As a future special education teacher I am very open to alternative learning methods and devices because I know in my classroom, I will be using them to better assist my students. With the ways things are steadily evolving through technology, I find no surprise behind the use of digital books. I support the whole idea of digital book alternatives but I am not so sure if I'm for the use of digital books as a replacement to regular printed page books.
I think Lynch made a good comparison in his article when he used the way we now listen to music as a comparison to this possible book replacement. There was a time when in order to listen to the music you wanted to hear on a regular bases, you had to go to a record store and purchase it. Now with the way things are steadily improving there are many alternatives! People rarely even buy Cd's and cassette's anymore but you can now download music to your computer or ipod. I found that comparison to be closely related to this debate over the switch between regular print and digital books. When we look back at the transformation in the music industry, we do see change but we also still see the opportunity to use other methods. If books are evolving to digital print I'm all for it but don't it be the only form of reading!
We all know that not everyone learns the same so having a variety of tools to assist in reading, writing and etc. is very important! I know there will be some people who get hold to digital books and fall completely in love, then there will be people like myself, who need words on a page when reading in order to get the full effect. We can't expect for things to stay the same, we know that technology is vastly changing everything but we still do have to take into consideration, it isn't always easy for everyone to embrace the "change".
If exposed in the right way, I see a great future for digital text. It would be a great tool to use anywhere people would be and it would be a great alternative for non-readers or people who struggle with sitting down reading fine print. I personally can't wait until I'll be able to introduce this as a reading alternative to a student, to better assist them.
I wonder though... I mentioned earlier the comparison between music and books. When downloading became available it was important to back track all the music possible so that they could be listened to too! If digital books/print turn into the modern day paper back book, will the same thing be done? What will happen to things like a printed bible or important writings like the constitution? Maybe I'm thinking too much into it but I do wonder?
Your post definitely made me think more about the transformation from paper text to online readers. I agree that all methods of readers should remain available. It basically boils down to personal preference, and it would be unfair to assume that just because e-books are more convenient that everyone is going to want to jump on board. I think it is great that you are willing to introduce and offer the new technology to your students, but at the same time remain aware of the fact that here are still those children who are going to learn better off of the old ways as well.
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