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Volume 1, Issue 4 ISSN
1528-5804
Print Version
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Pace, B. (2001). Amazon, eBooks, and teaching
texts: Getting to the "Knowing How" of reading literature.
Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education
[Online serial], 1 (4) . Available:
http://www.citejournal.org/vol1/iss4/currentissues/english/article1.htm
Amazon, eBooks, and Teaching Texts: Getting to the "Knowing How" of Reading Literature
BARBARA G.
PACE
University of Florida
A poster on my office wall shows a child holding a
flashlight under the covers as he reads in bed. Many literacy
education students respond to the poster by claiming, 'I used to do
that.' Their confession is not surprising, for most who decide to
teach English or language arts do love literature. Usually they
have been avid readers who have had no difficulty becoming immersed
in plots, fascinated by characters, or drawn into the deeper issues
of literary study. Usually their passion for language and
literature serves their students well. However, in some cases, the
passion and ease with which literacy education students approach
texts prevents them from reflecting on how they interact with texts
and from making their personal strategies available to
students.
Thus, the sophisticated literacy skills of
practicing (Zancanella, 1991) and prospective English language arts
teachers can create a bind in literacy teacher education. In a
case-study examination of the subject-matter expertise of an
English teacher, Holt-Reynolds (1999) demonstrated that the
teacher's failure to understand that she had been taught the
processes of reading literature resulted in her inability to
identify those processes or to see that they were teachable.
Because the processes were invisible to her, they were
'unavailable' to her students.
In discussing this case, Holt-Reynolds recalled
Berliner's distinction between 'knowing that' and 'knowing how.'
She explained that 'knowing that' is 'represented by an ability to
perform a skill or demonstrate comprehension of the discipline's
facts, principles, or theories.' Many prospective literacy teachers
have no problem with the 'knowing that' aspect of teaching
literature. They know famous authors, common themes, and the famous
speeches of heroes and heroines. However, the second kind of
knowledge, 'knowing how' is more difficult to come by. This sort of
knowledge 'includes an ability to articulate the personal
strategies' one uses to understand or respond to the facts,
principles, or theories of the discipline (1999, p. 31).
For literacy education faculty, the challenge
embedded in these different ways of knowing about English or
language arts is in finding a way to help prospective teachers
arrive at knowing how, at a recognition of the processes that are
embedded in literacy studies. In this article I describe how
technology may be used in an intermediate reading methods class to
help prospective English language arts teachers develop a deeper
sense of knowing how.
The Role of Selective Attention in Knowing
How
As I planned this course, I worked from an
understanding that learning is deeply connected to the way we pay
attention, to the way we focus on the different elements of an
environment in which we are immersed. In discussing the nature of
this phenomenon, Rosenblatt (1988) used 'selective attention,' a
term coined by William James to describe the idea that there is a
selection process, a conscious or unconscious decision to focus, to
attend to certain objects, facts, or processes at any moment.
Rosenblatt (1988) suggested that we experience a
'dynamic centering on the contents of consciousness' and that this
centering determines 'what is brought into awareness,' as well as
'what is pushed into the background or suppressed' (p. 3). I
explain this concept to students by using an example of a team
photograph or a picture from a yearbook. I note that when we see
such a photograph and know a loved one is present, we quickly scan
it to find the face of the familiar person. After we have found
that face, we cannot unfind it. It becomes the focus of our
attention each time we view the photograph, unless we make a
conscious effort to look elsewhere.
Generally, when we read our selective attention is
focused on understanding the text before us rather than on the
strategies we are using to make sense of the text. After all,
though our primary reason for reading a text may be for enjoyment
or for learning something new, our primary focus is usually engaged
by determining what the text has to offer. Most prospective
teachers are practiced students who have spent a lifetime figuring
out what the text is 'saying.' The processes they use to figure
things out, however, are usually pushed to the background or
suppressed. In the intermediate reading class, I try to get
students to bring their own strategies for understanding into view,
to reflect on the role of reader so they may begin to grasp the
knowing how of teaching texts.
Slowing Down Reading to Pay Attention to
Personal Processes and Strategies
One mechanism for helping students reflect on their
own strategies for making meaning of texts is to slow down their
consumption of texts in order that they might take time to focus on
what they do as they read. On the first day of class we engage in a
slow-motion reading of a poem.
Vine and Faust (1992) used the slow-motion process
in their study of how hundreds of readers responded to a single
poem. Participants in their study read the poem three times during
one sitting. After each reading they turned the poem face down and
wrote all that they could remember about the poem. After the third
cycle, readers considered not only the poem but also their previous
responses. That is, they read over all they had written before and
tried to discover how their understanding of the poem had changed
over the course of the multiple readings.
In the intermediate reading class, the slow-motion
process is a mechanism for focusing prospective teachers on the
complexities of reading. After students finish the reading, we
share the multiple meanings we have constructed. This process helps
us identify several patterns that are related to literary response.
For example, students immediately recognize that prior experiences
influence the different images they have visualized. They also
notice that many students make connections with texts that are
related to other texts or to their own personal histories.
The slow-motion process helps students begin to pay
attention to their own strategies for reading. However, one
activity is not sufficient to help students form concepts about the
knowing how of making sense of literary texts. Thus I incorporate
other experiences into the class that provide opportunities for
students to focus on reading literature both as a solitary and as a
community activity. During these experiences prospective teachers
make use of technology and the Internet.
Using an eBook Reader to Record a Reader's
Journey
In addition to working through the slow-motion
strategy, prospective teachers also transact with an electronic
text. In doing so, they may use several interactive reading tools
to learn more about their own strategies. This process can begin by
downloading a Reader, a computer program that displays a text in a
book-like format, and an electronic text. Electronic texts or
electronic books are called 'e-texts' or 'eBooks' in technology
lingo. An e-text is any text designed to be read with an electronic
device while an eBook is a text that is normally, sometimes
simultaneously, published as book. Two readers, Adobe Reader and
Microsoft Reader, are designed for computer use; stand-alone
reading devices are also available. (See Appendix
A for a brief discussion of eBook readers currently
available.)
Though I have used both of the available readers,
in this description I will refer to the Microsoft Reader. The
Microsoft Reader opens in a window about the size of a paperback
book. The reader opens in 'Library' mode and list of books or
articles that have been loaded are displayed. To gain access to a
text, the user simply clicks on a title and goes to the cover page.
There the user is given the choice to begin reading or go to the
table of contents, the most recent page, the furthest read, or the
annotations index.
In addition to navigating the currently displayed
text, the user can select from one of four choices that are
displayed at all times at the bottom of the screen. Clicking the
Bookstore icon displays a list of Internet sites where new eBooks
can be acquired. Selecting 'Library' returns the user to the
opening screen, while clicking 'Return' takes the user back to the
book currently being read. A fourth option, 'Guidebook,' provides a
series of pages that acquaint users with the features of the
reader. These features are available anytime a book is open.
During reading the cursor converts to a pointing
hand which can be used to select text by clicking and dragging as
in word processing. Clicking on the selected text produces a pop-up
menu that offers six possible ways to interact with the text:
-
Add bookmark'places a small red 'V' on the
edge of the page.
-
Add highlight'places a transparent colored
block over the selected text.
-
Add note'opens a large empty box on top of
the text into which notes can be typed.
-
Add drawing'the cursor becomes a pen, and
the user selects from several ink colors to make a quick
sketch.
-
Find'displays a search feature that can
locate any word or phrase in the text.
-
Copy text'copies the selected text to
memory.
Students in the methods class can read stories on
the reader and use each of the first four options at least once as
they read. They can be encouraged to use the draw feature to make a
mark each time their mind wanders away from the reading and to type
a quick note to record the experience. The point is not to
interpret the text to reach a final conclusion about its meaning,
but to consider how one goes about the process.
The interactions students record as they read can
be used to chronicle a reading journey. Students use the collection
of annotations made during reading to share the stories of these
journeys and look for similarities in the paths they have cut
through the material. These activities can be supplemented, of
course, by readings about literary reading that we do in class
(e.g., Langer, 1995; Wilhelm, 1997).
In addition to using a reader to help prospective
teachers consider the knowing how of solitary reading, I also
introduce the reader because of the potential it has for classroom
teaching. Both readers offer adjustable text sizes and digitized
sound; each feature has tremendous potential for students with
visual difficulties or second language problems. Furthermore, the
readers and the available eBooks are a bargain for schools. One
eBook occupies very little space on a disk; a dozen or so eBooks
for the Microsoft Reader can be stored on a 3½-inch floppy.
Imagine what that kind of storage might do for a classroom library!
Additionally, there are hundreds of free books available online.
Many of these free books are classics and generally present a
monocultural perspective, but that element in and of itself can
raise issues that should be discussed in a methods course. Some
university libraries are converting early texts from women and
native Americans to eBook formats, and downloading these texts can
augment those monocultural texts and offer an opportunity to
consider diverse perspectives. (See Appendix B
for sources for free eBooks.)
Using Online Book Sellers to Set Up
Literature Circles
I agree with Carroll and Bowman's (2000)
observation that one strength of technology is located in the
opportunities for collaboration that arise as students use
technology. Thus, in addition to focusing on solitary reading we
also consider what happens during community readings, as students
participate in a literacy circle. When they participate in the
literature circle, students are assigned to read any adult
fictional work of more that 200 pages. There are two limitations:
(a) students must find two or three other students in class who
will read the same book and (b) students cannot read a romance
novel.
One of the most difficult aspects I encounter as we
form the circles is providing genuine reading choices for
prospective teachers. Though we have made excursions to the local
Barnes and Noble bookstore so that students could enjoy browsing,
that solution has not proved satisfactory. So I have developed
another approach: Students use email and commercial on-line
bookstores (such as Amazon.com) to select a book. Many on-line
stores provide first chapters and reviews of books. I distribute a
list of these (See Appendix B ) and students
form groups. Then the groups use email, the reviews, and readings
of excerpts to select a book. We use the book-selection process to
talk about personal preferences and how one might decide to read
one book rather than another. In addition, learning about the many
sites where excerpts from text can be read gives prospective
English language arts teachers another source for finding free
literary texts.
The book selection process becomes one part of the
experience of the group. As they create a 'circle chronicle,' to
tell of their experience they begin by considering the emails they
use to negotiate the book selection. In addition, I encourage
students to use emails to ask each other questions about the books.
Students are also required to use the interactive techniques
introduced with eBooks. However, in this instance, they are
encouraged to interpret, to wonder, to question characters'
actions, and to make judgments. They highlight, use sticky notes,
dog-ear the pages and are told to 'mess up' the book with the work
of reading it.
The literature circles have proven to be one of the
most successful aspects of the methods class, partly because the
selection process offers such a range of choices. Selecting and
reading the book takes about 3 weeks and students have about 30-45
minutes (out of a 3-hour class period) to discuss their books in
the literature circle each week. After each group meeting, students
are asked to write a 5-minute reflection on the process.
The assignment culminates in some sort of
presentation related to the book. Students have given oral
readings, skits, and even multimedia presentations. Last year the
group who read White Oleander performed a role-play, in
which various 'therapists' discussed the events in the
protagonist's life. The students came to class dressed in
professional attire and toting thick folders of psychological
profiles. The group who read The Bluest Eye provided
seasonal collages and read excerpts from the text. The Catcher
in the Rye group filled in what they saw as a 'missing chapter'
at the end of the book. Each group member presented how he or she
had filled textual gaps; needless to say this presentation offered
a 'teachable moment,' in which we all discussed the indeterminacy
of texts and what that might mean for teaching literature.
These activities enrich prospective teachers'
understandings of the how of reading and transacting with
literature. For many students they also provide an opportunity for
them to remember the joy of reading a book that they really want to
read. The simplicity of returning to what many of them love to do
rekindles their enthusiasm for reading, for literature, and for
teaching.
Conclusion
Unlike many of my colleagues in literacy, I have
always been drawn to the wonder of technology and have always held
out hope that it could develop into a powerful tool. At one point,
I developed educational software for use as a writing tutorial (The
Writing Lab, 1982; The Writing Lab Plus, 1987). But I turned away
from technology because it was not interactive, was not responsive
to students' natural curiosities, and was simply unavailable in
many schools. It seemed that technology was more about training
than about educating students, and I was uncomfortable with that
difference.
However, my misgivings were formed in the
pre-Internet days when educational software and word processing
were the only uses of technology in English language arts classes.
Now technology is so much more. It is a valuable tool that can be
used for the manipulation of knowledge and information. Helping
students use that tool seems a necessary part of my work as a
teacher educator.
Using technology in any classroom should be
undertaken, not because technology is crisp and bright and colorful
(though those elements do make technology fun), but because it
helps us do what we do in a better and more interactive way. In the
methods class students use eBooks and online bookstores because
these technologies support the larger instructional goal of helping
prospective English language arts teachers get at the knowing how
of teaching and reading literature.
Using technology in this way reflects the
principles Pope & Golub (2000) described. For in the context of
my class, technology is used to augment the development of literary
thinking by supporting active reading, and it is used to model
positive strategies in literacy instruction. Linking those
strategies to technology not only helps prospective English
language arts teachers learn about reading and teaching literature
but it also helps them become familiar with technologies that are
sure to be an influence over the course of their teaching
careers.
References
Carroll, P.S., & Bowman, C.A. (2000).
Leaping fire: Texts and technology. Contemporary Issues in
Technology and Teacher Education, [Online serial], 1 (2)
. Available:
http://www.citejournal.org/vol1/iss2/currentissues/english/article1.htm
Holt-Reynolds, D. (1999). Good readers, good
teachers? Subject matter expertise as a challenge in learning to
teach. Harvard Educational Review, 69 (1), 29-50.
Langer, J. (1995). Envisioning literature:
Literary understanding and literature instruction . New York:
International Reading Association & Teachers College Press.
Pope, C., & Golub, J. (2000). Preparing
tomorrow's English language arts teachers today: Principles and
practices for infusing technology. Contemporary Issues in
Technology and Teacher Education [Online serial], 1 (1).
Available:
http://www.citejournal.org/vol1/iss1/currentissues/english/article1.htm
Rosenblatt, L. 1988. Writing and reading: The
transactional theory (Technical Report No. 13). Center for the
Study of Writing.
Vine, H., Jr., & Faust, M. (1992).
Situating readers: Introduction and invitation. English Journal,
81 (7), 62-67
Wilhelm, J. (1997). " You gotta BE the
book": Teaching engaged reading with adolescents . New York:
Teachers College Press.
Zancanella, D. (1991). Teachers
reading/Readers teaching: Five teachers' personal approaches to
literature and their teaching of literature. Research in the
Teaching of English, 25 (1), 5-32
Contact
Information:
Barbara G. Pace
College of Education
2403 Norman Hall
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL 32611
352-392-9191x276
E-mail: pace@ufl.edu
Appendix A
Information About eBook Readers
Currently there are two readers available for use
on a computer: the Adobe Reader ® ( http://www.adobe.com/products/ebookreader
) and Microsoft Reader ® ( www.microsoft.com/reader/
). Either can be downloaded free of charge.
Both are capable of displaying texts and digitally
reading the texts orally. However, I have not experienced this
feature. Of course, if the digitized sound is clear, there is a lot
of potential for classroom use of this option for second language
learners or for students with visual disabilities.
I have used both Readers and have explored all of
the options they offer, except for the digitized sound. Both
readers allow users to adjust text size and sharpen the display of
text. Both accept commercial eBooks which can be downloaded from
book sellers, such as Barnes and Noble ( www.bn.com ) and Amazon ( www.amazon.com ). There are
limitations on moving purchased, copyrighted books from computer to
computer. However, with free eBooks this limitation is not an
issue, and there are hundreds of free eBooks available online.
Of the two readers, the one from Microsoft is my
personal preference for four reasons: (a) more books are available
for this Reader, (b) the screen behind the reader window can be
blacked out during reading which makes for clean reading
environment, (c) downloaded books do not take as much disk space as
do the Adobe books, and (d) Microsoft Word documents can easily be
converted to e-texts with a supplemental free program from
Microsoft. The ability to create your own e-texts or eBooks is an
exciting feature. Teachers or students can change Word documents to
eBooks by clicking a button on the Microsoft Word tool bar. The
eBook author is free for the taking at the Microsoft Reader website
( http://www.microsoft.com/ebooks/tools/make_authors.asp
). Of course, Microsoft Reader must be installed in order to view
an eBook created with Word. In addition, Pocket Encarta, a free
dictionary that allows you to click on any word in a text to
display the meaning, can also be downloaded at the Microsoft
site.
In addition to the two readers for computers, a
variety of stand-alone readers is becoming available. RCA has two
reading appliances; one is color and the other only displays texts
in black and white. In addition, a new reader called GoReader ( http://www.goreader.com/index.htm
) is being developed for the college textbook market. Students use
a stylus to write on the screen text as they would on paper. Notes
can be uploaded from a USB port. Go Reader developers have already
entered into a contract with Harcourt College Publishers. The
potential to customize texts for various regions and to keep
textbooks current is interesting to consider. The potential for
cost savings and local control may mean that these sorts of
textbooks may be coming soon to K-12 schools. As with most new
technologies, it is uncertain what standard of eBook file will be
set. However, it is certain that this technology will not wither
and die out. For more news visit eBooknet.com ( http://www.ebooknet.com/ ).
Appendix B
Sources for E-books
Retail sources : (Most retail sources have free texts
available, too)
www.amazon.com (Amazon)
http://bookstore.glassbook.com/store/
(Adobe Glassbook)
www.bn.com (Barnes and
Noble)
www.contentville.com
(Contentville)
http://ebooks.previewport.com
(Preview Port)
Book Links and General Information
http://www.bookspot.com/
(Bookspot)
http://www.ebooknet.com/
(eBooknet)
First Chapters and Excerpts
www.amazon.com (Amazon)
www.bn.com (Barnes and
Noble)
http://www.bookspot.com/firstchapters.htm
(Bookspot) ****
http://www.bookbrowse.com/
(Bookbrowse)
http://www.cnn.com//books/beginnings/
(Book First Chapters)
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