Why eBooks are Essential for the 21st Century Classrooms

eBooks are now a growing trend in the classrooms that allow easy accessibility to books for students.  The millennial generation essentially live on the internet and are highly interested in social mediums such as texting, tweeting, etc.  Twenty-first century teachers should learn to adapt to these changes and embrace the digitized world through the use of eBooks in the classroom.  eBooks are electronic versions of printed books, research papers, short stories, and magazines, just to name a few, that can be read from a computer or any handheld device (Rosso, 2009).  Although utilizing eBooks are widely debatable, I believe that eBooks are beneficial for both teachers and students and the next section will discuss several benefits of why eBooks are essential for the classroom setting.

eBooks are environmentally friendly and cost effective for schools (Sessoms, 2016; Dietzel,2002; Karsenti, n.d.).  According to Sessoms (2016), schools can constantly make curriculum updates electronically rather than buying textbooks, which is costlier than eBooks.  Because eBooks are paperless, it has a lower impact on the environment (Karsenti, n.d.).  Moreover, according to Acedo and Leverkus (2014), librarians would have an abundant array of resources. A school library can have a collection of popular books among the students in eBook format, which is more cost effective than purchasing a large number of hard copies.  Furthermore, eBooks can be downloaded to more than one device which allows multiple student accessibility.

A typical classroom is filled with many different types of learners (Nolen, 2013).  There are three main types of learners: tactile, auditory, and visual.  Tactile learners are described as learning through physical, kinesthetic, and hands-on experiences. Auditory learners learn by listening to someone explaining something rather than reading it on their own. Visual learners need graphics (i.e. charts, tables) and pictures to acquire the material because a loss of interest may occur if they are simply listening to instructions (Learning Rx,2016).  With the use of eBooks in the classroom as a technological tool, it can accommodate all three of these main learning styles.

eBooks can be beneficial for special needs students, visually impaired students (Goodwyn, 2014), and English language learners (Goodwyn, 2014; Martinez-Estrada & Conaway, 2012).  For instance, the useful feature for vocabulary can accommodate this particular group of students who need extra assistance with pronunciation and defining a word by simply clicking on the difficult word itself.  Martinez-Estrada and Conaway (2012), suggest that eBooks are useful for English language learners by improving literacy skills.  Survey results from teachers and students proved that eBooks positively affected their learning development.

Unfortunately, there are several factors that would hinder my progress to using eBooks in my classroom.  Lack of funding would be the biggest challenge that my school district would face.  My students may not have enough computers and/or iPads to utilize in the classroom and that would clearly obstruct the use of eBooks.  Another factor would be the instability of internet/wife access in the classroom.  If an eBook is not downloaded into each computer and/or iPad, then it would not be easily available for the students to use.  Lastly, teachers may lack the training to use technology in the classroom.  Without the comfort and knowledge, then using this type of technology would possibly be more of a hindrance than a convenience.

Nevertheless, eBooks would be a definite plus in my classroom.  I have to be more open-minded and willing to accept change.  Technology can be a scary thing, especially for veteran teachers, but with the right technological training, assistance, and attitude, eBooks used as a tool in the classroom would essentially be one of the best decisions a teacher would make in this digitally-aged world.  Because I teach reading to English language learners and based on several resources, my students would greatly benefit from this type of technological aid in the classroom for supplemental resources and most essentially, improve their literacy skills.

References

Acedo, S., & Leverkus, C. (2014). Updates on eBooks: Challenges & changes. Knowledge

            Quest, 43(1), 44-52.

Dietzel, G. (2002, May). The benefits of eBooks: Learning with an attitude! Teachers.net

            Gazette, 3(5). Retrieved from http://www.teachers.net/gazette/MAY02/dietzel.html

Goodwyn, A. (2014). Reading is now “cool”: A study of english teachers’ perspectives on
            e-reading devices as a challenge and opportunity. Educational Review. 66(3), 263-275.

Karsenti, T. (n.d.) 25 Main benefits of the ebook. Retrieved from http://karsenti.ca/25_ebook.pdf

Learning Rx. (2016). Types of learning styles. Retrieved from http://www.learningrx.com/types-

            of-learning-styles-faq.htm

Martinez-Estrada, P. D., & Conaway, R. N. (2012). EBooks: The next step in educational

            innovation. Business Communication Quarterly, 1080569911432628.

Nolen, B. (2013, October 7). How students benefit from learning with ebooks. Retrieved

            from https://www.southuniversity.edu/whoweare/newsroom/blog/how-students-benefit-from-

            learning-with-ebooks

Rosso, S. (2009). What are eBooks? Advantages and disadvantages of electronic books.

Retrieved from https://whenihavetime.com/2009/03/09/what-are-ebooks-advantages-

and-disadvantages-of-electronic-books/

Sessoms, D. (2016). 9 benefits of eBooks that make them valuable classroom technology.
            Retrieved from http://www.securedgenetworks.com/blog/9-Benefits-of-e-Books-That-

Make-Them-Valuable-Classroom-Technology.