Research Article: EBooks, Friend or Foe?

Data Collected from: 

Grant, S. (2002). Ebooks: Friend or Foe?. Book Report, 21(1), 50.  Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.

Topic: The Use of Ebooks in Education Today.

 Novel in the palm of your hand

What is it?

“Ebooks are digital books that are purchased online and downloaded by consumers to their computers or ERDs (ebook reading devices)” (Grant, 2002, p. 50).

For example: Kendells, Kobo, PDA’s, IPad, etc.

Cost of Various E-Readers

Kindle Wireless Reading Device, Wi-Fi, 6″ Display, Graphite Free 3G + Wi-Fi, 6″ – $189 – 9.7″ – $379

Kobo eReader – $149

Sony eReader – Pocket Edition $199 – Touch Edition $249

iPad Wi-Fi

16gb – $550  32gb – $650  64gb – $750

iPad Wi-Fi + 3G

16gb – $680  32gb – $780  64gb – $880

Note: Most of these products come with free books when you purchase them.  Also each different device has a different pricing system per book depending if the book is a new release, classic, bestseller, etc.  The iPad has the eReader app called “Kindle” for free, and the books are free because of the higher price of the device.

Advantages and Disadvantages

Disadvantages:

“The primary disadvantage of ebooks is that you need a relatively expensive device to read them-either a computer or a hand held device” (Grant, 2002, p. 50).

Desktops are not portable, laptops have low battery lifes, heavy, handhelds have hard to read screens (small text) and many can not handle graphics/pictures. Are costly as well.

Certain formats of the files are not accessible by all hardware on all computers. This is to discourage piracy.

“And let us not forget the ‘look, feel, and smell’ factor that many of us value highly” (Grant, 2002, p. 50).

Many of the older generations will miss holding the novel, seeing all the brightly colored covers sitting on the shelves waiting to be read. 

But will the kids of this generation care?

Possibly detrimental to libraries and the workers within

Advantages:

“save costs of printing, binding, warehousing, shipping, and handling retailer returns; content updates are vastly easier” (Grant, 2002, p. 50).

Sometimes it’s easier for authors to publish an ebook versus a regular book

Greater and faster availability, download a book from anywhere and begin reading. Do not have to wait on a hold list at a local library.

Cant loose or damage the books. Always there, if they get deleted, just download them again

Write notes, highlight, read in the dark, have hundreds of books on one device.

Don’t need a physical space for the library, no over due fines, no re-shelving, no staff needed to train

Seems libraries are not in danger and books sales are still skyrocketing. No decrease in library funding.

Some libraries even distribute their own handhelds for customers to use. Ebooks will eventually become even more cheaper than regular books due to the economy.

Textbooks are expensive for students, so it would valuable if textbooks were available in a handheld device.

Are Generic E-Readers Going to Last?

With the new Apple Ipad, are generic eReaders going to stand alone?

Apple Ipad is a tablet computer designed and developed by Apple. It is particularly marketed as a platform for audio and visual media such as books, periodicals, movies, music, and games, as well as web content. At about 700 grams (25 ounces), its size and weight are between those of most contemporary smartphones and laptop computers.

Ipads allow students to read books but also do alot more. Are generic eReaders a thing of the past? Will students move on to the bigger/better things?

Enacting Change: A Study of the Implementation of E-Readers and an Online Library in Two Canadian High School Classrooms

Patterson et al. write about their project that ”combined (1) information literacy issues, (2) pedagogy and e-pedagogy, and (3) computational modeling activities founded on a productive confluence of these perspectives all situated at the intersection of pertinent theories and practices pertaining to each”(p.66). After the project was completed they found that:

"Inclusion of new technologies such as e-readers and online libraries directly impacts learning and teaching. As witnessed throughout this study, the development and implementation of e-readers and online libraries are an important step in addressing the gap between born-digital learners’ personal contexts and the learning contexts of contemporary classrooms. Unique understandings of born-digital students’ changing literacies have been arrived at through this study, alongside clear evidence of the complications that arise through the development, implementation, and integration of new literacy technologies and environments such as e-readers and online libraries. Yet such an effort and understanding is needed. Throughout this study, there emerged the need for re-inventing reading and learning spaces to address the changing reading patterns and epistemologies of born-digital students as they navigated through ideas and information from page to screen. Importantly, this re-invention can only occur through a co-authoring of the reading and learning spaces of born-digital students by those very students, their teachers, the online library developer, and others such as experts in digital corpora” (p.79).

To make a long conclusion short, they found:

• They have a direct impact on learning
• An important step in addressing the gap between difital readers and the general classroom
• There are complications in developing a new technology into the classroom
• Effort and understanding of these complications is needed in order to successfully incorporate technology readers
• Supported the idea of reinventing reading
• For re-invention of reading to occur, everyone in the school must be on board

Link to the article:http://liber.library.uu.nl/publish/articles/000491/article.pdf

Using EBooks in the Classroom

Drs. Cavanaugh Educational Technology (2006) provides suggestions as to how ebooks can be used in a classroom setting:

1. Presentation Through eBook

Presentation programs, like PowerPoint, are not the only tools that can be used to create a digital presentation. Students use a web editor program to create a digital presentation, then convert it to an eBook, and then use the eBook with a video projector as their visual presentation tool.

2. Reading assessment

From an eBook select reading passages that you would like to use as a reading assessment (up to 200 words). Copy the passage and go to OPAKI site (http://www.interventioncentral.org/htmdocs/tools/okapi/okapi.shtm) to create a curriculum based reading probe. Have the student read the analyzed paged aloud for 1 minute to find the number of words read correct per minute. This is a highly reliable measure of general reading achievement.

3. Readers Theater

Download a pre-made readers theater script or convert a section of an eBook into the readers theater format with a word processor. Then have the student read the script to the class. As an additional option, use a computer to record the students “radio play” for podcasting or placing on the class web site.

4. Diagram a Sentence

Using an eBook reader program, such as MS Reader, have students highlight parts of a sentence in different colors to represent the different parts of the sentence. For example verbs could be in red, subject in green, and nouns in blue

5. Home-School Interaction

Develop reading relationships between home and school. Place selected eBook or links to online books on the school, library, or class web site. Students read the books from home or school.