Reading and technology not a good mix?

By admission, I am a technology junkie.  My personal preference is texting or e-mailing and I read books on a Nook Color or through the Kindle application on my phone.  Half my news comes from Facebook, and I haven’t read a newspaper in ages.

However, I don’t think schools below college should be entirely technology oriented. A recent trend being discussed in many schools is replacing textbooks with electronic versions on laptops and/or e-reading devices.  At the college level, bookstores and online sites such as textbooks.com and barnesandnoble.com are offering e-books for rental.  While the books didn’t work on a tablet, it was convenient to have an electronic copy on my laptop.  The savings would be great if I had many textbooks on the same laptop, and reduce the weight of 3-5 textbooks.

At the high school level and below, there are major issues with e-books replacing textbooks.  Every student would need a device to read the books and that becomes an issue in low income school districts.  Not all families can afford a Kindle, Nook, I-Pad or laptop. Even if the devices were lent to students for the year, schools would be replacing them twice as fast as books.  Another problem is the devices not being returned at the end of the year or coming back damaged.  Schools would need to set up security deposits and damage fee schedules.

Textbooks that are damaged can be replaced relatively inexpensively.  However, the cost to replace a Kindle Fire or Nook Color is about $250 per unit.  Laptops are replaceable around $500-700 per unit.  The devices can also be misused.  Both Nook Color and Kindle Fire have Internet access, as do laptops.  Without proper supervision, viruses can invade these units and cause irreparable harm to the hard drives.  The time and additional cost for IT administrators to make sure parental controls are set and adding additional security protocols goes well beyond the time spent ordering and handing out a textbook.

At the grammar school level (particularly K-3) e-readers are highly discouraged.  The chronic screen exposure can cause eye problems in some children.  A book is still safer on the eyes and provides a better means of learning thorough phonetics and sentence structure.  Companies like Leap Frog have introduced low impact reading devices for children that do not have the same risks as a typical e-reader and encourage learning.

I have an e-reader that my four year old niece loves to use.  However, she is limited to one book and it has to be set to “Read to Me” so she can associate the words on the screen with the spoken words.  Santa got her a children’s reading device that uses a stylus to help her read books. She spends more time with a Dr. Seuss book and reads each word to someone.  She is currently reading at a Kindergarten level in preparation for starting in September.

Reading is a very important skill in life, and there are already too many adults who lack adequate reading skills.  Illiteracy affects every person in our society.  When a child has a parent who cannot read, their chances of learning are greatly diminished and the cycle continues.  When a parent can’t get a job because of illiteracy, children suffer.  If using a book is what helps children read effectively at an early age, save the e-readers for the older kids and adults who can read well and appreciate the convenience of technology.

In the vein of a new year, reach out to those children in your life who are not being encouraged to read or not being taught.  Read them a book once a week or a few days a week.  They may resist at first, but you will be rewarded as they learn to sound out letters and words.  If you want to help adults in need, contact a local illiteracy organization to volunteer your time.  By helping an adult, you may be helping them teach a child in their household or family.

My friend Kristie has a very sentimental story about reading.  When my nephew was about a year old, she babysat for him one night.  We started reading to him when he was born, and my brother told her she could read him a book before bed.  The one book before bed became five or six as he stayed up to listen.  When he got drowsy about an hour later, she closed the last book and let him sleep.  We thought my brother would be mad, but he said it was okay because John was up late reading, and that was truly a worthwhile cause.  John is now seven years old and reads at a fourth grade level in the second grade.  He is currently devouring the Wimpy Kid series.

Support the cause!