Buying new and crisp books, turning the pages, is for many traditionalists a singular joy. Traditionalists here refer to those persons who love to walk around with books in their bags that they know will not be stolen and who love to bend pages or buy pretty bookmarks. I am one; at least I was until I was introduced in this course to ebooks. Ebooks are available for reading in different formats. Some ebooks might mean audio books or having a story read online by a famous person or someone else available with illustrations.
When reading stories to students some teachers are able to read in a way that holds interest in the story; others may not. One advantage of ebooks is that they are often read by a professional who will understand the story and present it dramatically. Students can also read or listen at their own pace if they are at a personal computer. One ebook site, the link for which is available on myelearning, which I found very interesting and useful as it came with activities and the stories were read by famous actors, is : http://www.storylineonline.net/
When reading stories to students some teachers are able to read in a way that holds interest in the story; others may not. One advantage of ebooks is that they are often read by a professional who will understand the story and present it dramatically. Students can also read or listen at their own pace if they are at a personal computer. One ebook site, the link for which is available on myelearning, which I found very interesting and useful as it came with activities and the stories were read by famous actors, is : http://www.storylineonline.net/
What makes the ebooks so wonderful is the fact that it combines the oral, aural, and visual. Students who learn by multiple modes and will benefit from this mode.
ReplyDeleteWhat is also good is that students who can navigate the technology don't have to wait for the teacher or the rest of the class to move foward.
Teachers should begin to visualise the environment of the 21st century classroom as being different to the traditional classroom.
I acknowledge your sentiments about the traditionalist type reader since, I also get a different sense of joy and comfort cuddling up with a good book.E-books can never give me the sense of comfort that I get from traditional books.However, they do possess great benefits for teaching and learning and , as Merle indicated, if our chidren are to function in this age of technology, then our teachers and classrooms must equip them with the necessary skills.It is time to prepare our children for tomorrow and not for yesterday.
ReplyDeleteHi Marissa,
ReplyDeleteI also believe that ebooks have their place in education especially for teenage boys who usually do not like their friends to see them reading. I read an interesting story from "iluv2read" blog entitled, "Librarian changes boy's life" which is a prime example about what I am talking about. If you have time read it. As 21st century teachers the onus is on us to use the technology that our students are using to teach them especially to encourage them to read. Ebooks are definitely the way to go. Let us move forward with our children.