Improving primary school boys reading programmes using electronic books

Joanne Dawson ID# 31971979

Introduction

Reading is a fundamental component of education. Learning to read and being a fluent, capable reader who is able to comprehend texts effectively, greatly impacts student success in all areas of education. It is essential to foster motivation and enjoyment of reading in students while effectively teaching them to decode and comprehend texts effectively. Research often discusses the importance of targeting reading in the early years.

Technology is continually evolving and the impact it could have on education is far from being realised. With the growing popularity of eBooks, or electronic books, many educators are considering how they can be utilised within an educational setting to enhance a literacy programme.

Specialised reading devices are not necessary; eBooks can be read on regular computers, which are widely available in almost all school environments. The features of eBooks are continually evolving to enhance the reading process. Readers are able to interact with texts in a variety of ways. There is a range of software available that allows students to create their own eBooks in a variety of different formats with different features.

Current literature

Electronic books or eBooks are becoming more popular for educational use in primary schools. Current research shows that eBooks, with their features, increases motivation to read. This study has shown that reading software with multimedia enhancements, motivational aspects, and constructivist methods of instruction can promote reading motivation among beginning readers. (Ciampa, pg. 25, 2012)

EBooks have proven to engage readers. Observations of the eight student participants during the electronic book reading sessions indicated that they were consistently on task and highly engaged. (Ciampa, pg. 19, 2012) It is particularly important to note that usually distracted readers become highly engaged. Specifically, these students were never distracted by surrounding noises and their eyes were always orientated toward the computer screen. (Ciampa, pg. 19, 2012)

It is of particular importance that disinterested readers become engaged in reading to ensure their success, and eBooks have proven to do this. Online electronic book reading resulted in increased attention and decreased off task behaviour for those three struggling participants who were hyperactive and inattentive during classroom reading instruction. (Ciampa, pg. 21, 2012)

Students who are given opportunities to select books that appeal to their interests gain more enjoyment from the experience, so it is important to allow students the freedom of choice. A central finding in these data was the strong correlation between enjoyment of the online e-books that the children read and their preference for a choice of books. Pg. 32

The interactive features of eBooks increase student enjoyment of eBooks, while contributing to learning. The data also revealed that the interactive features of the e-books influenced their desire to use electronic formats as their preferred medium for reading material, and may have contributed to some of the learning gains in participants' listening comprehension skills (e.g., Chera & Wood, 2003; Korat & Shamir, 2006; Segers, Takke, & Verhoeven, 2004). cited in pg. 32

Students engaging in the interactive features of an eBook receive feedback about their comprehension of the text, which is something they enjoy. I observed that these students were eager to receive and respond to immediate feedback. Pg. 33

When considering using eBook technology with a constructivist approach to have students create eBooks research has proven that students are capable of achieving these goals. All children managed to build the five-page book. (Shiratuddin and Landoni, pg. 133, 2003#) Because with a small amount of training in using book builder software; . children

could easily understand how to use the program. (Shiratuddin and Landoni, pg. 132, 2003#)

When students have been given the opportunity to engage with eBooks at home and in their free time, they were eager to do so. all six participants frequently visited the study's website at home and engaged in e-book reading in their free time. Pg. 21 Whereas the same students were less interested in reading print books in their free time.

There are some issues that have arisen using eBooks and eBook software with regard to the programme language and it not being understood. Also, when students had little experience using technology they needed more time to get comfortable with using it. Language was another barrier, most of the menu or pop-up instructions had to be translated. In addition, who had no computer experience had to be familiarised with the input devices first. (Shiratuddin and Landoni, pg. 134, 2003#)

While it may not be a user issue, there are often also other issues that arise with the technology that can make elearning a difficulty. It should also be noted that the practice of web-based learning may present some technical problems with which users must deal. Pg. 36

It is important to realise that while eBooks offer many benefits they should not replace a regular reading programme with adult support and

engagement with print books. Thus, although perhaps not a replacement for adults reading printed books to children, online electronic book reading may nonetheless be a beneficial supplement to oral and print literacies for grade 1 students and provide them with the opportunity to practice skills learned in their teacher-directed classroom reading instruction. (Ciampa, pg. 26, 2012)

Research Question

The purpose of this research is to identify if using eBooks as a supplement to a traditional print based reading programme in the classroom and at home increases student success for Emirati primary school aged boys.

The research questions this paper addresses are:

1. Do primary school aged Emirati boys enjoy reading eBooks more than print books? 2. Will primary school aged Emirati boys engage in reading online eBooks at home in their free time when provided with a source or resource? 3. Does supplementing a print based reading programme with eBooks improve student reading success?

Methodological Approach

To conduct this research qualitative and quantitative methods will be applied. A case study will be set up in an Emirati public boys primary school in Al Ain, Abu Dhabi.

Initial baseline data will be collected relating to the boys reading ability. The number of high frequency words they can read, word attack skills, and comprehension levels. With the help of an Arabic translator the boys will be questioned about their enjoyment of reading.

An online eBook resource will be developed where eBooks will be selected and uploaded to a purpose built blog. Students and parents will be given instructions and training on how to access the eBooks on the blog. Students will be encouraged to read eBooks at home by the teacher on a regular basis. Students will be required to fill in a reading log for each eBook they read.

The teacher will utilise eBooks within the classroom reading programme. EBooks will be used as reading to and shared reading texts, through the use of a projector, on a regular basis. The similarities and differences with print books will be discussed explicitly with students. The students will be taken to the computer lab to read individual eBooks at least once a week.

After a period of 12 weeks the boys will be retested. The same assessments will be used to collect reading skill levels. The same questionnaire will be used, however, additional questions will be added relating to their enjoyment of reading eBooks compared to print books, whether they think they read more or less at home now, and whether their use of the computer at home has changed.

A Control group will be used to evaluate the improvement of reading skills. The control group will receive the same reading programme being delivered by the same teacher, just without any eBooks. The teacher will use regular print books of similar levels and themes with the control group, when she is using print books with the test group. The same assessment data will be collected.

Pre and post programme data will be analysed. Improvement in reading ability across the 12 week period will be compared between the two classes receiving the eBook and non-eBook supplemented programmes. The results of the surveys will be considered.

References

Ciampa, K. (2012). Improving Grade One Students Reading Motivation with Online Electronic Storybooks. Journal of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia, 21(1), 528. Chesapeake, VA: AACE. Ciampa, K. (2012). I CAN READ: the effects of an online reading program on grade 1 students' engagement and comprehension strategy use. Journal of Research on Technology in Education. 45.1. Shiratuddin, N. & Landoni, M. (2003). Childrens E-Book Technology: Devices, Books, and Book Builder. Information Technology in Childhood Education Annual, 2003(1), 105-138. AACE.