EDUC 6809 Weekly Reading #5

"Chakra is the energy needed by ninjas to perform special ninja arts and techniques called jutsu.  Chakra is generated within the body by combining elements..."

I chose this quote because I was really surprised by the depths of Peter's answers when he was interviewed about Naruto.  I read through his answers multiple times and I had trouble following.  Just the vocabulary confused me.  I was surprised these answers came from a fourteen year old boy.  But from his answers it is obvious that he comprehends the vocabulary, characters, and storylines of Naruto.  His answers prove that he is able to read digital texts and take away meaning from them.  It doesn't surprise me that he does well with this type of text, but not school required print texts.  Naruto is something that he is passionate about, so of course he puts more time and effort into learning everything he can about it.  This is why it is so important for us as teachers to get to know our students' interests.  If we can incorporate their interests into either print based texts or digital texts it will get them reading and motivated.  It shouldn't matter what they are reading, as long as they're reading.

I chose the image below because I like the message.  We are still reading, we're just reading in a different way.

 

Image by Martin. (July 2012). Retrieved from http://thoughtful-faith.blogspot.com/2012/07/philosophy-of-e-reading.html 

 

 

1. What did you learn about how reading of digital texts differs from the reading of print texts?

 

Reading digital texts is different because of the composition of the text.  Print text is linear, but digital text is not.  The way that print text is set up the reader knows where to start and where to go next.  With digital text the reader has to decide where to start reading and where to go from there.  Digital texts could have videos to view or links to follow. 

 

2. Do you agree that the reading of digital texts is complex?

 

Yes, I agree that it is complex.  With digital texts the reader is not only reading the text, but also has to understand the sound and visual narratives as well.  There could be images or video to supplement the text, or some of the text could be narrated.  The reader has to interpret visual clues, read subtext, follow a non linear format, and decode all at the same time.  They are using higher level thinking skills to take in all this information, comprehend, analyze, and make judgments about it.

 

3. Do you think that reading digital texts has value for reading in school?

 

Yes, I do believe it has value.  I believe the most important thing is that kids are reading, not what they're reading.  Why does what they read have to come out of a textbook?  Throughout their lives a majority of what they will read will be digital text; social media, personal research, college, the workplace.  We need to start preparing them early.  Digital media also has the benefit of greater access to different genres of text.  This is important when trying to match what our students are reading to their interests.  If they are interested, it will be important to them and they will be more motivated to read it.

 

4. How might a teacher connect Peter's online reading skills with academic reading?  How might this improve Peter's academic reading?

 

Since Peter is so good as reading digital texts, the teacher could design Internet activities to supplement the print text that he is reading.  That way he is engaging with both types of text, print and digital.  The teacher could also have Peter seek out information about anime since that is an interest of his.  Both of these suggestions will help Peter and improve his academic reading by giving him a higher level of interest and motivating him.

 

Source

 

Rowsell, J., & Burke, A. (2009, October). Reading by Design: Two Case Studies of Digital Reading Practices. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 53(2), pp. 106-118. doi:10.1598/JAAL.53.2.2