Finding the Right Text for Every Student: Challenges and Possibilities of Online Resources

• In Event: 34.066 - Outside-the-Box Insights on Technologies + Pedagogies

Abstract

For any given instructional need, there is a good chance that a suitable text exists on the Web; the problem is finding it. Our purpose is to understand how teachers find and use online texts. We conducted semi-structured interviews with eight teachers, asking them to reflect on times when they tried to locate material online and articulate the difficulties they faced. The two greatest challenges the teachers described were time and financial resources. However, veteran teachers faced fewer obstacles, or did not acknowledge them to the same extent as the newer teachers. Thus, we argue that teachers would benefit from a computer-based application that can support their ability to quickly locate and evaluate texts to engage students in authentic readings.

Authors

• Katherine Landau Wright, Boise State University

• David McNeill, Boise State University

• Michael D. Ekstrand, Boise State University

• Maria Soledad Pera, Boise State University