| Technology plays a role in K-W students’ reading |
By: Corey Butler Jr.
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Posted: Wednesday, February 3, 2010 1:20 am
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Kenyon-Wanamingo High School senior Bryant Freidrichs uses his Samsung Netbook during class. Bryant is also a fan of the school’s new Kimble device, which downloads books and allows users to listen and read. (Corey Butler Jr./The Kenyon Leader)
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The advent of technology has helped revolutionized people’s personal lives, but it has also lent itself to success in Kenyon-Wanamingo School District classrooms as well.
K-W High School resource room teacher Miriam Dotson uses an array of technological devices to help her students find the love of learning, specifically in the area of reading.
The newest piece to be brought to the room is Amazon’s Kindle, a device that downloads books — some free and some for about $5 — and allows students to read the book on a screen. It’s size is comparable to a paperback book, but is a half-inch tall.
It’s especially helpful for students with physical disabilities, Dotson said.
“Talk about freedom,” she added.
The Kindle can also read the book aloud to students and can “turn the page” for the student as well. Students can adjust the speed of the reading.
Though a monotonous voice, Dotson admits, it allows students the ability to follow along with the auditory version either on the screen or with a hard copy of the book.
Senior Bryant Freidrichs is an advocate for the Kindle.
“I really like the mobile,” he wrote using his Samsung Netbook, another device that helps with his learning.
“This has opened his world to reading,” Dotson said.
The school first got two Kindles for its social studies class for students to use them for current events. Kindles have the ability to download newspapers throughout the country through a wireless network.
At $249 each, Dotson thought a Kindle was a worthwhile purchase for the resource room and Principal Patrick Walsh agreed. Dotson got the Kindle in November.
Junior Jackie Story has used the Kindle many times.
She downloaded “Frankenstein” on the Kindle and listened to the audio while she followed along in her copy of the book.
“It was hard reading,” she said. “But the Kindle helped me understand it a little bit better.”
If the Kindle isn’t available, Jackie has no issue relying on her old method of downloading an audio book on an MP3 player and following along in a book.
She also uses a laptop quite a bit for English and writing, as well as research.
Though Dotson said the idea isn’t to detract students from a traditional sense of education by way of the library and hard copies of books, but rather finding the best fit for each student to hook them into reading.
“If they don’t have a strong foundation in reading, they’ll struggle in history and science,” she said. “These kids have to be reading.”
— Reporter Corey Butler Jr. may be reached at 789-6161 or 333-3148.
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