I love e-books and the creativity it promises for myself, my students and my toddler :) eBooks (in the broad sense of electronic content) are ideal for the reading environment. A number of social and economic factors make eBooks or digital content preferable to paper textbooks and course materials—or at least highly
desirable as adjuncts to these materials.
First of all,eBooks provide a means for non textbook course adoptions whether the material is a trade book (nonfiction, biography,etc.) or customized content authored by us or colleagues.This is particularly appealing for assessment as a diagnostic tool, in which IRI are commonly used. In addition, textbooks in eBook format can be made modular. Furthermore, with dictionary plug-ins and automated text-to-speech technology,the eBook reader software can greatly benefit students whose primary language is not English- a factor we must be cognisant of, since the majority of our readers speak creole.
eBooks can also improve on qualities of traditional printed books. Like a paper
book, the digital medium is often simply more convenient or appropriate as either
a replacement for or an adjunct to the potentially heavier, environmentally
unfriendly paper medium. Our students hardly ever have a textbook in thier bag, but tell me which one of them forgets thier cell phone or Mp3 players?
As the first set of reading specialists within Trinidad and Tobago we need to pilot programes such as ebooks into the curriculum, providing technology relieably and assessibly and thus make our work that much easier.
That's for my students including my son, but I still like my paperbacks:)
I was pleasantly surprised about this unexplored tool that has been existing on my system for so long. I wonder now about other applications and their endless capabilities. This was so interesting and simple that it can be integrated quite well into instruction. I share your sentiments on this topic.
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