Effects of e-readers on student engagement in reading

Do e-Readers Increase Students’
Engagement in Reading?
By Debra Sands
La Mesa Arts Academy
April 2018

Project Summary
! The goal was to examine if having home and school access to an e-reader would affect a
reader’s level of engagement in independent reading and improve his or her reading skills.
! Kindle e-readers loaded with different genres of digital books, literacy apps, and skill-building
games were used for this action research project.
! Twenty-four students in grades 4-8 borrowed e-readers and were given permission to use
them at home and/or at school for the majority of the school year.
! Students were given reading assessments at the beginning and end of the year.
! Observations were made by survey questionnaires and reading logs that were submitted to
students’ Language Arts teachers.
! The research results indicated that participants improved their reading skills as evidenced by
post-assessment results. The majority of participants also completed their weekly
independent reading log assignment.

Project Context
• Interacting with English Learners and at-risk students afforded me the opportunity to observe their
reading habits in the ELD and Structured Study Hall classes.
• Often, students came unprepared to complete a required weekly independent reading log
assignment from their Language Arts teachers.
• Students complained that books were too too heavy to carry around, school library books were
outdated or reading was a boring activity.
• Some students from economically-disadvantaged families did not have access to electronic
devices that could be used for reading.
• Through this action-research project, e-readers were distributed to the students to determine if
they would be helpful to ELL students and at-risk students.

Research Goal and Significance
! The goal was to examine whether or not e-readers are effective tools for increasing
student’s independent reading enjoyment.
! The rationale was that ELL and at-risk students who might be reluctant readers would
be encouraged to read if they had access to a technological alternative instead of
traditional reading materials.
! If e-readers did effectively motivate students to read, students would then have more
opportunities to improve reading skills such as fluency, decoding and comprehension
from more practice with reading.
! The effects of e-readers were expected to be positive as analyzed by reading
assessment scores, student survey responses, and tracking of completed reading logs.

Research Method (Participating Students)
• 24 students participated including three 4th graders, six 5th graders, seven 7th
graders and two 8th graders
• 7 participants were ELL students
• 1 participant was Reclassified Fluent English Proficient (RFEP)
• 3 participants qualified for Special Education during the time the action research
project was taking place
• 5 participants were enrolled in a Structured Study Hall class for homework
assistance
• 2 participants had advanced reading assessment scores when the action research
began

Project Activities and Procedure
! Prior to checking out a Kindle e-reader for school and home use, participating students
obtained parent permission to use the device and then checked them out through the school
library. Records were kept of checked-out devices using device serial numbers.
! Students and parents were given device care instructions, a brief orientation on how to
navigate an e-reader, an email link for Wi-Fi set-up at home, and a charging cable.
! Students were assured that use of the e-reader device would not be monitored, nor would it
have any impact on their grade. Students were invited to read traditional books, too, if desired.
! Students were required to complete an online survey that asked subjective questions about
reading at the beginning of the project and at the end of the project.
! A master account was set up through Whispercast where free titles from the online Amazon
bookstore could be added and then pushed out to students’ devices. Many titles from different
genres were selected and made available to students in their device’s library.

Post project activities
! At the end of the year, students retook the Literably reading assessment and
completed the same online survey they had taken at the beginning of the
year.
! Students were given a due date for returning the device. It was
communicated that unreturned devices would be akin to unreturned library
books with the same consequences.

Measures and Analysis
In this action-research project, I used:
• survey questions
• the Literally Reading Assessment
• independent reading logs

Survey Questions on Reading
! Students were given an online questionnaire that included subjective
questions about reading. Some questions were designed using a 3-5-point
Likert scale, some questions used checkboxes, and one question required a
typed answer.
! The responses from the survey questions were to be analyzed to determine if
there was any increase in the students’ motivation to read.

Reading Assessment Scores
! Students’ reading skills in fluency, decoding, and comprehension were measured
via the Literably Online Reading Assessment accessed by each student through an
app on an iPad. This was done at the beginning and end of the year.
! The assessment provides a leveled passage to be read out loud by the test taker.
A student also answers comprehension questions that coincide with the passage
he or she read.
! Once finished, a student’s reading sample is recorded and evaluated by a
professional grader.
! Scores at the beginning of the year were compared to scores at the end of the year
to detect growth in reading skills including fluency, decoding and comprehension.

Independent Reading Logs
! Students were required to submit a weekly independent reading log to their
Language Arts teacher.
! The assignment required them to independently read a minimum of 100
pages per week.
! The number of times a student submitted his/her reading log that met the
requirement was tracked.

Results and Discussion
! 51 students took the online reading survey at the beginning of the year;
however, only 22 students took the survey at the end of the year. Due to this
discrepancy, comparisons between pre and post data could not be performed.
! As a result, only the end of year survey results were analyzed.

Question 1 from the online survey
On Question 1, students selected a number between one and five that indicated
how much they enjoyed independent reading from great enjoyment (“love”) to no
enjoyment. Of the 22 students who responded, 5 students (23%) indicated “loving"
independent reading, followed by 7 (32%) enjoying, 8 (36%) neutral, 2 (9%)
enjoying not much, and 2 students (9%) not enjoying independent reading at all.
Overall, more students enjoyed independent reading (n = 12; 55%) as compared
to students who did not enjoy (n = 4; 18%). However, whether or not this positive
result is related with use of the e-reader is not certain due to losing pre-activity
data.

When students were asked if their enjoyment of reading has changed (Question
2), 14 of 22 students (64%) indicated that they enjoyed reading now (at the time of
the post-survey) more than they did last year; 5 students (23%) enjoyed reading
last year and still enjoy reading this year; and 3 students (14%) enjoyed reading
less now than they did last year. This result demonstrated that the majority of
participants felt that reading was more enjoyable in the current year possibly due
to using their e-reader.

On Question 3, 9 of 22 students (41%) indicated that they always read 100 pages
or more per week and turn in the reading log; 4 students (18%) usually; 4 students
(18%) sometimes ; 3 students (14%) rarely; and 2 students (9%) never read 100
pages or more per week and never turn in the reading log. The majority of readers
(13; 59%) either always or usually completed the Language Arts weekly
independent reading assignment. Nine students (41%) only completed the
Language Arts weekly independent reading assignment sometimes, rarely, or
never. Although this trend seems to show an improvement with e-reader use, the
improvement rate cannot be provided.

Question 4 regarded students’ choice of genres for their independent reading.
Students indicated that they enjoyed action adventure stories above all other
genres (21; 95%) followed by comedies (15; 68%). Students enjoyed non-fiction,
drama, and horror similarly (10; 45% for each genre). Less than 10 students
selected each of the following genres: biography (6; 27%), science fiction (5;
23%), with history being the least preferred genre (4; 18%). Students’ choice of
action adventure stories as their favorite genre seems to coincide with the most
popular genre for blockbuster films shown in movie theaters. In general, the
pattern of genre choices indicates that the participating students prefer to read for
entertainment.

Question 5 asked students how much time per day they would read independently
even when reading is not required. It was found that some students were
confused with the scale, as some thought “day” as “week.” Data from this item
was discarded.

On Question 6, students were asked what reading skills they needed to improve today. Five of 22
students (23%) indicated that they needed to improve the ability to recognize words in a text (decoding); 9
students (41%) wanted to improve the ability to read words correctly and clearly (fluency); 10 students
(45%) wanted to improve their ability to learn the meanings of new words (vocabulary); and 9 students
(41%) wanted to improve their ability to understand what they read (comprehension). Overall, slightly less
than half of the participating students recognized the need for improvement in the areas of vocabulary,
fluency, and comprehension, and to a lesser degree in the area of decoding. The result suggests that the
participating students who consist of English Language Learners and/or academically “at risk” students
require more assistance in these reading areas, although most students seem to be confident in their
ability to decode words. Although comparisons between pre- and post-project activities cannot be made, it
can be stated that e-reader might have helped students gain more confidence in these reading areas, as
e-reader has built-in functions to help users improve reading skills. For example, e-reader has the
capacity of providing instant access to dictionaries to help students strengthen vocabulary-building skills.
Other e-reader functions embedded in e-readers are shown below in discussion of Question 7.

When students were asked to indicate what would help them enjoy reading more
(Question 7), 11 students (50%) said accessing pictures and animation related to the
texts would make reading more enjoyable (11; 50%), followed by hearing recorded
versions of the text (9; 41%), access to more interesting choices of reading materials (8;
36%), having the ability to annotate text (2; 9%), the convenience of carrying a
lightweight device (vs. heavy books) (4; 18%), the ability to look up word definitions in an
easily accessible dictionary (8; 36%), and the fun factor associated with using technology
(8; 36%). This result indicates that the reading experience of students is enhanced when
they have access to images or animation. Students also indicated that hearing recorded
versions of text was appealing. Some English Learners have expressed that their
mastery of the English language is augmented when they hear a model reading of a text.

On Question 8, students were asked to select the technical features they would be most
interested in using on their e-reader device. Of the 22 students surveyed, 10 students (45%)
selected the feature of having access to libraries via the Internet; 12 students (55%) selected
access to apps or games that help strengthen literacy skills; 12 students (55%) selected
access to pre-loaded chapter books and/or non-fiction materials for independent reading11
students (50%) selected audio text narration; 8 students (36%) selected the feature of being
able to magnify or enlarge text; and 4 students (18%) selected other reasons not listed. It
was not surprising to find that the students were most interested in accessing the e-reader’s
game apps since they frequently asked permission to play games when using the e-reader
in the classroom. However, most of the e-reader features that could help strengthen reading
skills were chosen by about half of the participating students, perhaps indicating that the e-
reader device was viewed positively by them one way or another.

When students were asked to predict how using an e-reader device might impact their level of
enjoyment of independent reading (Question 9), about one-third of the participating students (7;
32%) indicated a neutral stance. Five students (23%) indicated strong impact of e-reader on their
level of enjoyment in independent reading (would read much more); 3 students (14%) somewhat
impact; and 4 students (14%) slight impact. Four students (18%) said that the e-reader would
have no impact on their level of enjoyment with independent reading. This result demonstrated
that students may have been unsure of how e-reader might impact their desire to read
independently. However, several students needed clarification on the meaning of the question
itself. In retrospect, the words and sentence composition might not have been appropriate to the
participating students who have difficulties reading English. Thus, this result may not portray
the impact rate accurately. An edited version of this question should be used in future research.

On Question 10, students were asked to use a Likert scale to gauge the impact that using an e-
reader device would have on their level of enjoyment toward completing their weekly reading
log assignment for Language Arts. Of the 22 students responded, 3 students (14%) chose the
number 5 to indicate that use of e-reader would definitely impact their level of enjoyment; 6
students (27%) chose 4 (lesser impact than 5); 8 students (36%) chose 3 (lesser impact than
4); 2 students (9%) chose 2 (lesser impact than 3); and lastly 2 students (9%) chose 1 to
indicate use of e-reader would have no impact on their enjoyment toward reading log
assignment. It seems that students were unsure of how e-reader would impact their enjoyment
in completing the weekly independent reading log assignment. Similar problems found with
Question 9 might apply to this question. Consequently, this result may not depict the impact
rate accurately. For future research, an edited version of this question should be used.

The current grade in Language Arts reported by students (Question 11) showed that 13 of
22 students (59%) indicated they were earning an A grade; 6 (27%) earning a B grade; 2
(9%) earning a F grade. This result indicated that the majority of students were earning an
A in their Language Arts class. The direct impact of e-reader usage is unknown, but most
students using the e-readers were exceeding expectation, although some of the students
(9%) using the e-readers were not earning a passing grade at the time they completed the
questionnaire.

When asked why it might be advantageous for a student to enjoy independent reading (Question 12), students
offered the following comments:
! “It can help them more on their Language Arts class and more new vocabulary.”
! “Because you will learn more English.”
! “It might be advantageous because it helps you with learning and listening.”
! “I think a student enjoying reading is more advantageous because it can help them get accepted into college
and get a good job in the future.”
! “So that you can know more.”
! “It gives you a chance to escape from the world that we are in and you can escape to the world in the book.”
Since some of the students expressed irritation with having to “type” an answer to this question, it is possible that
there were cases of students responding with an answer designed to please the teacher and/or quickly finish the
survey. It is also possible that it might be difficult for some students to actually articulate how independent
reading differs from on-demand reading. However, taken at face value, these responses indicate an overall
favorable perspective regarding the use of e-readers and a recognition of the utility of e-reader devices.

Reading Assessment
! The Literably Reading Assessment offers 26 levels of reading from Level A to
Level Z. Level A equates to a kindergarten reading level. Level Z equates to a
seventh grade reading level.
! After an assessment is scored, the following information is provided: word
count per minute, decoding score, comprehension score and recommended
level for an individual’s next assessment.
! The assessment was given to 24 students at the beginning of the year and 22
students at the end of the year.

Reading Assessment Results
• Two students who checked out e-readers were not tested because their scores from
the previous year were already above grade level.
• The assessment results showed an increase in word count per minute for 13 (59%)
of the 22 students tested.
• The assessment results showed an increase in decoding for 14 students (64%).
• The assessment results showed an increase in comprehension for 8 students (36%).
• It was recommended that 7 of the 22 students be tested in the future using a higher-
level passage.
• These results indicate that the e-readers may have made the reading experience
more pleasurable for students which in turn had a positive impact on their reading
skills.

Reading Assessment Results (continued)
Literably Recommendations:
! It was recommended that 4 students be tested at a lower level on their next
assessment; however, in three of the four cases, the student was tested with a
higher level passage at the end of the project vs. at the beginning of the project.
! It was recommended that 11 students be tested at the same level as the one
used in the end-of-project assessment.
! It was recommended that 7 students be tested at a higher level than the one
used at the end-of-project assessment.

Independent Reading Log Data
Of the twenty-four students that participated in the action research project,
! thirteen students fulfilled their obligation to turn in all required reading logs to their
Language Arts teachers
! six students turned in more than half of their required reading logs
! three students turned in less than half of their required reading logs
! two students were tested for Special Education mid-year and were placed in different
classes that did not have the independent reading requirement
! It is unknown whether or not the same results would have been achieved without
access to the e-reader. Most students in the school are highly motivated to earn good
grades so that they can perform in their elective classes (e.g. dance, theater, band or
choir) since the school requires students to earn grades of “C” or higher to perform.

Advantages of the E-reader
! practicality and efficiency
! fewer trips to a library/bookstore
! ability to instantly select a new book if the first book chosen wasn’t interesting
! no limitation on number of books that could be read in the e-reader library which
differs from the only being allowed to check out 1-2 books in school library
! no due date to return books until the end of the school year
! access to popular titles that may have otherwise already been checked out by
another student if the book was a school library book
! no expenses involved in regard to purchasing books or shipping books

Conclusions
! Data showed some evidence that the use of e-readers helped motivate students
to read independently on a more frequent basis, indicated by their level of
enjoyment in reading and reading time.
! An increase in reading time automatically generates more opportunities to
practice reading skills.
! Some students achieved growth in fluency, decoding, and comprehension based
on their Literably reading assessment results, although many variables such as a
student’s mental and physical well-being while testing affect test performance.
! Future studies should include factors that could potentially influence test
performance to account for e-readers effects beyond other factors.

Conclusions (continued)
! The Literably test is a limited snapshot of a student’s reading ability.
! Only the first minute of the recording is scored.
! Because there are only five comprehension questions, missing even one of the
comprehension questions has a significant impact on the score.
! These limitations should be mitigated by adding another reading ability test, so the
reliability estimates of more than one reading ability test scores can be compared in an
effort to determine students’ ability to read.
! Date collected from the questionnaire was flawed due to the missing critical information on
the questionnaire (participant’s identification number). Comparisons of questionnaire data
collected before using the e-readers and after using the e-readers could not be performed.

Reflections on Preparing Electronic Device: Lessons Learned
! The most challenging aspect of the e-reader action research project was the initial set-
up. The operating versions of the devices were not up to date when shipped.
! Parents had issues with setting up the devices to work within their WiFi networks.
! There were numerous issues related to problems with the devices’ Internet access
being blocked by the school’s Internet firewalls. The district IT technicians had to spend
a considerable amount of time making it possible for the e-reader devices to work on
campus.
! The devices were supposed to provide direct access to local library collections, but the
district IT technicians were unable to program the devices to make a connection.
! Students sometimes forgot to charge their devices rendering them inoperable at school.

Reflections (continued)
! E-readers are a sound investment in spite of initial set-up issues.
! Language Arts teachers reported satisfaction seeing students use them in
class.
! Parents were appreciative that their children had access to e-readers.
! Community donors, independent of the La Mesa-Spring Valley Educational
Foundation, were impressed with the functionality of the devices and donated
more units for student use,
! Most students who borrowed e-readers expressed a desire to check them out
again next year.
! E-readers provide another option teachers can use to encourage independent
reading.

References
Long, D., & Szabo, S. (2016). E-readers and the effects on students’ reading
motivation, attitude and comprehension during guided reading. Cogent Education,
3(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2016.1197818
Short, L. A. (2010). Using Electronic Books to Increase Students’ Motivation to
Read. Master’s Theses and Capstone Projects. http://scholar.dominicaun.edu/
masters-theses/116

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