ELTWeekly Vol. 5 Issue#9 | March 11, 2013 | ISSN 0975-3036
Introduction
In very simple terms digitalization means converting texts/images into digital forms. Digitalization is fast changing the teacher student relation in a class room. A student might be having an expert at a click away which can tell him at times much more than a class room teacher could. Even the teacher finds information presented in a more interesting way than many other resources. With the advent of digitalization the role of a teacher has taken a whole new perspective. The digital world has the potential to change the whole of teaching and learning process with its real world simulations, accessibility, ease of use and above all its cost effectiveness. It is also student centric as it is flexible and gives the students the chance to learn at his/her own pace and own time. The digital world has blurred the walls between a school and other learning places and has opened a whole gamut of learning objects ready to use.
The digital resources or learning objects can be many which a learner/ teacher of a language can use for their own benefit. Cohen and Nycz (2006) define learning objects as knowledge based objects that are self centered and re usable. Gallenson, Heins and Heins (2000) refer to Learning Objects as units of instructional content that facilitates content mastery and link to learning outcomes. Keeping this definition of learning objects in mind we can say that the digital world offers us songs, movies, on line grammar games, quizzes e-books, presentations and many more as learning objects. All these ae easily fall into the category of digital resources as they are re usable can be used in a class room for achieving different learning goals and are quite adoptable or adaptable according to the need.
There are many learning objects which a teacher may use in his teaching process in teaching and learning of any subject or topic. There is a whole repertoire of digital learning material on the net from where a learner can pick readily and use these for learning even a language. These resources on the NET help a learner for learning English, which has a status of a second language or a foreign language, at one’s own pace and time. The resources also provide lot of variations like-they can be animated, in form of tutorials, lectures, audio and video and live classes. There are also a wide range of interesting games available to learn the language. There are resources available for different stages of learning-pre learning, while learning and post learning.
Out of many digital resources available, E-Books are fast becoming popular and are very useful to the readers. An electronic book (variously known as, e-book, digital book, or even e-editions) is a book-length publication in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, and produced on, published through, and readable on computers or other electronic devices. Sometimes the equivalent of a conventional printed book, e-books can also be born digital. The Oxford Dictionary of English defines the e-book as “an electronic version of a printed book,” but e-books can and do exist without any printed equivalent. E-books are usually read on dedicated e-book readers. Personal computers and some mobile phones can also be used to read e-books. Mattison defined E-book as, “A monograph akin to a printed book that is made available in a digital format to be read online or downloaded to a handheld device.”
Encyclopedia Britannica defines e-books as-
“E-book is full electronic book, digital file containing a body of text and images suitable for distributing electronically and displaying on-screen in a manner similar to a printed book. E-books can be created by converting a printer’s source files to formats optimized for easy downloading and on-screen reading, or they can be drawn from a database or a set of text files that were not created solely for print.
E -Book has a number of features that makes it learner friendly.” Abbot & Kelley ( 2004) stressed that inherent in e-books is the ability to make available a number of features to reader which includes multimedia, hyperlinks, and other interactive components, search features and custom ability to change text size or convert text to audio so as to meet the needs of the special readers.
The first e-book is thought to be the Index Thomisticus which is a heavily annotated electronic index to the works of Thomas Aquinas, prepared by Roberto Busa. Though it is mostly refuted and many names are suggested as the author of the first e-book it was commonly agreed that Michael Hart was the first to prepare an e-book and he typed American Declaration of independence into computer, though it was not accepted as a full length book. It was Van Dam who coined the word e-Book and used it in an article in 1985.
Since 2008 there are several e- book readers in the market in 2009 Sony PRS 500 and Amazon’s Kindle were two e book readers available.
“The beauty of e-books is that they are so versatile; you can read on your phone, computer or several brands of e-readers. You can also send them digitally to any part of the world, “says Myne Whitman, author of Heart to Mend and Rekindled.
Of the many advantages production costs for e-books are far less than for printed books and the technology, which enables works to be published without printing costs, enable books to be sent anywhere is the best that goes in favour of e-books. Another feature of an e-book which is becoming a favourite among the publishing units is its very cheap to publish an e- book as it does not need to be printed and stored and it has a very long shelf life as one need not worry about wear and tear of the books.
“You don’t have to take paper, ink, thread and glue into account. Nor do you have to worry about delivery costs or warehouse storage. It means we can sell any language books to readers all over the world without the great expense of distribution and postage,” Says a Publisher. Downs explains that e- books can have a relatively longer life span as they may be useful for decades or even for centuries.
With many other value added features e-books have taken the language learning and teaching to a newer height. At a time when the parents and educators felt that one of the important skills of language learning namely reading has taken a back seat, the digital resources in form of e-books have shown a ray of hope. E-book like any other digital resources brings a whole lot of interesting advantages with it. The ease of availability, ease of access cost effectiveness is only the vanilla base it offers. There are many other toppings available in form of interesting features like- voice over, pronunciation, referencing on the spot, in built pre and post tests and animations. There are E-books available which have evaluations also as a feature in form of book end questions, quizzes, MCQ’s etc. Some e-books also have probable questions and answers related to the book. All these features are slowly evolving and getting more and more readers. The best thing about e-books is one need not carry loads; they are just a click away.
The best feature of an e-book is its power to arouse the interest of the students and make them read as it is digital and something which interests the young generation. The GenY is interested in everything and anything related to technology. This can be taken as an advantage by a second language teacher to build the necessary skill development and learning of literature more fun and long lasting by incorporating an e-book for teaching and learning process. This point is emphasized by Jannes (1977) who claims “A change in from routine lectures in the classroom is welcome to students and could stimulate their interest in learning.”
Literature Review
Over the years many researchers have undertaken research on e-books and its usefulness in learning and teaching.
Research on usefulness to children with autism
Heimann, Nlson, Tjus and Gillberg(1995) studied whether communication and reading skills increased for children with autism when using a computer based medium and found that during training there was a significant increase in the vocabulary but the follow up test did not show any increased improvement.
Ibrahiem M. M. El Emary, Karim Q. Hussein in their research paper on ‘Analyzing the various aspects of e-learning modules for the hearing impaired students’ came to a conclusion that E-learning is an effective technology to support learning process of hearing impaired person through facilities of computer software particularly multimedia technique which enhance the disability of receiving the instructional material via audio mode.
Greenee,Moore & Smith(1996) conducted a research on effect of reading comprehension on the printed page as compared to reading the text using CD-Rom for fourth graders and they concluded that the longer and more difficult the test the more positive difference was made by reading from on-line computer.
Huang,Yueh-min Liang, Tsung-Ho; Su, Yen-Ning; Chen, Nian-Shing in their article ‘Empowering Personalized Learning with an Interactive, e- book Learning System for Elementary School Students’ concluded that though there is no significant difference between e -books and hard books in reading accuracy but had a effect on vocabulary. It was found that the usability and functionality of the developed system were well-suited for most of the students. It also concluded that such a tailor-made e -book learning system could achieve a better personalized learning experience for elementary school students. This study was conducted on 166 elementary students.
This result definitely encourages the second language teacher to use the e- book or e- content in the classroom for vocabulary enhancement and comprehension development. Different activities using an e-book can be developed for comprehension building of different types –for skimming, scanning and also inferencing and reading beyond the lines which will lead to increased comprehension skills.
Jones, Troy, Brown & Carol (2007) researched on 3rd grade students on the topic, ‘Reading Engagement: A Comparison between e- books and Traditional Print books in an Elementary Classroom’ and found that though students are not particularly attracted towards e-books but certainly the facilities like voice over , pronunciation, page turner etc. arouse their interest and they are attracted towards e- books. They also administered various tests of reading skill using one print and two e books. They came to a conclusion that the children do not show any extra enthusiasm towards e- books, they also concluded that they quickly become adept with the technology involved in e- books but are not yet ready to give up print books.
Hanho Jeong ( 2012) in her research paper, ‘A comparison of the influence of electronic books and paper books on reading comprehension, eye fatigue, and perception’, concludes that though the students enjoyed reading the e- books they preferred the paper books and their reading comprehension increased with the use of paper books.
In Matthew’s 1996 study (as cited in Chen, Ferdig, & Wood, 2003), electronic storybooks yielded higher reading comprehension for pairs of children who used them compared to those who read traditional print versions of the same story. High-quality voice-overs make stories on the Web not only engaging but also beneficial to emerging and struggling readers.
The purposes of this study was to explore the effects of an e-book reading on the following aspects: 1) vocabulary increase over the experiment period, and 2) the changes of affective factors on learning English through an e-book. In this e-book based study, sixty two Korean elementary school students were given ten weeks of instruction and provided with e-book reading materials. In order to evaluate students’ vocabulary ability, pre- and post-tests were conducted with 30 questions. Also, pre- and post-surveys, interview and class observation were administered in order to measure the changes of affective factors. The results showed that: (1) with an e-book reading, vocabulary knowledge has increased; (2) the affective factors such as motivation and interest on reading and English learning have been remarkably elevated. This study proves that an e-book reading or teaching English with an e-book can be of benefit to ESL/EFL learners.( International journal of research studies in English Language Learning)
Marian J. A. J. Verhallen and Adriana G. Bus examined the effects of video storybooks on the receptive and expressive vocabularies of 5-year-old children. Children (N _ 92) were exposed repeatedly to the digital storybook. The story was presented with either static or video images. Children in the control condition played with a nonverbal computer game. Children’s receptive and expressive book-based vocabularies were assessed. Results reveal that children learned words receptively and expressively; however, the children seldom learned the same words both ways. Both treatments benefited receptive and expressive vocabularies.
Katia Ciampa Brock University in her study titled ICANREAD: The Effects of an Online Reading Program on Grade 1 Students’ Engagement and Comprehension Strategy explores the impact of online electronic storybooks (e-books) on the reading motivation and listening comprehension of six grade 1 students (aged 7 years) from Ontario, Canada. The researcher measured participants’ perceived enjoyment of the online e-book reading experience using standardized listening comprehension tests, motivation questionnaires, behavioural observation checklists, and take-home e-book reading logs. The researchers used a scoring rubric to assess participants’ oral responses to a set of embedded literal, inferential, and evaluative comprehension questions within each e-book read during the program sessions. The results from this study indicate that all of the participants increased their comprehension scores from pre test to post test after using the online e-book reading program, enjoyed the e-book reading experience, and frequently read the online e-books at home in their free time.
Distance Learning
Nie, Ming ; Armellini, Alejandro ; Witthaus, Gabi ; Barklamb, Kelly in their research titled ‘How Do E–Book Readers Enhance Learning Opportunities for Distance Work-Based Learners’ report that the incorporation of e–book readers into the delivery of two distance-taught master’s programmes in Occupational Psychology (OP) and one in Education at the University of Leicester, UK that the programmes attract work-based practitioners in OP and Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, respectively. Challenges in curriculum delivery included the need for more flexibility in the curricula, better access to essential readings and maximizing the benefit of learners’ limited study time. As part of a suite of pilot changes to curriculum design and delivery, 28 Sony PRS-505[TM] e–book readers were pre-loaded with course materials and sent out to students. The evidence suggests that the students’ learning experiences improved as a result of four key benefits afforded by the e–book readers: enhanced flexibility in curriculum delivery to accommodate the mobile lifestyle of our learners, improved efficiency in the use of study time, especially short breaks during the working day, new strategies for reading course materials and cost. So, the study definitely brings forward the utility of e-books in distance learning where the student can with minimum cost learn and earn a new diploma or degree.
Neda Mohammadi Vahid Ghorbani Farideh Hamidi in their study ‘Effects of e-learning on language learning’ find that it increases the engagement; attendance and motivation of students which are requisite for learning. Yang, Ya-Ting C. ; Wu, Wan-Chi I. in their research ‘Digital Storytelling for Enhancing Student Academic Achievement, Critical Thinking, and Learning Motivation: A Year-Long Experimental Study’ state that the purpose of this study was to explore the impact of Digital storytelling (DST) on the academic achievement, critical thinking, and learning motivation of senior high school students learning English as a foreign language. The one-year study adopted a pretest and posttest quasi-experimental design involving 110 10th grade students in two English classes. The independent variable was information technology-integrated instruction (ITII) on two different levels–lecture-type ITII (comparison group) and DST (experimental group). Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected, including English achievement and critical thinking scores, questionnaire responses for learning motivation, as well as recordings of student and teacher interviews for evaluating the effectiveness of DST in learning. Descriptive analysis, analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA), and qualitative content analysis was used for evaluating the obtained data. Their findings indicated that DST( experimental) participants performed significantly better than lecture-type ITII ( comparison) participants in terms of English achievement, critical thinking, and learning motivation. Interview results highlight the important educational value of DST, as both the instructor and students reported that DST increased students’ understanding of course content, willingness to explore, and ability to think critically, factors which are important in preparing students for an ever-changing 21st century.
Research on Library usefulness
Rajendra Kumbhar, (2012) “E-books: review of research and writing during 2010”, Electronic Library, The, Vol. 30 Issn: 6, pp.777 – 795 in his findings mentions that “In spite of the unconcluded debate of print versus electronic, popularity of e-books is increasing and thereby the e-book market is growing at a very fast pace. User friendliness, cost, portability are some of the reasons for the increased use of e-books. Varieties of e-book readers are produced with different features. Copyright and DRM are the challenging issues. New e-book pricing models are evolving with their own merits and demerits. Libraries are carrying out e-book usage studies and are adopting innovative practices to promote e-books.”
Research on Pronunciation
Medwell’s study (1996) study with 16 school students came to a conclusion that the percentage of words that were read accurately was 23-25% greater than the paper reading. This is a clear indication that pronunciation skills a necessary but difficult skill for second language learners can be bettered by using e-text which has the built in feature of voice over. This not only will help in pronunciation but the added clarity will bring about and confidence in speech and will lead to more interaction and ultimately to more exposure to language learning.
The contribution of the e-textbooks can be enormous considering their additional supporting features, but adoption has not crystallized yet. This study examines the relevant experiences of college students in terms of how the use of e-textbooks may enhance their learning. A survey study was conducted to measure the perceptions of each student on how helpful an e-textbook is for facilitating learning (i.e., e-book Helpfulness), how well it promotes his/her involvement in learning (i.e., Student Involvement), and how much improvement it makes on learning outcome. Results indicate that e-textbooks are perceived as enhancers of student learning experiences in two complementing routes: (1) E-textbook Helpfulness enhances students’ learning outcomes directly and (2) Student Involvement plays an important mediating role between E-textbook Helpfulness and Learning Outcome if students use e-textbooks in class. These findings suggest that the successful adoption of e-textbooks requires schools to provide necessary resources (e.g., computer labs) and instructors to actively engage students in using e-textbooks.
Research in India
When it comes to Indian context there are fewer studies on e-books. K.Anuradha and H.S Usha in their research on Use of e- books in an academic and research environment conclude that students used more e books than teachers. And mostly students used it for technical purpose more than academics.
Gaps Suggestions for further Research
The literature review makes it quite clear that there is a wide gap in research taken on the effects of e-books.
The following areas are wide open for research related to e-books-
a. What are the effects of e-books on Indian students and learning environments and its effect of teaching of English as a second language or a foreign language?
b. It also needs to be researched what effect it has on different levels of students viz a viz- average, above average and below average and on rural and urban students.
c. Research also needs to be done on the language skills the e-book effects the most.
Conclusion
The study concludes that the e books have many features which can make it very popular resource among the publishers as well as academicians and students. Different researches also point out that there is certainly an increase in vocabulary and reading skills with the use of e books. But further study is required to ascertain clearly the benefits of e-book as a learning object and its use in second language teaching and learning.
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It is an informative work. In this age of digitization e-books manifest the economic nature of text . Thank you