An issue that is surfacing more and more on education related blogs is how we CITE from an e reader and other mobile technolgy devices such as the Kindle or Ipad, and how do we as educators check the validity of student e-reader citations.
Two blog entries on this contentious issue that offer some possible solutions are Will DeLamater’s ‘Why is it so Hard to Cite a Passage on the Kindle’ and Kerrie Smiths entry entitled ‘Teaching with an E Book Part 1’
The introduction of e books into a classroom where there may be multiple e book readers, and some students using the paper version of the book has turned citation as we know it on its head. These two blog entries provide a concise guide to referencing ‘locations’ on an e reader, as opposed to a page number in a book and encourage us to not overcomplicate the issue, but to embrace the new terminology and way of thinking about a text. For the APA’s opinion on e reader citation see ‘How do I Cite a Kindle’.
In order for teachers to check citations, there would need to be e readers in every format available to educators. Educational institutions will need to further investigate how to check the authenticity of citations. These two blog entries on touch on this briefly, but in fact it could become the more problematic of the two issues.
The advent of e-books is certainly causing waves amongst publishers, creators, readers, and educators (Smith, 2010, WillD, 2010, Mod, 2010) and it is true that traditional print books will form part of personal and institutional libraries for the foreseeable future (Blanchard & Moore, 2010).
However, with ever increasing new technologies available to today’s learners it is time for educators to expand the literary and literacy experiences of their students beyond traditional print texts despite niggling (but relatively minor) issues such as citation (Larson, 2009; Oliver and Herrington, 2002).
This citation business is about to become personal for me…having recently purchased some Kindles for my primary school library I’ve been pondering issues such as this. I wonder how it will be tackled in my school? I suspect we’ll wait to see what the universities are doing and we’ll follow suite…but it’s an interesting one to consider in greater depth.
References:
Blanchard, J. & Moore, T. (2010). The Digital World of Young Children: Impact on Emergent Literacy. The Pearson Foundation. Retrieved May 15, 2010 from http://www.pearsonfoundation.org/literacy/research/emergent-literacy.html
Larson, L.C. (2009). e-Reading and e-Responding: New Tools for the Next Generation of Readers. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 53 (3), 255–258.
Mod, C. (2010). Books in the Age of the iPad. Retrieved August 20, 2010 from http://craigmod.com/journal/ipad_and_books/
Oliver, R. & Herrington, J. (2002). Online Learning Design For Dummies: Professional Development Strategies For Beginning Online Designers. In P. Barker & S. Rebelsky (Eds.), Proceedings of World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications 2002 (pp. 1500-1505). Chesapeake , VA
Smith, K. (2010). Edna Group, E-Books in Teaching and Learning. Retrieved August 15, 2010 from http://www.groups.edna.edu.au/course/view.php?id=2497
Will D. (2010). Kindle Educators Group. Retrieved August 15, 2010 from http://edukindle.ning.com/
The issues that you presented in this blog Megan are indeed very relevant to schools today, not just in regards to the e-readers that you mention, but for all forms of technology which students use as part of their learning. The changing nature of information has meant that schools are now faced with ensuring that students have access to the latest and greatest tools, many in formats which do not follow the “traditional print medium”. They are also grappling with the ethical challenges relating to how to check the validity of students work. One of the significant roles that a school needs to play in regards to this is to educate students in ethically using, and presenting information that they access using a device such as a Kindle.
ReplyDeleteDue to the rapid rate of technological development of these tools, available in an ever increasing variety of formats schools it seems have little choice but to deal with situations on a "as they arise" basis. The work of DeLamater and Smith as you discuss in your blog entry could certainly be used by educators to guide them through these situations.
Your example of Kindles is a perfect example of how the old and the new (print media verses mobile media) connect. I agree too that this tool in particular is creating “waves” amongst many groups of people, and in particular educators. Recent discussions on the OZTL_NET email discussion forum are a demonstration of this. It is not just a matter of burying our heads in the sand and hoping that it will go away. Educators need to be proactive in seeking out professional development (whether formally or through day to day interaction with mobile media tools) if they are going to be able to truly understand the potential benefits and challenges of using tools such as Kindles within their curriculum. By developing this understanding they will then be able to provide broad and relevant learning opportunities for their students.
Having purchased a Kindle this year to help with my Masters, (well that’s how I justified it to myself!). I must say I never considered this issue. I have downloaded all of the course readings onto my Kindle as PDFs and so do not have an issue with citation as I am still able to cite the reports’ page numbers. I agree with your view that we shouldn’t overcomplicate these issues. I do feel some people create unnecessary obstacles and fuss over having to adapt to new ways of thinking! This situation highlights again the need for schools to take a more proactive and structured approach to solve these issues. An agreed device on a ‘book list’ or an awareness or the issues by staff involved would be a sensible start.
ReplyDeleteAccessing information for our research during this course from a variety of media has thrown up the same issues and confusions. Conversations on the wikis and online chats highlight how uncertain people are about referencing from blogs, wikis, websites and other digital media. As educators how are we then expected to disseminate this information to our students?
Our interaction with the printed page has definitely changed in recent years. Your entry certainly highlights some of the issues and challenges that we as educators will indeed face.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the two blog entries mentioned in terms of not overcomplicating this citation issue. Using ‘locations’ instead of page numbers seems logical, however allowing a variety of e-readers within one classroom could result in a number of problems. Referencing the actual type or model of e-Book being used solves one dilemma however allowing a variety of e-readers places pressure on the teacher to be competent in the use of more than one and can spell trouble in terms of technical issues.
In today’s hyper linked society, using links for citation seems to be the most realistic and authentic choice. Though I do question why Kindle can’t embed page numbers into their coding? Perhaps pressure needs to be placed on companies such as Amazon to do so.
On a personal note, I question whether the stand alone reader will continue to ‘sell’ and remain popular. I tend to believe that convergent devices are the way of the future. The youth of today are ‘forever on’ and the interlinking of all technologies, applications and social media content are part of their every day and make meaning of their culture.