Ereading Review

For this assignment, I read the suggested articles and reviewed the publications listed. I looked at the following websites http://www.literaturepage.com/, http://www.web-books.com/ and http://www.newspapers.com/. I found certain aspects of each website intriguing and thought they could be helpful to students and the classroom teacher. At the literature page, I enjoyed reading some of the historical documents such as Lincoln’s inaugural address and some of the essays by authors. I think this could be an excellent resource for students in history or literature classes. By directing students to the website they could read portions of important novels without having to provide an entire class set. Students could also easily access speeches and essays for research. I also thought newspapers.com was a valuable resource. Again, students could access this website to find news from around the world. This information could be used across the curriculum for current events, world history, language, political events, even math and language arts. It is nice to find so much information in one place.

Do I think online publications will eventually replace print? No, at least not yet. I do see trends in certain segments, like technology or medical/biological research. In these areas, things are changing so quickly it is difficult to keep up to date with a printed publication that contains information that may have been researched and written several months earlier. In addition, there is the cost and use of natural resources. Printed publications cost a great deal more to produce than putting something online. As we hopefully move to a more environmentally conscious society, there may be a reluctance to use the paper and delivery requirements that printed publications require. On the downside, online information can be overwhelming to read. There is so much information for the reader to wade through that it is often difficult to find exactly what you want. Printed publications provide researched and edited information that is often specifically tailored to the reader.

As for eReaders, I am the reluctant, but happy owner of a Kindle. It was a gift from my husband. As an avid reader, I really did not think I would like the Kindle. Many of my favorite books have been passed along by friends. But shortly after receiving my Kindle, I was listening to an author interview in the car while waiting for my son at lacrosse practice. Within minutes, I had found and downloaded that author’s book and spent the next hour happily reading in the car. I thought I would dislike reading on screen, but the Kindle is very “book-like.” In fact, sometimes I forget and try to turn the page as if it were a book. It is much more comfortable to hold than a heavy book, I can take notes while I read and even look up words in the online dictionary. I admit there are some downsides to the Kindle. While there is a large selection of fiction, the non-fiction is more sparse. It is easy to find books if you know the exact title, but searching for books otherwise can be a bit cumbersome. Finally, my friends can’t pass along their gently used free kindle books so I am still reading those the old-fashioned way.