Assessment Item 1: Blog Task

Using your readings and interaction with the subject to date, develop a statement about your current knowledge and understanding of concepts and practices in digital literature environments, tools and uses, within the context of your work or professional circumstances.

Response:

After reading through Module 1 (Croft, 2021) and the Assessment question, I revisited the debate that I’ve previously had with others (and myself) before… “What is better? Physical or digital?”

As with other problems I attempt to solve day to day, I created a pros and cons list to help sort my ideas and come up with a definitive answer. So here are my current thoughts and understandings on the topic:

Benefits to electronic texts:

• Cost. Multiple copies of a single resource can be purchased for a lower cost compared to a physical set of resources. This can often be even cheaper through a subscription service.
• Availability. Digital resources never run out of stock.
• Space. Zero physical storage space of digital resources.
• Accessibility. Digital texts can be accessed from anywhere on any supported device, with many resources being able to fit on a single device.
• Increase student learning outcomes. Enhance teaching and learning through student engagement, in turn increasing the learning outcomes of students (Felvegi & Matthew, 2012, p. 40)
• Differentiation. You can usually adjust size of text and images using your device’s reading tools, highly beneficial for a range of different readers and scenarios.
• Freebies. Additional online resources are often included with purchases of digital resources or sets.
• Locate information fast. A lot of digital resources or devices have built in dictionaries or search tools that allow the user to easily and quickly find information.
• Going green. With zero waste, digital texts are environmentally the better option. Digital texts never need repairing or replacing like physical resources.
• Reliability. Unlike physical texts which become outdated or superseded rather quickly, digital texts can be instantly updated to the newest copy or version of a text.
• Night time reading. A lot of digital devices have the option of night mode where you can read your text in the dark or low light settings.
• Instant downloads. There is no need to wait for a delivery of texts or for resources to be returned to the library by the previous user.
• Multimodal functionality. A lot of digital resources offer video and audio options which is a huge advantage to those reluctant readers who prefer to have a text read aloud to them.

Disadvantages of electronic texts:

• Devices. There can be a myriad of issues when it comes to the reliability and accessibility of devices, including battery power, software issues and other technological problems.
• Physical health. Staring at a screen for too long can be damaging and detrimental to eye health by straining the eyes. There is also the issue of a glare on the screen under fluorescent or U.V lights.
• Inequitable. Not all families, students and schools can afford 1-to-1 devices. Tablets are still incredibly expensive, particularly for schools needing devices for every single student in a class.
• Access to reliable wifi. To download e-resources you need reliable access to the internet. Again, this can be costly and also time consuming for the person downloading the resources pending the connection speed.
• Time. Issues with devices can be common and time consuming to resolve. This can take up valuable learning time.
• Distractions. Students with access to digital devices may have access to other content and websites, a very tempting distraction for those who are disengaged with the task at hand.
• Expiration dates. Often texts or digital resources come with expiry dates for their resources or subscriptions, meaning you may have pressures with time constraints to finish a text before its expiration date.
• Licensing. You often need to pay for a license to download multiple copies of a digital resource or pay large subscription fees to certain sites and platforms to access multiple copies of texts.
• Smell. You don’t get the same satisfaction of holding and smelling a real-life physical book with an electronic device!
• Supporting physical book sellers. Small and independent-owned book stores are dying out because of large retail chains and online sales. If they cease to exist, we lose that special experience of walking through a book store and browsing a physical collection of books.

In my current working situation, I use more physical copies of texts and resources than digital. However, I enjoy using and having access to digital resources and use these rather frequently too. Multimodal literacies that I often use include:

• Storybox Library
• Storyline Online
• Welcome 2 Country
• Dust Echoes ABC
• My Place series
• iPad apps such as Seesaw, SkoolBag, Class Dojo etc.

As a current teacher librarian in a small-ish (approx. 400 students) public primary school, we have limited funding and access to greater digital resources such as an e-book collection. However, this has been on my mind lately as I think about the future-proofing of our small Library collection. I love the idea of introducing a small e-Book collection in our school Library, that students can access on the school iPads or perhaps even personal devices. I would need to really research this idea and speak with staff and executive as to whether this would be a viable and sustainable option.

Do I have a definitive answer to my question yet? No. Not really. There are endless pro’s and con’s to either side you look at. I suppose the closest answer you can greatly get depends on the needs of your learners, staff and community and the availability and accessibility to physical or digital resources. At the end of the day, professional educators are finding new and exciting ways to engage their students in learning every single day, regardless if that is through a digital device, physical resource, worksheet or through dramatic performance. Teachers know how their students learn best and it is up to us to decide what format and delivery method that involves.

References

Croft, T. (2021). Module 1: Trends and developments [CSU Learning Modules]. Interact 2. https://interact2.csu.edu.au

Felvégi, E. & Matthew, K. I. (2012). eBooks and Literacy in K–12 Schools. Computers in the Schools,    29(1-2), 40-52. https://doi.org/10.1080/07380569.2012.651421