EBook Technology
and
Gifted Readers
Christine L. Weber
Department of Childhood Education University of North Florida
cweber@unf.edu
Terence W. Cavanaugh
Department of Leadership, Counseling, and Technology
EBook Technology and Gifted
Readers
Abstract: The electronic book, or eBook, offers students, teachers, and schools an additional medium or tool that can support or enhance the reading experience. Essential to preparing to use eBooks in educating gifted learners, as with all books, is knowledge of the characteristics, abilities, and interests of gifted readers and the wide variety of
eBook options available. This paper provides a rationale and strategies for using eBook technology to promote
reading with gifted learners including underachieving gifted readers and LD gifted readers. Information about online
EBooks
• Defined
– textual documents that have been converted and “published” in an electronic format that displays on eBook readers, devices, or computers using
eBook software programs.
• Common Formats
– Text, Adobe Reader, HTML, Flash, MS
Characteristics of Gifted
Readers
• Often read earlier
• Tend to read independently soon after
teacher instruction
• Tend to be better readers requiring less
drill for mastery of skills
• Digest a large quantity of information
about a topic of interest
Facts About Gifted Readers
•
Gifted readers are skilled, flexible readers who
read often.
•
Gifted readers monitor their reading.
•
Linguistically rich texts are especially suited to
gifted readers.
•
Gifted readers use other strengths in response
to the particular demands of the text.
•
Gifted readers are passionate readers who find
books to love.
EBook Technology
Range
• Audiobook, storybook, “text” book, specialized
device (LeapPad)
Availability
• Public/School Libraries
• Online libraries
• Bookstores
Gifted Reader’s
Access to eBooks Provides
Access to a wide variety of books
encourages exposure to
• new and challenging information
• varied subjects
• areas of interest
• difficult vocabulary and concepts
Example: Wizard of Oz
School/Classroom Library
1. Wizard of Oz
Online Library
1. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz 2. Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz 3. The Emerald City of Oz
4. Glinda of Oz
5. Little Wizard Stories of Oz 6. The Lost Princess of Oz 7. The Magic of Oz
8. The Marvelous Land Of Oz 9. Ozma of Oz
10.The Patchwork Girl of Oz 11.Rinkitink in Oz
12.The Road to Oz
13.The Scarecrow of Oz 14.Tik-Tok of Oz
15.The Tin Woodman of Oz
Project Gutenberg Online Library
Accommodating Features EBooks
Provide for Gifted Readers
Using advanced eBook reader programs:
• adjustable text size
• highlighting
• bookmarking
• note taking
• interactive dictionaries
• reading aloud through
Using EBooks with
Gifted Readers can:
• provide an avenue for
teachers to help gifted
readers grow
intellectually.
• create a greater
diversity in the
available reading
material, including
materials at a wide
range of readability
levels.
http:/Underachieving Gifted Readers
Effective Strategies
• Supportive strategies
• Intrinsic strategies
• Remedial strategies
Using eBooks
Scaffolding Techniques for Readers
who Might be Reluctant or Remedial
1. Offer a Wide Range of Reading Materials
2. Use Pre-Reading Techniques
3. Incorporate Large-Print Materials
4. Engage Multiple Modalities
5. Teach Important Vocabulary
West-Christy (2005)
• Online libraries
• Embed in “book”
• Variable text size
• Text-to-speech
• Interactive dictionaries
Using EBooks with
LD Gifted Readers
Reading Scaffolds
• text-to-speech feature
• synchronized highlighting of the text being read
• highlight text sections • note taking
• ability to create drawings within the book
• interactive dictionaries • instant translation to
Online Libraries with Books
Appropriate for Gifted Readers
Elementary eBook libraries:
• Aesop's Fables: http://www.umass.edu/aesop/contents.html • BookPals - performing artists for literacy in schools: http://
www.bookpals.net/storyline/
• byGosh.com: http://www.bygosh.com/
• Children's Books Online: the Rosetta Project, Inc: www.childrensbooksonline.org
• International Children's Digital Library (ICDL):
http://www.icdlbooks.org/
• Reader’s Theater Editions: http://www.aaronshep.com/rt/RTE.html • RIF Reading Planet:
http://www.rif.org/readingplanet/content/read_aloud_stories.mspx • Stories to Read Online:
http://www.beenleigss.qld.edu.au/requested_sites/storiesontheweb/storieso ntheweb.html
• StoryPlace Libraries (Elementary & Preschool): http:// www.storyplace.org/
Online Libraries with Books
Appropriate for Gifted Readers
General and secondary eBook libraries:
• Baen Free Library: http://www.baen.com/library/
• Classic Book Library: http://classicbook.info/index.html
• Concordances of Great Books http://www.concordance.com/ • eBooks@Adeliade (University of Adelaide Library):
http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au
• Electronic Text Center at the University of Virginia Library:
http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/
• Making of America (MOA): http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/moa/ • Manybooks.net: http://www.manybooks.net/
• Page-by-Page Books: http://www.pagebypagebooks.com/ • USGS Books and Other Publications:
Sample Titles
(Project Gutenberg)
Elementary:
• Rumpelstiltskin (from the Blue Fairy Book)
• Alcott, Louisa May. Little Women
• Burnett, Frances H. The Secret Garden
• Burroughs, Edgar Rice. Tarzan of the Apes
• Dodge, Mary Mapes. Hans Brinker
• Doyle, A. Conan. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
• Grahame, Kenneth. Wind in the Willows
• London, Jack. The Call of the Wild
• London, Jack. White Fang
• Stevenson, Robert Louis. Kidnapped
• Stevenson, Robert Louis. Treasure Island
• Wyss, Johann. Swiss Family Robinson
• Dumas, Alexandre. The Three Musketeers
• Kipling, Rudyard. Captains Courageous
• Verne, Jules. Journey to the Center of the Earth
Secondary:
• Brontes, Charlotte. Jane Eyre
• Cather, Willa. My Antonia
• Conrad, Joseph, Lord Jim
• Dickens, Charles. Tale of Two Cities
• Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The House of Seven Gables
• Hudson, W. H. Green Mansions
• Lewis, Sinclair. Babbitt
• Maugham, Somerset. Of Human Bondage
• Riordon, William L. Plunkitt of Tammany Hall
• Shakespeare, William. The Tempest
• Stevenson, Robert Louis. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
• Thoreau, Henry David. Walden
• Tolstoy, Leo. Anna Karenina
• Twain, Mark. Life on the Mississippi
• Wells, H. G. The Time Machine
