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By David Rothman

Bellaver studyHow useful can e-book dictionaries be to elementary school students? Dr. Richard Bellaver and others at the Center for Information and Communication Sciences at Ball State University reached the following conclusion in a study sponsored by the AT&T Foundation:

This study confirms the premise that it is possible to use an eBook as a dictionary at the elementary-level. Although no official timings were conducted, researcher observation indicated that several children were able to find the right answer faster with an eBook than with a traditional dictionary. While operating the eBook the children also learned the basic principles of operating any electronic device. Furthermore, the Kindergarten children and the first graders found the eBooks exciting. For them, it is an adventure to learn how to use it. They felt more like they were getting to play rather than being forced to learn while they were using an eBook, and it made it easier for the teacher to keep their attention. However, the older children do not find eBook that exciting anymore. It was very difficult to keep their attention, which was also demonstrated bythe surprisingly poor test results of the 2nd and 3rd graders.

 
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