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E‍‍-Readers VS. Textbooks __‍‍__

__Introduction__ In a world that is becoming more technically advanced everyday, we as future educators need to think how this will effect not only our teaching, but also the materials we use in our classrooms. We are going to look at only one way technology can be added to the classroom by using electronic readers, or E-readers. Some of you may know them as the nook, kindle, and/or tablet. For our purposes, though we know each individual device has its own advantages and disadvantages we are going to lump them into one category. As future educators whether we agree or disagee with using technology in the classroom we need to understand it. We need to know exactly what an E-reader is and how we can use it. We need to understand that evolution from the textbook is most likely in all of our futures. We also need to know the advantages and disadvantages of the E-reader. We will include ways that yo may incorporate the E-reader into your classroom, and though we can't predict the future we need to seriously take a look at the facts that one day we may onger have textbooks, but only E-readers in the classroom.

__Definition of E-Readers__
 * ‍E-Readers- a hand-held electronic device used to read electronic books, which are also known as e-books


 * Textbook- a book used in schools or colleges for the formal study of a subject.

__Evolution of Textbooks__ Textbooks first appeared in Greece with the invention of their alphabet. Before textbooks stories were taught alound by the teacher or tutor. the next major thing that happened for textbooks was in the 15th century, when the printing press was invented. Before this invention which would revolutionize the printing word, textbooks were written by hand. For this reason there were not that many textbooks available. With the invention of the printing press textbooks have become the primary teaching instrument for most children since the 19th century. "Online and digital materials are making it increasingly easy for students to access materials other than the traditional print textbook. Students now have access to electronic and PDF books, online tutoring systems and video lectures." (Wikipedia) According to an article writen by Erica Ogg the future of the traditional textbook does not look favorable, "But what’s become more clear after hearing Apple’s pitch, which is aimed at K-12 school teachers, school districts, homeschooling parents, publishers and students themselves, is that the future of textbooks isn’t a book at all." (Ogg).  __Advantages of E-Readers__ Although some people may be afraid to jump ahead into the times of e-readers, they prove to be very effective in the classroom. E-readers have many different aspects that a regular textbook does not have. On the e-reader, students are able to annotate, save views, and have interactive quizzes. In some cases, a teacher may ask students to consult their text for certain information. With an e-reader, students simply have to search for what is being asked of them. E-readers are also able to access texts at discounted prices, provide text-to-speech, built in dictionary and feature pronunciation. Students may even try some of the classics that are included for free on some of the e-readers. Students also are not asked to carry around large books, instead just required to carry a small e-reader full of lots of information. It also seems to be a fun thing for students to try and use and ends up encouraging reading.

media type="youtube" key="aV6XOozvtLk" height="315" width="560" __Disadvantages and Issues of E-Readers__ Although society is itching to be more technologically advanced every day, sources say that converting textbooks to electronic readers may result in numerous issues in school classrooms. In addition to the outrageous cost of theseproducts amount in and the constant drainage of battery life in e-readers, they also have many other disadvantages. Teachers and students that have experimented with using e-readers in the classroom have found it very hard to support class discussions with textual evidence due to the fact that it is hard to navigate back through previous pages. They also realized how difficult it was when trying to compare or use multiple texts with the e-reader.

Another issue that was raised was the concern of special needs children such as blind students who have no use for the e-reader whatsoever. Yes, you can simply plug in headphones to the e-reader and have the text read to the student but that does not help students who are blind and learn better by kinesthetic interaction.

While some aspects of the e-readers are helpful in the classroom there are a lot of issues that need to be improved before we completely eliminate good ‘ole textbooks from the classroom equation.

__Use of E-Readers in Classroom__ There are so many different uses of e-readers in the classroom. One way teachers may chose to use them would be to send books home on the e-reader for the parents to read to their child on it. The e-reader may seem like something special, therefore more parents are likely to follow the directions. Along with reading at home, teachers are able to keep up to date on current events and share current articles with students on the e-reader. If teachers chose to, they may also use e-readers in a literacy circle.

‍‍ __Future of E-Readers and Textbooks__ Will E-readers ever make textbooks obsolete? This is a question that has raised much controversy over the past 10 years. This is an impossible question to answer; however, we can look at recent events that may point us in the right direction.

According to iPads inschools.com, Apple’s Phil Schiller said that 1.5 million iPads are in use in education settings, leveraging more than 20,000 education applications. They also expect this number to increase to 10 million by 2015. This is an extremely large number considering there are only 55 million total K-12 students in the U.S. Many schools have already obtained an iPad for **every student**, and many other schools are in the process of doing the same. The schools that have these tablets have donated their textbooks to schools in need.

Although we can’t say for certain that tablets will be the new textbooks, we can safely say this is the direction the U.S. is heading. Although there are many disadvantages, the money factor is the main reason these tablets are not currently in every school. Due to the amount of tablets are already in the schools, these next few years will determine if these tablets will one day alleviate the textbook.

media type="youtube" key="kwQ17_iH9ak" height="315" width="420"

http://vimeo.com/14448256

__Conclusion__

As you can see as a future educator it is very possible that you will be using E-readers in your classroom. There are advantages and disadvantages to E-readers, and you will have to decide what is right for your students and your classroom. Although the trend seems to lend itself to technology, textbooks still have a place in the classroom. Different assignments, different age groups, different classes, and different learning styles will all need to be looked at when a teacher is thinking about using E-readers in his or her classroom. __References__

====Dunn, J. (2012). The Major Problems with E-readers and Tablets in Schools. In //Edudemic.com//. Retrieved February 7, 2012, from []====

[|www.thefreedictionary.com/**textbook**] [|www.ehow.com/info_8505254_**definition**-**ereader**].

====Harker, J. (2010). E-Readers to Replace Textbooks in the Classroom? Study Says.Maybe. In //Townsendlab.berkeley.edu//. Retrieved February 7, 2012, from http://townsendlab.berkeley.edu/thl-administration/lab-blog/e-readers-replace-textbooks-classroom-study-saysmaybe====

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