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goodereader.com: E-Readers Engage Middle School Male Students

The popular e-reader news site goodereader.com covered the research of Dara Williams-Rossi, clinical assistant professor and director of undergraduate programs in the Department of Teaching and Learning, Annette Caldwell Simmons School of Education & Human Development.

The article by Mercy Pilkington, Digital Books Engage Young Readers, published April 24. The research found that middle school boys who are reluctant readers rated reading more valuable as an activity after two months of using an e-reader.

The popular e-reader news site goodereader.com covered the research of Dara Williams-Rossi, clinical assistant professor and director of undergraduate programs in the Department of Teaching and Learning, Annette Caldwell Simmons School of Education & Human Development.

The article by Mercy Pilkington, E-Readers Engage Middle School Male Students, published April 24. The research found that middle school boys who are reluctant readers rated reading more valuable as an activity after two months of using an e-reader.

The students in the study were part of a reading improvement class in their school that included Amazon’s Kindle e-reader. After use of the e-readers, boys’ attitudes about the value of reading improved, while girls’ attitudes declined, said Williams-Rossi.

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EXCERPT:

By Mercy Pilkington
goodereader.com

Results from the halfway point of a three-year study on using Kindle e-readers in low ability level reading classes in urban Texas have shown that middle school boys demonstrated an improved perception on the benefits of reading after using the Kindles. In the same setting, however, girls of the same age demographic did not seem to like reading more, nor did they seem to feel like their reading ability had improved as the boys did.

The study, led by Dara Williams-Rossi of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, along with three others—Twyla Miranda from Texas Wesleyan University, Kary A. Johnson of The Reading Connection, and Nancy McKenzie of Tarrant Community College—gave 199 students Kindle readers to use for 25 minutes per daily reading class period. The students cited some surprising reasons for appreciating the Kindles.

While the study is ongoing and all the data has not been compiled to determine the exact reasons for improvement, so far the students have mentioned a number of benefits to the Kindles. The books are always available, the letter size can be enlarged, and the device can often read-aloud the text depending on publisher and author preference. Perhaps the most profound argument for the use of e-readers in this type of setting is the fact that the other students are not aware of what book their neighbors are reading, minimizing the embarrassment that may come from having to read a book well below the students grade level.

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By Margaret Allen

Senior research writer, SMU Public Affairs