I have been spending the past month or so reading Anne of Green Gables through a combination of daily short installments delivered to my email via www.dailydrip.com and audio downloads from www.booksshouldbefree.com. I have also been sharing these files with my mom who lives over 300 miles away. We have been able to laugh together and compare opinions about plot as we read which has increased my own interest in the plot.
I can't express how surprised I have been that I really enjoy both of these methods! I am a self-described traditionalist when it comes to reading and literature. I got my love of reading from Dad who himself converted to a Kindle over 5 years ago. I had been holding out on reading books via digital format, but I also hadn't had time to read a book of my own choosing in the past 2 years. I mainly read the DailyDrip emails in the mornings during the 5-10 minutes I sit down to drink my coffee. This is the same time I was usually spending on various social media networks like Facebook or Instagram. I have found that I am just as "socially connected" as I was before, but now have something else to talk about (character and plot developments and applications to real life). I believe this would be a very effective method for breaking up an "assigned" novel or reading into digestable allotments via this method could increase student's motivation who may otherwise be resistant or anxious about tackling an entire novel.
Regarding the audio files - I have been using these to fill in when I want to read further than the short readings. I have gotten to "read" while washing dishes, doing laundry, commuting to work, and waiting in the pick up line at school. I grew up listening to books on tape with my mom while we commuted over 2 hours back and forth for her to attend law school, so I was accustomed to the idea of visualizing images while listening to a book; however, it had been well over 18 years since I last listened to an audiobook. I found I still enjoy it, although I prefer to read written text. I can see however some people would be able to take more away or better follow an audiobook because of the different voice actors for characters, use of inflection, expression, and music.
I found supporting research for the positive effects of audiobooks on struggling readers on the American Librarians Association website. This mixed-method study sought to find if there was a direct correlation between the use of audiobooks and improved attitudes and aptitudes in reading (Christensen, Huffman, McAllister, & Whittingham, 2013). The study found that both the reading ability and enthusiasm increased with the participant group!
*References
Christensen, R., Huffman, S., McAllister, T., and Whittingham, J. (2013). Use of Audiobooks in a School Library and Positive Effects of Struggling Readers’ Participation in a Library-Sponsored Audiobook Club. School Library Research, Vol. 16. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/aasl/sites/ala.org.aasl/files/content/aaslpubsandjournals/slr/vol16/SLR_Use_of_AudiobooksV16.pdf.
No comments:
Post a Comment