How would the Kindle (or other ereader) impact student reading scores?

[WillD]

I posted some thoughts on this a while back at EduKindle: Does Research Support Kindle Use to Improve Student Reading Scores? I think this is one of the key variables in the Kindle value equation for schools. I don't think that anyone is suggesting that the use of laptops has increased or improved student reading. What do you think???

[Sherry]

Certainly access to books is key in getting kids to read them as stated in Will's earlier posts. Having books available would also imply that books and reading are considered important by the family. I also have learned from my teaching and personal experience that hooking the reluctant reader is the really hard part. If you can get them reading for enjoyment, you won't be able to pry the book out of their hands. It is so often that the chore is to overcome the notion that reading is hard, or boring, or uncool.

I think the Kindle has the potential to provide that hook for many kids. It is cool. You have a variety of books to choose from. If you've convinced yourself that you just can't stay interested in one book for more than a chapter or two, you can switch around. If you are concerned that everyone in the class will see that you are reading an "easy" book, you can hide your book choice behind the lovely off-white veneer of the Kindle.

[WillD]

It is interesting how much less public the Kindle makes reading--good observation! That same kid may find that larger letters/font size changes the reading equation as well. Access to an ereader like the Kindle also opens great opportunities to have functional text handy when you need it--calendar, notepad, contacts, and so forth.

Sherry said:

Certainly access to books is key in getting kids to read them as stated in Will's earlier posts. Having books available would also imply that books and reading are considered important by the family. I also have learned from my teaching and personal experience that hooking the reluctant reader is the really hard part. If you can get them reading for enjoyment, you won't be able to pry the book out of their hands. It is so often that the chore is to overcome the notion that reading is hard, or boring, or uncool.

I think the Kindle has the potential to provide that hook for many kids. It is cool. You have a variety of books to choose from. If you've convinced yourself that you just can't stay interested in one book for more than a chapter or two, you can switch around. If you are concerned that everyone in the class will see that you are reading an "easy" book, you can hide your book choice behind the lovely off-white veneer of the Kindle.

[Kimberly Brosan]

Research that I can cite isn't related specifically to Kindles but to access to current high-quality literature, up-to-date technology and a certified librarian in schools can be directly correlated to higher test scores on standardized testing. These differences cannot be explained away by community economic or education factors. (Lance, 1993-2008, http://www.lrs.org/impact.php)

It seems that this data may transfer to incorporating Kindles for encouraging reading and research that would, in the long-run impact reading scores. I am hoping to use some of my upcoming budget to purchase some Kindles for my school library with the hopes that the "technology is engaging" and up-to-date quality materials can be purchased for it will help to improve not only my students' achievement on our state tests (we're in Corrective Action 2, year 2 I believe) but also bring them into the library to use many of the other resources we've got that they may not have seen due to changes in personell and collection development philosophies.

I'm really interested to hear others thoughts and ideas on Kindles in the school environment!

[Kimberly Brosan]

I think that the text-to-speech feature is another important one for those who are behind grade level in reading. I'm very disappointed that Amazon's decided to allow publishers to opt-out of this feature; even though the algorithm for TTS is very good, it's not like it's true competition for the audio book industry. Likewise having a dictionary on-board makes it easy to check definitions without it being obvious that you're uncertain of something you're reading. I think the Kindle may become a great equalizer for those with disabilities and delays.

WillD said:

It is interesting how much less public the Kindle makes reading--good observation! That same kid may find that larger letters/font size changes the reading equation as well. Access to an ereader like the Kindle also opens great opportunities to have functional text handy when you need it--calendar, notepad, contacts, and so forth.

Sherry said:

Certainly access to books is key in getting kids to read them as stated in Will's earlier posts. Having books available would also imply that books and reading are considered important by the family. I also have learned from my teaching and personal experience that hooking the reluctant reader is the really hard part. If you can get them reading for enjoyment, you won't be able to pry the book out of their hands. It is so often that the chore is to overcome the notion that reading is hard, or boring, or uncool.

I think the Kindle has the potential to provide that hook for many kids. It is cool. You have a variety of books to choose from. If you've convinced yourself that you just can't stay interested in one book for more than a chapter or two, you can switch around. If you are concerned that everyone in the class will see that you are reading an "easy" book, you can hide your book choice behind the lovely off-white veneer of the Kindle.

[WillD]

Did you see the lawsuit that is going on over test-to-speech? I wrote it up at EduKindle here. I wonder what amazon plans to do about this...