I am a fan of e-reader devices. I have experience with Kindle DX device, kindle PC application and android application. While reading the articles, I compared my reading and my experiences.
Critique of Davidson & Carliner’s Study
First of all, I think, study of Davidson & Carliner (2014) are quite informative. These studies offer a serious insight about electronic reading.
On the other hand, I have some critics about Davidson & Carliner (2014) study. I think, the difference between e-ink screen and backlit (regular screens available in phones, laptops) screen should be emphasized more because e-ink screen is the main factor what makes the differences. Basically, I would categorize e-readers in two group e-ink screen devices and backlit screen devices. This would offer a better classification because in terms of eye health of the readers, e-ink and backlit screen is the main differentiating factor.
In page 716, Davidson & Carliner (2014) claims that Kindle and Nook will offer color-version e-readers. This is a misleading claim for the current technology available to end users. Authors are probably talking about Kindle Fire devices which offer colorful screen. But Kindle Fire is not a different device than any tablet or phone in terms of screen, basically. Kindle Fire (colorful screen kindle) uses backlit screen. It is just a tablet that you can read an e-book as any other tablet. All they use backlit screen. That’s why it Kindle Fire comes with a colorful screen. It is not a colorful e-ink screen. That’s why, the statement “technological development led to color versions of e-book readers like the Kindle and Nook” (p. 716) is misleading. Color version of the e-book readers such as laptops were available long ago.
Secondly, on p. 718-719, Davidson & Carliner (2014) discuss about reading e-books in other platforms and they say “only users of Nook can lend those books to others to read on their own devices”. This is correct but a narrow statement. The real issue here is file formatting issue. Kindle supports mobi file format while rest of the e-readers support ePub and pdf. Nook devices are also in the “rest of the” category and support ePub, PDF, CBZ formats (NOOK Tablet Frequently Asked Questions, n.d.). That’s why, “only user of the Nook can lend the book to others” is not a correct statement. Other e-reader brands, such as Ectaco and Kobo, also can lend their books because their books are also in ePub format. Actually, you are buying e-book in ePub format (if you are not buying from amazom.com) and sending it the device whatever you have other than Kindle. Onlie ebook sellers such as Barnes&Nobles don’t care what device do you have because other than Kindle, rest of the devices support same file format, ePub.
My expectation from study of McClain & Zimmerman (2015) was an insight to electronic books. But, this study’s focus is more on using mobile devices at outdoor places. E-book reader is a great mobile device for this purpose because it doesn’t require internet connection to use the mobile device. That’s’ why authors chose e-readers as mobile platform. On the other hand, any smartphone could do same job, too. As known, as long as we send a document to a smartphone, we don’t need internet connection to read it. A smartphone would do a great job, too, for this study.
An Online Badging System
Because we had only two articles about electronic book, I had to choose the third article from a different topic. Gamrat and Zimmerman’s (2015) study has an interesting topic. Badging system is used in games a lot to motivate players to clear harder content. If players know that there is badge waiting for them, it may motivate them to clear endgame content.
Using such a system in education sounds appealing. Especially in informal learning settings, badging system may fulfill recognition of the achievement mission. Authors state that badging system support personalized learning, mastery of learning, value of the content to for learners and earning recognition. This is a great study that shed light to usage of badging system in education.
References
Davidson, A. L., & Carliner, S. (2014). E-books for educational uses. In Handbook of Research on Educational Communications and Technology (pp. 713-722). Springer New York.
Gamrat, C., & Zimmerman, H. (2015). An Online Badging System Supporting Educators’ STEM Learning. In D. Hickey, J. Jovanović, S. Lonn, & J. E. Willis (Eds.), Proceedings of the 2nd International Workshop on Open Badges in Education co-located with the 5th International Learning Analytics and Knowledge Conference (LAK 2015) (pp. 12–23).
McClain, L. R., & Zimmerman, H. T. (2016). Technology-mediated engagement with nature: sensory and social engagement with the outdoors supported through an e-Trailguide. International Journal of Science Education, Part B, 8455(March), 1–15.
NOOK Tablet Frequently Asked Questions (n.d.). Retrieved from: https://nook.barnesandnoble.com/u/Support-NOOK-Tablet/379003185
Enes, have you ever done any online learning where the badging system is used? I ask not to single you out but because I have not. I often wonder about the effectiveness of them – especially with someone who is my age (48 yo) or older. Maybe I should have read some of these articles, but I am curious if your readings addressed reluctant users. On a personal level, these systems offer no appeal to me initially because earning badges seems juvenile and undermine the potential seriousness of topics. However, as I think about it, I wonder if it is just a vocabulary word issue for me since the term “certificate” would not bother me. Words like “certificate”, “license”, ”credentials” and “accreditation” seem to be more serious in nature and carry more weight than “badge”. I can see the appeal of earning badges for younger readers and would promote them in the classroom but question the professionalism of its use.
Hi Cherly,
During my teacher intership times, I experinced use of Classroom Dojo. Badge system and achievements were quite appeling for 5th grade students. In addition, my wife uses duolingo application. It’s last version has badge system. She said me “Badge is not a motivator for me. May be I am a bit old for to get motivated like this”. You should be right about this. May be, badge is more effective on children.
For the “certificate” issue, I think, you are right. Licence is bit serious issue. I wouldn’t want to hear anyone who get the driver licence from badge of a simulation application!
Cherly, thank you for bringing up these issues to discuss about!
Please tell you wife a big “thank you” from me for making me feel not so old and a bit more normal. ?
Hi Enes! Thanks for sharing your own knowledge and experience about e-books! Your reviews of McClain & Zimmerman’s study made me think how we define e-books. Along with particular devices (e.g., NOOK) for e-books, like you mentioned, people also can use smartphones or iPads for e-books by using Kindle app. Then, do you think we can see smartphones or iPads as another kind of e-book? Do you think the distinction between e-books and smartphones/mobile app may influence designing learning activities as well? (plus, just a minor note that while you said you read Gamrat & Zimmerman (2015), your reference has Davis & Singh (2015) (-; )
Firstly, thank you for warning about mis-referencing. It is edited and corrected!
As long as we can read electronically, I prefer to call it e-reader such as tablets, phones, laptops. Personally, I mostly use my laptop for reading a kindle book instead of my Kindle DX device. On the other hand, when I hear “e-reader”, the first think coming to my mind is a device using e-ink screen. These devices are specifically designed for reading. It is good for eye health. (This is the most important factor for me). It is battery longs more than 50 hours. E-ink screen offers a high contrast screen so you can read it under sun. It is the closest device to an actual book.
In terms of design, device affects a lot, I think. E-ink screen devices are remarkably slow compared to modern smart phones and laptops. Here, we are comparing power of a ~100$ device (kindle) and a ~600$ device (laptop or smartphone). Their powers are so different. E-ink doesn’t react fast. E-ink devices are a bit slow. Inaddition, e-ink screen readers don’t have colorful screen option for end users yet. I think, these two factors affect the desing of learning activities a lot.
Hi Enes – I appreciate your knowledge of eBooks. I have a Kindle Paperwhite and use it constantly for as much reading as I can. The e-ink really makes a difference when it comes to eye health.
Badging is an interesting topic of study. I think it pairs well with gamification because many of the games that are being developed today use some sort of badging system.
Zane, between your and Enes’ comments, I am more interested in a papewhite now. I have been so resistant to considering an e-reader of any kind because I read so much online and experience a lot of eye fatigue. I thought they were all pretty much the same. Thanks!
Hi Enes,
I appreciate your commentary on badges as a motivator for learning (Gamrat & Zimmerman, 2015) . I am one the top few badge earners of a web design/development training website called TeamTreehouse, and for each unit completed of each course, learners get a new course badge that is listed along with the name of the unit completed. I can assert that, in my own case, earning such badges would have lost its motivational impact if it was not for the knowledge I have that employers can be linked to profiles listing a user’s earned badges, and that some top organizations (such as some Fortune 500 companies) are known to value the site’s badges. This reminds me of one of our course’s themes, concerning cyberculture. It is encouraging to know that my time spent training and learning such skills through that website can double as progress in the ‘real’ world: leading to 21st century skills being recognized by 21st century society! Combined with your points about e-readers and similar reading devices, I can imagine the potential of such valuable badges and profiles when accessibility is maximized.