Embracing e-Books: Increasing Students' Motivation to Read and Write

Abstract

In his keynote address at the "New York Times" Schools for Tomorrow 2011 Fall Conference, Dr. Larry Summers (2011) suggested that technology implementations have an unusual growth pattern. New technology innovations usually require more time to "catch on" than one might expect, but once they catch on, their use spreads more quickly than anyone can imagine. e-Books are such a technology. e-Book use is growing, and educators and parents who are not embracing e-book technology are ignoring a valuable free learning opportunity for gifted students. e-Book use falls into two categories: reading literature in the e-book format and creating content in the e-book format. This article discusses each category and shares free software options to read and create e-books. (Contains 6 figures.)