTs in English] RE: Re: Re: Re: E-Books for Novel Study
  • Date: Wed, 17 Nov 2010 07:45:18 +1300

I have had a trial of netbooks in my Y9 English class this year, & we haven’t used e-books, mainly because the netbooks don’t have the functionalities of a dedicated ereader that make ereading an attractive option. (Our retired HOD English was in recently & declaring how much she loves her Kindle!)  We have used them for heaps of other things tho, eg accessing the wonderful poetry sites available, writing, blogs, wikis, wallwisher, video...

 

Catherine Lee

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From: Karen Melhuish [mailto:karen.melhuish AT core-ed.ac.nz]
Sent: Tuesday, 16 November 2010 11:58 a.m.
To: ictenglish AT mailinglist.tki.org.nz
Subject: [ICTs in English] Re: Re: Re: E-Books for Novel Study

 

Good question, David.  At worst, I guess, students would have an unsuccessful experience and their time (and yours) would be wasted (!)  But I'm sure that wouldn't be the case, given the thought and planning you are putting in:-) 

 

A trial sounds like a really good way to go, together with a sense of what it is you are wanting the students to learn, what they need, what strengths to play to etc. to help develop some criteria for choosing the books in the first place. In other words, choosing texts in the same way as you would choose hard copies. Being aware that the digital literacy skills may also need some focus as not every student will know how to navigate their way around (just as some students need support reading plays, non-fiction texts etc on paper). They will also give you tonnes of feedback, too, which will be useful, as will parents and colleagues.

 

The following article may be useful: Are Electronic Books Effective in Teaching Young Children Reading and Comprehension? http://bit.ly/ddGk0v

..and, of course, the Digistore wiki has some great guidance on integrating digital content: http://digistore.wikispaces.com/Key+Messages

 

Let us know how you go!

Cheers

Karen M

 

 

On 16/11/2010, at 9:06 AM, School wrote:



Thanks Karen, plenty of food for thought there.  You ask some really challenging and relevant questions  And at the same time, it all comes back to the fundamental - will my students learn better as a result?

 

  My feeling is that a lot of the real learning possibilities that may make themselves apparent will probably do so retrospectively - after trialling and playing around with them a little In Class.  My hope is that the novelty will in itself be engaging, and I can see some good potential for differentiation through some of the software that will read the text aloud to the less able readers.  And I really like the benefits in terms of not having to issue ,chase, replace etc.

 

The question that seems to be reframing is why not? At worst it would be a redundant set of class readers to add to the pile ion the book room - albeit a virtual one.  Or am I missing some more detrimental possible consequences?

On 15/11/2010, at 2:41 PM, Karen Melhuish <karen.melhuish AT core-ed.ac.nz> wrote:

Hi David,

 

How exciting that your students will all have laptops next year - a great opportunity!

 

It seems to me, when we think about using e-books with students (setting aside the issue of affordability), that the question must be: how will using an e-book offer an improved/different experience with text than a conventional book? How will they engage students in lit/lang?

 

To read a book on screen in the same way as you would read one on paper does not really offer any benefits, and might actually detract from the reading experience if students are not used to navigating text in a different way. It isn't, I think, a question of whether students are used to e-books or not (natives or otherwise), but whether they can benefit from using them.

 

So, you might want to consider:

- what e-books are there that are appropriate for my students that offer added value (have a look at Alice for the Pad http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gew68Qj5kxw), in terms of exploring character, style, setting etc?

- how can I manipulate/edit/navigate text to explore the language and style?

- what literacy & digital literacy support will some of my students need in order to learn how to navigate an e-book?

- how can I use e-books to foster collaborative, connected learning and inquiry into purpose/audience?

 

It's worth noting that e-books come in different formats and are often supported by different hard/software. Not all e-books are created equal. Some are highly interactive, others are little better than a PDF online.

 

As with all these things, it comes back to the learning, and how your choice of tool/technology/resource will support the students:-)

 

Good luck!

Cheers

Karen

 

 

 

 

 

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KAREN MELHUISH

eLearning Consultant  |  CORE Education

 

Tel (Wellington Office):  +64 4 9345165                 Mob:  021.1109036                 Email / iChat: karen.melhuish AT core-ed.org                Skype: karenmelhuish                             Web: www.core-ed.org                            Twitter: virtuallykaren            

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On 15/11/2010, at 10:00 AM, David Schaumann wrote:



Hi All

I was wondering if anyone had had any experience teaching novel or
extended written text using e-books.  Our year 9 students are all going to
use laptops next year, and this is a possibility we’re exploring.

But ... the idea of no longer having that REAL book in your hands ... some
part of me wonders if that wouldn’t be a tragedy.   Another part suspects
that’s the sentimentality of a digital immigrant, and digital natives
would have no such sense of loss.

Thoughts?



--
Mr David Schaumann
English Teacher, S.C.T and Year 10 Form Teacher
John McGlashan College

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