• Home
  • /
  • Books
  • /
  • E-books and Younger Readers: Questions and answers for concerned parents

E-books and Younger Readers: Questions and answers for concerned parents

Many parents want to introduce their children to electronic devices, including e-readers, but they first want to gain as much understanding as possible to ensure they make wise, healthy decisions. One of the big questions is whether or not e-readers have an advantage over traditional books in terms of boosting literacy rates. Many schools are beginning to use e-readers in the classroom, for instance, while parents are downloading apps that claim to accelerate reading skills for pre-schoolers. So let’s look at some of the information that sheds light on the value of e-books for young students as compared to the benefits of traditional print publications.

The e-Book Added Advantage

The technology is too new for studies of it to provide conclusive evidence. But what is known for a fact is that e-readers, unlike traditional books, offer the young reader a multi-media experience. So even if a child is reading alone, without the help of a teacher or parent, e-books provide them with the option to receive both visual and auditory cues to guide their learning.

If a child doesn’t understand a word, for instance, a digital platform may offer ways to use a touch pad or other means to instantly access a definition, a list of synonyms, or a recorded voice teaching how to pronounce the word. There may also be music or animation involved to help keep the child readers engaged and interested, and to make reading a multidimensional play activity. The University of Akron’s Center for Literacy has conducted studies, for instance, that indicate that animation and audio in e-books may help kids remember and identify words.

e-Reader Educational Apps

Another value-add for e-readers versus traditional books is that there are increasing numbers of educational apps coming to market that are designed to enhance reading level performance. Some take the form of interactive games that require players to read, and they give positive reinforcement by rewarding the children who play them with points or other kinds of encouragement.

Then there are apps that are intended to help students learn to read faster, and there is anecdotal evidence that e-readers can make it much easier to learn a foreign language. Part of the reason may be that e-readers have the capability to interactively assist the reader by highlighting words that the student may be have difficulty learning.

An Innovative Alternative

Youngsters also need to learn the fine motor skills needed to use digital technology, of course, and e-book reading is a healthy, educational, fun way for them to develop that ability. Meanwhile research indicates that students who suffer from dyslexia can benefit from e-reader formatting options such as the ability to adjust the font and make it larger.

Earlier this month we cited the expertise of Dr. Andrew Siensnnop at Tufts Hospital for Children. He is a general pediatrician and Assistant Professor at the Tufts University School of Medicine who was interviewed recently by Boston Magazine on the subject of digital technology and children’s eye health. He weighed-in on the same topic, saying that the use of e-readers with enlarged font improves both the speed and the accuracy of comprehension for high school students who are dyslexic.

The Popularity of e-Books for Kids

Taking these various points into consideration, it may be no surprise that e-books are popular with kids. A recent study shows that the percentage of children who have read an e-book has increased nearly 50 percent within the past four years. The Association of American Publishers and the Book Industry Study Group also reveal that in 2011 e-books for kids and teens became the fastest-growing segment of the e-book market.

Share Article:

free-ebooks

Free-Ebooks.net Blog

All Posts

1 Comment

  • Good day I am so delighted I found your site, I really found you by mistake,
    while I was searching on Yahoo for something else, Nonetheless
    I am here now and would just like to say kudos for a remarkable post
    and a all round enjoyable blog (I also love the theme/design), I
    don’t have time to browse it all at the moment but I have
    bookmarked it and also added your RSS feeds,
    so when I have time I will be back to read more, Please do keep up the
    awesome job.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Welcome to the Free eBooks Blog!

Discover 1000’s of New Authors in Hundreds of Categories, Fiction and Non-Fiction – Free Every Month!

Follow On Instagram

True Stories
Dystopian Stories
For Youth

Three Proud Women is a fiction and alternate history novel which is the sequel to my And An Angel Sang. It tells the continuing adventures of three outstanding women…

 
Edit Template