Sites and Bull (2009) describe the convergence of a perfect storm that will shift the teaching and learning landscape towards digitized books and libraries. With Google converting the world’s books to a digital format and the onset of digital reading devices, such as Amazon’s Kindle and Sony’s Reader, we can expect a dramatic shift in the way books are read, and it is likely that this will be an irreversible transition. Already some schools and universities are moving to eliminate the physical volumes from some of their libraries and replacing them with digital versions, a trend, which I am sure, will increase in popularity very quickly.
So what does this transition hold for future students and educators? There are numerous educational opportunities to be had, some of which are only now being thought of and discovered. One Advantage is built-in text-to-speech applications offered by Kindle and other devices that recite the books out loud. This technology would assist those with limited sight or with severe reading disabilities, such as dyslexia. Additionally, students at higher-grade levels have been using this feature to increase reading comprehension and focus. This tool can also be used to help early and emergent readers, as well. It would assist young readers in increasing user vocabulary by seeing and hearing the words, as well as increasing reading fluency and comprehension.
Another advantage of this technology is allowing us to reduce the space required to store the texts, books, periodicals and other sources of information. It will allow students to have a greater access to these sources of information, which in past, have been limited by physical location. No longer are students limited to resources physically located on their campus or city, but now students will have the ability to research and find information located anywhere in the world. Additionally, digital libraries will be able to offer students print-on-demand services. Students would be able to print personal copies of books that would be indistinguishable from the conventional books we know today, and rather than a mass printing, the reader determines when a copy is produced. This would greatly reduced the costs for publishers and allow students to purchase physical books at a reduced cost.
Finally, when books are digitized, it increases the ability for collaboration and joint interactions across the globe. Digital books could be displayed on white boards in two different locations while students, teachers and experts jointly discuss the subjects and topics.
Digital libraries are coming, and coming quickly, and with this technology, students will be able to meet a multitude of NETS. This use of technology is going to increase access to texts, periodicals, and other sources of information that have been limited in the past by physical location. This will increase the student’s ability to research and find information. And, it will provide the ability for increased communication and collaboration among students, teachers, and experts across the world.
Reference:
Bull, G & Sites, M. (2010). Digital Libraries, Shifting the Landscape. Learning and Leading with Technology, 37, 12-13.
I agree that with the integration of digital libraries, NETS standards will pretty much have to met on a daily basis. The more technology in the classroom, the easier it will be for teacher to align the NETS standards with their assignments. One of my criticisms of using digital books is that you can't highlight and make comments in them. However, printing off chapters from books will allow the learner to do this. I do think getting rid of printed texts will eliminate the hassle of schools trying to collect the texts at the end of the school year and may financially be the better route in the long run because texts won't have to continually be ordered due to the information being outdated or because students lose or deface them.
ReplyDeleteI would have to agree that digital libraries will increase a students ability to research and find information. I agree with this because I attended school online and through online learned, I had to use a digital library. I used my schools digital library to find reliable sources for research on school papers. The great thing that I found beneficial is that when searching on a digital library, the most recent dated information was listed first.
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