Post 14

This article is reporting about a new software that tracks how often a student uses digital textbooks. It tracks how and what they may be highlighting and reading. This information is then put into an index score, the more a student uses the software the higher the score. The whole point is to track whether the students are reading the material and is it useful to them. Some students who showed a relatively low score were still scoring well on tests and quizzes. Is this a reflection of the usefulness of the text? Is the teacher lecturing so well that text isn't needed? More data is needed.

I like the idea being able to tell my students are reading the material. It could tell whether the text is useful and/or helpful to the students. It could also tell whether it was wasteful and useless. This is not a end all be all solution however, I think it could be a useful tool. Which students read more? Are their scores better than the students who take a lot of notes on their own? To me, it would have to be a piece of the learning puzzle. You have to have all the pieces to see the whole picture.

As a student I feel like this software is not at all useful. It can mislead a teacher's perception. The teacher may think this student isn't reading he/she must not put much stock in this class. Which may not be true, I once took a class where I read from the text ONCE. I took good notes, went to class every time, took advantage of SI (student instructor) sessions and I had an A in that class. So tracking how much I read the text is not a reflection of me as a student. I think this kind of tracking is really only useful to the textbook publishers not necessarily to teachers. It may improve the usefulness to students as time progresses but, to me , now, it is not helpful or useful.

1. What did you hope to learn from this technology? 2. Did the software teach you something new about the way students study? 3. Were you surprised by the number of students who were doing well yet, apparently not reading the material? 4. Knowing what you learned this software would you use it again? 5. Would it change the way you teach/assign reading?

1. Did knowing the software was attached to your text change the way you studied? 2. Some of you stated privacy wasn't really an issue, does anyone feel a little weird knowing the teacher knows you didn't do the reading assignment? 3. Did you find it useful/helpful? 4.Would you use it again?

This software is not for me. I don't think it truly reflects what the students are really learning. The text is only one portion of the learning experience. Tracking how much a student reads won't tell me if they are engaged.