to read or not to read? that is the question.

The other day I was talking to my mom about her class.  She teaches sixth grade at the school I attended, and her class is currently “reading” Where the Red Fern Grows.  (I put reading in quotations because they’re listening to it on tape.  Albeit some of the students read along with the tape and others purely listen.)  She said that listening to the book on tape helped her non-reading students to like the book more and they actually read it this way.  This led me to bring up some of the topics we’ve discussed in my New Media class about how this generation needs more visual and technological things to learn.  She thought that was part of the problem with this generation: they need something waved in front of their faces at all times to keep their attention.  I agreed, but then I posed the same question to her as I did in my last blog entry: are we to stubborn to see the benefits of learning via technology over text? 

When I was in sixth grade, I hated it when teachers made us listen to books on tape.  The majority of the time, I would always read ahead of the tape because it slowed me down.  To this day, I prefer reading from a book over an electronic device.  Do I think my way of reading is better? Of course, but I can see the benefits of books on tape/CD or the Kindle.  Books on tape/CD make it possibly for people who don’t like to read to actually enjoy books.  The Kindle makes it easier for people to have a lot of books but store them in one spot.  What way do you prefer to read?