Students everywhere are struggling with maintaining attention to digital texts. This can occur when a teacher or student is reading aloud while the others are meant to follow along, or when they are reading independently. Of course, if the teacher or student can use highlighting tools or arrows, that can be enormously helpful, but it is not always possible.
Lately, I have found it helpful to think about how I might have addressed this if I was with students in a school building, rather than a virtual setting. If so, I might have offered them a colored acetate strip to use in their paper book. Unfortunately, most students don't have access to this type of item at home, so I tried another idea last week.
Lately, I have found it helpful to think about how I might have addressed this if I was with students in a school building, rather than a virtual setting. If so, I might have offered them a colored acetate strip to use in their paper book. Unfortunately, most students don't have access to this type of item at home, so I tried another idea last week.
- Ask students to find a scrap of paper, and fold it to approximately 6 inches by 2 inches.
- Direct students to use a bold marker to draw a line along one edge, and repeat with a different color along the other edge.
- Explain that they can hold it up to the screen and use it to follow along while trying to read the digital text.
- Suggest they try different colors to determine what works best for them.
The touch of tactile interaction is a novel change of pace from using digital tools and increases the number of neural pathways involved in the task of digital reading. Best of all, it is simple and free!
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