Digital Reading Devices

I absolutely love my Kindle. I have always been an avid reader but this ingenious device enhances my reading experience. As a young student, I was reading books two or three grade levels ahead of my own. However, I have always been the kind of reader that (gasp) skips over unknown words. In fourth grade, my teacher shared with me that I baffled her because she did not understand how my comprehension of above grade level materials could be so strong when I was struggling with grade level vocabulary. Now when I read using my Kindle, I do not skip unknown words. I just move the cursor in front of the word and BAM! Instant definition! This naturally lends itself to increased vocabulary and a deeper level of comprehension.

As an educator, I found myself thinking, if the Kindle has enriched my reading experience as an adult, imagine what it could do for students in the classroom. This thought led me to the following article:

Larson, Lotta C. (2010). Digital Readers: The Next Chapter in E-book Reading and Response. The Reading Teacher, 64(1), 51-22. 

The International Reading Association (IRA) has cited the importance of incorporating information and communication technologies into current literacy programs. Why would the IRA suggest this? New technologies are demanding new literacy skills from our students we need to transform our literacy instruction to meet this demand. Larson’s article offers insight into how digital reading devices, such as the Kindle, Nook, Sony Reader, Cybook OPUS, iLiad, and iPad, can be used as tools in literacy instruction to help meet this new demand.

In her article, Larson explains the basic features of digital reading devices and discusses how they offer “new avenues for accessing and interacting with a wide array of texts.” A digital reading device can store hundreds of books, newspapers, magazines, and blogs; allows quick access to dictionary, internet, and other search capabilities, offers customizable settings to suit each reader. For instance, a reader can adjust the font size, determine layout (horizontal or vertical), activate text-to-speech (the device reads the text to the reader), highlight key phrases or words, search within the book, and add notes.   To show the benefits of these tools and features, Larson conducted a small case study in which two 2^nd grade students of different ethnic/linguistic backgrounds were given a Kindle to read a book selected by their teacher. 

Student A was an outgoing, social 7-year-old Caucasian girl reading at grade level and expressed strong communication skills. Student B was a quiet, serious 8-year-old Asian girl who is fluent in Chinese and speaks English as a second language, reading at a 5^th grade level. Both girls read Friendship According to Humphrey by Betty G. Birney, a chapter book recommended for grades 2-4. Larson observed the girls reading on the Kindle 40 minutes a day for three weeks. The students were informed of all the features and tools and told they were not required to use them but could. Larson also interviewed the students, teacher, and parents as well as analyzed the digital notes and highlights of the devices.

Larson discovered that the Kindle digital note tool allowed the students to engage, connect, and respond to the text in a way that put them in control. Larson sorted their literature responses into five categories:

1.       Understanding of story (retelling; personal commentary)

2.       Personal meaning making (text-to-self connection; character identification)

3.       Questioning (desire for information; indication of lack of understanding)

4.       Answering (answers to questions in the text)

5.       Response to text features/literary evaluation

Student A’s responses were more diverse but excluded category four. The challenging text inspired her to ask questions, and wonder about the author’s use of conventions and writing style. Student B’s responses were generally in categories two and one. Student B’s greater understanding of the text allowed her to make connections that were more personal and allowed the teacher to see a less serious side of her personality.

Larson also discovered that the students utilized the font size feature. Student A felt that she could read faster with larger text. An important thing to note is that when students are reading together their settings should be consistent to avoid confusion. The built-in dictionary was mostly used by Student A to decode unknown words, especially multisyllabic words. Both students were not fond of the “Kindle’s voice”, but found the text-to-speech feature useful for decoding “individual words or navigat[ing] through difficult text passages”. The student and parent interviewed revealed that reading on the Kindle boosted reading confidence and promoted positive attitudes toward reading, in part because the “coolness factor”. Larson also mentions that the students were still able to “snuggle” with the Kindle, which is an aspect that promotes a positive reading experience. Whereas E-books on computers or laptops can negatively affect the reading experience for some readers because of the discomfort.

What implications does Larson’s research have for the classroom? Students cannot manipulate a book but they can manipulate a reading digital device to make the content more accessible to them based on their individual needs and preferences. Reading digital devices also offer students an opportunity to respond to a variety of texts in a way that cannot be done with traditional books. This allows educators to better understand their students reading behaviors and comprehension skills. Teachers can use this information to differentiate their teaching and provide students with the individualized instruction or skill development they need to be successful readers. While the benefits of utilizing digital reading device can be seen through this research, the case study was small and more research about integrating digital reading devices into literacy curriculum is needed. 

**Here is an image of popular reading digital devices from http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/mac-computing/will-apples-ipad-kill-the-e-reader/