They can empower students by providing opportunities to adjust sizes and use text to speech functions and provide opportunities to engage with the text in a more ways than with traditional paper text. Motivation and engagement are overwhelming benefits of the use of technology with struggling readers. Greater engagement equals higher achievement. Research shows that experiences with technology can encourage reluctant readers to re-engage in a new and exciting way. Also important, is the benefit that these technologies play in the development of reading comprehension through voice recordings. Students that are otherwise disengaged when it comes to reading traditional print books are excited when the reading material is presented in electronic form.
E-books offer an engaging option for struggling readers, are easy for teachers to implement, and offer opportunities for individual practice for students. When using e-books, students tend to more naturally investigate words and images. They can teach students early literacy skills including phonological awareness and vocabulary.
Teachers need to stay current with the most recent digital advances and determine how to implement them into their curriculum. Technology should not drive the curriculum nor determine its content. However, technology should be integrated at every available opportunity in order to prepare our students for the 21st century.
Not only do they help students, but e-books can also be more cost-effective for schools. The unlimited site license for some books can allow a teacher to assign it to a reading circle, a class, or even multiple classes at less cost than purchasing a class set of books. Furthermore, students can utilize the highlighting and notes features offered by some e-book sites (like Follett Shelf) allows students to do those activities as needed. They can't do that in a textbook or library book.
ReplyDelete