Today I’m hosting Chapter 7 of the Summer Book Study of Jim Trelease’s book The Read Aloud Handbook. Find more details about the book study here with a schedule. Chapter 7 is titled “Digital Learning: Good News and Bad”.
I love technology and I love my gadgets. I believe digital learning has a place in education. However, I also agree with much of what Jim Trelease says about technology not always being a “good” thing. I also read a lot in this chapter that I found very surprising.
For all my love of gadgets, I still have a large personal collection of print books, which I enjoy. I’m reading The Read Aloud Handbook on my iPad, but most of the time, I read books in print. I love to read books and not just the fluff, but to be honest, I don’t read nearly as much as I used to. Since getting “sucked into” the Internet, I find myself on the computer far more than reading books. Now I have to make myself get off the computer and read, and I’m often not successful because of the distractions of the Internet.
I find children are the same way. Turn on a computer, hand a child an iPad, and what happens? Here comes the whole class. Drop the baby doll on the floor, leave the block construction, abandon the paints: the… computer… is… ON! Even though I believe technology has a place in education, I really do prefer a hands-on classroom for Pre-K. I would much, much rather see my prekinders engaged with building blocks or wooden puzzles or designing shapes with pattern blocks than to see them “sucked in” to a computer screen. However, don’t read this and think I’m against tech in education. I’m not. It’s all in the way you use it.
I have had that book Trelease mentioned, The Shallows:What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains, on my to-read list for a while and haven’t gotten around to it (yeah, I’m too distracted by Pinterest and Instagram and email to find time to read it). Anyway, this book says the Internet has “messed with” our brains so that we now read less complex, more shallow reading. We’ve become skimmers rather than reading in depth. Which leads me to wonder: how many of you are skimming my post right now? Are you still reading? Could I save myself some work and just fill the rest of this post with mud pie recipes? 😉
Here’s what I found most surprising in this chapter:
- We read more slowly and comprehend less when we read on screen than on paper. (I did not know that.)
- Studies have shown that digital learning has not helped improve education.
- In one study, 100% of students who took online classes had lower reading scores than public school counterparts.
- Steve Jobs and Bill Gates admitted that computers had made “surprisingly little impact on schools.”
(Well, if computers haven’t made us smarter, they have certainly made things more convenient. Remember the days when we had to trudge uphill both ways in the snow to get to the library for an encyclopedia?)
One of Trelease’s concerns was that our ebooks of today could later be useless just like files on the old floppy disks. I believe that files being useless with time is a thing of yesterday. I believe we will be able to more easily convert old files than we could in the past, but I don’t think we should necessarily consider our e-book purchases permanent. As we delete some ebooks from our e-readers to make more room, or buy new e-readers, I think some books will be lost over time.
I don’t believe e-readers will replace books entirely. I hope they don’t. I believe classroom libraries will still be full of print books for many years to come. With a classroom full of children, it just makes more sense to have a collection of books in print than to have ebooks on a few e-readers. With a print library, all children can read at the same time. If children are more drawn to books that have the covers facing out, I think they will be more drawn to a print book than an e-reader machine.
What were your thoughts on this chapter? Do you tend to skim when you read online? Do you read online or in print or some of both?
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I have had this debate with my younger counterparts at school! Although I love my computer and smartphone, I sometimes have to say enough is enough. I am not a super “techy” but do love the convenience the internet offers. However, I only read books….just can’t get into the e-books. I found Trelease’s information very enlightening regarding the research saying computers are not making our kids smarter. I do tend to skim when I read online, but, Karen I read all your article. 🙂
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Carol! And thanks for reading! 🙂
that’s true i find it so hard to read on screen i skim too……Your site is fun and very educative. quite helpful with my little ones
Thanks!
I must admit to not having read this chapter yet due to moving,but now I cannot wait to read it! I have debated this with the younger educators as well – I love my technology, but not so much for real reading although I have read several books on my iPad this summer. I really think there is a psychological component missing when we read via technology that you can only get fom reading real books. I gain a crazy amount of comfort from the printed page – even my 2 daughters talk about loving the feel and smell of books when they read. We just get a greater connection with real books. Reading from the printed page is like sitting in momma’s lap and being read to!
As for e-books being temporary – I am not sure that they will go the way of floppy disks, but I do know technology is dependent on power sources and if we have a major event or disaster I can carry a couple of books with me to get me through it. If I rely solely on technology, my reading will last only as long as my batteries. A crazy thought I know, but hey, I live in hurricane country a girl has got to think ahead!
Loving this book study – off to catch up on the chapter now! Thanks for including me!
Thanks for sharing, Mischelle. E-books can be very convenient, especially when traveling or sitting in a waiting room, but I was very surprised to find that we read slower and comprehend less.
Karen, I had to smile when I got to the comment about skimming. I had been “reading quickly” through the post. 🙂
I think that balance is the key. While technology gives us some definite advantages, we don’t need to get caught up in the “tool” that we lose the intention.
I’m a little behind on my book study and am looking forward to completing this chapter, even more now that I read your post.
Thanks, Scott! I think most people do “read quickly” through articles or posts online. I think it’s probably a result of the Internet being such a time consuming thing. You get online and you could be on it for hours, so people have gotten into habits of skimming for the more important info.
I agreed with u I prefer to see the children building blocks ,design the shapes more than see them on the screen of computer ,the Internet is distraction there is no forcing .thx:)
True. There are ways to use technology in good ways, though. You might want to check out last years’ book study of “Teaching in the Digital Age”. http://preschoolspot.com/category/technology/
Karen, your article is interesting. Although I haven’t read “The Read aloud Handbook”, what you say certainly does ring true. I tend to “skim” a lot more when reading online than when I’m reading a print book. The same goes for magazines – maybe its the distraction of having other material/articles close on hand. I read both print and ebooks but way more of the former!
That’s probably true, Yamini. There are so many distractions on the online.
I am glad to read your post. I have this discussion with my husband all the time. He is a technical savvy person, and I am not. I don’t want our children watching books on screens. I want them holding them. I thought I was being old fashioned until we took my son (2 yrs) to the doctor’s office earlier in the month. Hubby gave him my phone to watch home videos of himself so he wouldn’t get anxious about getting his shots. The doctor warned us not to let him look at computer screen, tablets, or phones every day. She said she is seeing a lot of children with eye issues earlier on. The eye muscles are some of the strongest in our bodies, and they are becoming sedentary and underdeveloped from lack of focusing on 3 dimensional objects. I myself have bad eyes and prefer print to technology, but it is difficult for me to resist using the apps on my phone or even a little computer time daily.
I agree with your doctor. The focus on technology does affect our eyes. I hope someone has the courage and funding to launch a campaign to say our children’s eyes and reintroduce the value of a good book.
Wow, that is interesting information, Suzanne. I know if I spend too much time on the computer, I get eye-strain, and I guess iPad screens can do the same thing. I love my gadgets, but it is something to think about.
I am one of those people that prefer to read a book versus using my e-reader. I do love the e-reader for convenience and the ability to take it anywhere without worrying about taking several books or disturbing my husband in the middle of the night by turning the light on. There is just something about holding a book. I laugh at my daughter, she is 11, when she says the same thing. She likes to feel, see and smell a book. Libraries will always have a special place in my heart. I spent numerous hours at the library during my childhood and I have tried to make those same memories with my daughter.
That’s great that you and your daughter spend a lot of time at the library! I’m sure she will cherish those memories as well. There are reasons that I do like to have a book on an e-reader: like you mentioned, you can read in the dark, and its more portable. I often wish it were possible to get a book in both print and e-book without having to pay for it twice.
I have always loved a good book. I do read and research much online and can lost in all the shuffling. I remain much more focused in a good book and have fond memories of my own children building their own pretend library, complete with handmade catalog numbers and cards and reading together with friends.
Thanks for sharing, Michele! Your children’s pretend play library sounds like fun.
2nd day on your site, “Loving it”. I read the article and I think if you enjoy reading computers are never going to be a problem.
Great review of Chapter 7, Karen! In talking about ebooks … my own children haven’t gotten into them yet – but I very much enjoy my Nook. But the key for me is that my reader has the e-ink that makes the screen LOOK like real pages (it has a “flat” finish, and no glare or brightness of a computer or iPad screen). This definitely makes my reading more enjoyable. It would be hard for me to read with great concentration off a screen for any length of time (which is why many of us skim). But I would recommend anyone who that likes to read and wants to get into eBooks should look for an eReader that makes what you read LOOK like real pages. My reader has no color and doesn’t have any other features other than allowing me to read books!!
I teach preschoolers with speech and language delays. Since I only have them a few hours a day, I believe our time is best spent with hands-on, language rich (face to face) activities. They need to learn to communicate with others, not a machine. I have also found that most little ones are already quite proficient with electronic devices. They have even taught me a thing or two about our classroom ipods.
Love love your site
Thank you
Jan
Bravo for standing up for books! I was so excited reading this chapter. I have not allowed computers in our pre-k room for the very reasons stated above. I only have a 2 or 3 day per week program and value social skills and books above the tech. stuff. Now that I have an authority that I can use to educate my parents about the value of books, I plan on sending home some of the quotes from the book as well as the title and author for the parents that are interested in reading more about this topic. Don’t get me wrong, I realize in today’s society the children need to know the in’s and out’s of the tech. world. But, in pre-k? My school is having me pilot an iPad this year for our 4K. That will become a monitored center. We do keep up in the classroom with various helpful technology equipment. I have a Smartboard and an Elmo (the Elmo is awesome) so the kids are seeing technology and now we will have the iPad, but I won’t give up my stand on having kids read books as well as me reading books to them. As someone stated above………it’s all how you use them in your classroom. Thanks for all of the great comments. I don’t feel alone now and thanks Karen for a great developmentally appropriate website. Love it!
I read your post, I feel that it´s all about knowing how and when to use it, during the previous school year many of our preschoolers had a hard time learning how to tear paper and even hold a scissor, but when it was to hold an ipad or a computer they all get 100%,I think as parents we should pay lots of attention , kids need to manipulate, and that means staying in contact with real paper.
Good recap of the chapter Karen. sorry for my very late post, I just realized this week that I was reading the book slower than the book study was taking place! I do think I tend to skim more when reading online and I find myself getting very distracted by all the hyperlinks. I have a tendency to click on one, then the next, then the next, and I find that I have lost sight of the original focus of my whatever I was doing online to being with! I I’d however, read all of your post, rather than skimming it, and have done so with each chapter of the book study as I have found it so engaging. Reading others’ comments has really brought some additional insight into what Trelease is sharing with us. As far as reading online or in print, I still like reading print better, and I often find that I will print the article and then read it, so I’m not really helping to save any trees, but I like having an actual copy I can go back to as a reference. Thanks for the great conversation around this topic!
Dear Karen, I do not skim when reading your comments or those from other teachers. Honestly, I have noticed that I skim to make sure the on-line article is new info. For instance, I read the chapter in my book (5th ed.) and next I click on http://www.trelease-on reading.com, where he has summarized the chapters, I skim the chapters to find what is not in the 5th edition – the book I have – and add the new to my pages/chapter to get clearer understanding of what is being discussed. I love print! Maybe it is my age! I like adding my thoughts on sticky notes and on the side of the page w/markers. I found a lot of info for my parents that I will use whenever. I love print. I can return to it over and over and find some new understanding. This is my third summer reading and I have referred to the other two books (Technology in Classroom & Literacy Beg.) repeatedly since they arrived. Thank you.