CD-ROM talking books: what do theypromise?

JILLIAN DeJEANFaculty of Education, Queens University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.E-mail: dejegill@educ.queensu.ca

LARRY MILLERFaculty of Education, Queens University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.E-mail: millerl@educ.queensu.ca

JON OLSONFaculty of Education, Queens University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.E-mail: olsonj@educ.queensu.ca

This study describes one teacher’s use of multimedia, specifically CD-ROMtalking books, in the classroom. The goal of the investigation was to reveal andanalyse how a primary (Grade 3) teacher integrated CD-ROM books into hercurriculum. Issues emerging from the study included how features of thesoftware interact with features of classrooms, how patterns of instruction areaffected by the infusion of technology, and how students interact with thesoftware, and each other, while reading the CD-ROM books.

KEYWORDS: Primary classrooms; reading; interaction; multimedia; case study.

INTRODUCTION

Many claims have been made by authors, educational theorists and software de-signers about the potential of CD-ROM books in fostering literacy. CD-ROM books, itis said, lead to an increase in vocabulary and foster readers’ comprehension. Diffi-cult words can be defined or pronounced in syllables, and readers may obtain newunderstandings and pronunciation of uncertain words and terms; new words can berepeated or redefined as many times as needed (Discis, 1990; Martin, 1992;McCarthy, 1993).

CD-ROM books combine multimedia features, such as animation, quality illustrations,

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music with text and on-line assistance features (Parham, 1993). Some of these featuresare created to enhance the reading experience: they provide music and animation.Others are designed to help young readers deal with difficult or unknown words andconcepts: they give pronunciation and vocabulary assistance. Because of thesesophisticated features, CD-ROM books are promoted by publishers and softwaredesigners as advantageous to elementary language arts instruction.

The text of such books comprises children’s stories and poems as well as narrationpresented by a human voice that adds expression and reinforces meaning. In addition,the text is accompanied by illustrations, most of which are replications of the originalstorybook versions. Although the illustrations are striking, a notable feature of manyCD-ROM books is the animation. Animation is characteristically presented in the formof hidden hot-spots. As readers progress through the text, they may have elements ofthe illustration move or perform amusing activities. CD-ROM books also provide thereader with on-line assistance features that can be accessed with little effort. A readercan reread any page, have selected sections or the entire story read-aloud, and have aword defined or pronounced in syllables.

Yet research on the effects of CD-ROM books is sparse, and little has been establishedabout their use in the classroom. Program designers, educational researchers andlibrarians advocate multimedia as potentially beneficial to education as they meet theindividual needs of students by presenting material in a variety of different formats(Leu et al. 1994). Multimedia also are promoted as ideal innovations for educationbecause they link and present information the way the human mind acquires andunderstands information (Burnett, 1994; Shank, 1994). Because students acquireinformation from many sources, multimedia accommodate this natural learningprocess. Others claim that they enhance and sustain independent learning (Burnett,1994; Reinking, 1988; 1994).

There is wide demand by teachers for materials that suit their curricula, yet softwaredevelopers tend to see their products as driving curricula rather than enhancingthem. One study found that only half of the companies stated that they field tested allof their software in schools (Truett and Ho, 1986). Such a finding is in conflict withsoftware development principles set out by Watson (1987), who believes that fieldtesting, and subsequent modification, is a crucial step in creating effective computerassisted learning packages. With or without field testing the introduction of new andcomplex computer software into schools is increasing. Unfortunately, many computerinnovations introduced into schools are praised for their ‘newness, ingenuity, andtheir graphic displays’ (Ohanian, 1984, p. 30) instead of their pedagogical suitability.At a time when technology is changing rapidly, more emphasis is being placed on whatthe computer can do than on determining what a computer program per se actuallydoes for teachers and students (Carbone, 1995; Janowiak, 1990). In this paper weexplore what happens in a classroom when multimedia become part of the practice.

Multimedia, according to Burnett (1994), represent the ‘next stage in the evolution ofcomputer software’ (p. 15), and may be defined as computer software that integratetext with such features as high quality graphics, animation, sound and music effects,

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and still-photos or live-action video within one program. Multimedia programs alsoallow for user interaction. For example, a student can interrupt the regularprogression of the given text and activate animation or music. In other words, theuser is more than an observer, and can control how the program will be presented(Anderson, 1989).

One study that offered some direction about the benefits of the assistance featureswas carried out by Miller et al. (1994). This study examined four fourth-grade students’use of three assistance features: word pronunciation, syllabification and worddefinition. Specifically, they examined whether using these features would decreasethe frequency of occasions readers sought assistance when confronted with difficultwords during repeated readings of the same story. Miller et al. (1994) observedwhether using the accessible assistance options would be aid enough to eventuallydecrease the readers’ need to seek assistance. The results of the study demonstratedthat as the students reread the CD-ROM book they accessed help progressively less.

Little has been established about the use of CD-ROM books in the classroomenvironment. The Miller et al. (1994) study demonstrated that the books can havepositive effects on students’ reading skills, but because the participants wereremoved from their regular classrooms, the question of real life classroom integrationwas not established. Also, the study focused only on three available features of thetechnology. CD-ROM books are promoted for their myriad features; however, the rolessuch features may play for different teachers and students are unknown.

With a goal to learning more about how CD-ROM books are used in the classroom, wereport on an investigation into the use of a number of books in a Grade 3 classroom fora period of five months. Because of the unique features available in CD-ROM books, wewere interested in how the teacher made use of them in day-to-day efforts in fosteringlearning, especially in the area of language arts. We were equally interested in the usechildren made of these media. Finally, we wanted to examine the overall impact thebooks made on the classroom; however, it is important to note this study was notdesigned to examine the value of CD-ROM talking books in relation to readingachievement. This study responded to the need for classroom based research on newcomputer technologies because the value of computer innovations is suspect withoutevidence of pedagogical usefulness (Janowiak, 1990; Miller and Olson, 1994; Olson,1992).

DISCUSSION

A case study of the new media in action

Jacqueline’s (pseudonym) Grade 3 classroom was a ‘book-rich’ environment. As shesays, ‘Books are something they can take home with them and [the students] canshow their parents and they can read with their parents, and that’s something Ireally, really try to stress a lot with these kids and the parents’. Within Jacqueline’sclassroom, books held power and territory. They occupied each corner of the class-room as well as every wall. A large box, crammed with picture books of various

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titles, lay under one of the work tables in the classroom. Also, books were placed ona small shelf behind the teacher’s desk and on a separate shelf near one window.She planned to introduce the CD-ROM books as new additions to the establishedclassroom library, a use congruent with her normal practice of surrounding the chil-dren with literature: narratives, non-narratives and poetry. However, instead oftreating the CD-ROM books as a distinct type of literature she saw them as a moretraditional form, i.e. the hard-copy storybook.

There were two CD-ROM-equipped Macintosh LC 575 computers in the classroom inaddition to three computers that did not have CD-ROM drives. Jacqueline had accessto 45 CD-ROM books to use at her discretion, most of which were produced by twocompanies: Broderbund (Living Books) and Discis Knowledge Research (DiscisBooks). CD-ROM books from other companies were available as well. The booksrepresented various genres, such as narratives, poems and non-narrative texts.

Before students read a particular CD-ROM book, the teacher presented its counterparthard-cover version by reading it aloud to the entire class. After establishing theconnection between the book’s hard-copy version and the software, the hard-coverversion was placed on the chalk ledge located at the front of the class and announcedthat it had become part of the classroom library. Jacqueline asked for the hard-coverversion of each CD-ROM program because she wanted the students to take the hard-cover versions of the CD-ROM books home at the end of the day. She said CD-ROMbooks were ideal because they were like the types of books used by students forindependent reading and reading with parents or partners, for example, picture bookswritten by familiar authors, which provided an ‘easy transition’ for students fromreading the hard-cover books of the classroom library to those on CD-ROM. Authorssuch as Robert Munsch and Mercer Mayer, who were represented in both the LivingBooks and the Discis narratives, were familiar and favoured authors of the students.Jacqueline read aloud to the students at least once or twice daily from narratives, non-narratives and poetry. Students were constantly exposed to a variety of books, and theCD-ROM books could be considered one type of that variety. Although Jacqueline readaloud to the class, students also read to each other. For example, Tamara, an advancedreader and writer, often read selfcreated plays to the class, while students such asSonya and Miriam sometimes shared compositions with the class.

Jacqueline considered Living Books as more appropriate for students with lowerreading levels, and Discis narratives as more challenging due to a higher instance ofdifficult vocabulary and larger amounts of print per page. She thought Living Booksideal for captivating hesitant readers and encouraging them to read. The Living Bookswere introduced while the class sat on a carpet, and students laughed as Jacquelinedemonstrated the many hot-spots that triggered humorous animation; however, theywere not treated as part of the established reading curriculum. Rather, they wereplaced on a shelf in the classroom and used by students who stayed in at recess,signed up for computer time at lunch, or who were waiting for buses after school.Although they became the books of choice by students, Jacqueline did not integratethem into the daily reading program, nor did she organize classwide activities aroundthem.

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We were surprised by this lack of use considering her initial opinion that the LivingBooks were ideal for many of her students, especially weaker and unmotivated readers.Jacqueline described the Living Books as entertaining and enjoyable for the students;however, she did not pursue them as what we would term ‘academic tools’. Shequestioned the books’ academic value due to the emphasis placed both by thepublisherand the students on the animated hot-spots. Incontrast, the Discisnarrativeswere integrated into the curriculum as books used for independent reading. Jacquelinesaw the Discis books, with their many assistance features, as complementary tothe independent reading approach she used with the Scholastic Three I’s program.

During each reading period, two different pairs of students read from a choice of Discisbooks and then answered follow-up sheets provided by the publisher. Almost everyweek, Jacqueline introduced a new Discis book to the students and each new book wasplaced on a pile beside the computers. The hard-copy versions of these CD-ROMbooks were placed on the chalk ledge for students’ perusal and to help them completethe follow-up activities, which were completed as seat work. Students could choosebooks just as they could in the Three I’s program. Jacqueline said that the subjects ofthe books did not have to be relevant to any particular theme, topic, or reading level;they simply had to provide choice as in the Three I’s program.

Students had their own ideas about these books. Although Discis narratives allowedreaders to activate or cease narration, Living Books required the entire book to beread-aloud. Students were required to sit patiently and wait for each page to be readbefore they could play with the animation, their prime interest. Rather than listen andappreciate the literature, students became impatient for the narration to finish. Alisonsaid, while waiting anxiously to begin playing with the animation hot-spots, ‘How canwe shut this [reading] off?’

Students were paired to read both the Discis narratives and non-narratives accordingto reader level (high with low), friendship and gender. Rather than co-operate,students struggled for possession of the mouse, and thus control of how the Discisbooks would be read. Regardless of the grouping pattern, one student tended tomonopolize the mouse. Derrick, for example, a popular student, took control from hispartner. Even among friends, those who could move faster, talk louder or be moreinsistent tended to gain control. There were even instances that amounted to minorpushing or tricking to gain control of the book features.

Teachers and students thus gravitated to features of the CD-ROM books that suitedthem. The teacher used the books as sources of information students could use toanswer questions of relatively simple recall; students, on the other hand, were eager toexplore the ‘wilder’ elements of the media. What do these briefly described ‘vignettes’tell us about how new media are taken up in the classroom?

Features of technology/features of classrooms

CD-ROM talking books offer many options, and teachers may be lured into envision-ing roles for these features that are not obtainable given the realities of the class-

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room. In the following analysis, we consider how classroom practices interactedwith technological features. Jacqueline’s initial plans for CD-ROM books and hersubsequent action may have been based more on a cursory examination of the fea-tures, prompted by our asking about her plans, than a long term consideration ofhow the books would fit into the curriculum. Jacqueline knew about the features ofthe program, but she had little time to think reflectively about how these featurescould be used. She also had little time to reflect on the general place of CD-ROMbooks in the curriculum. Thus, although one must be careful not to blame theteacher for not carrying through with first intentions, it is instructive to examineher intentions and the actual practice.

Promoting higher order thinking

Although Jacqueline used the CD-ROM books to support the existing word attackand vocabulary building programme, some of the Discis follow-up sheets led to newactivities. The majority of follow-up questions given by the Three I’s program werefactual, but the follow-up activities accompanying the Discis narratives involvedsuch activities as asking students to describe and list attributes of the characters ofa story, place events in chronological order, and draw pictures relating to events inthe story. This type of text analysis was not what students normally did. It isinstructive to examine Jacqueline’s development of her own follow-up sheets forthe Discis non-narratives, which were used most frequently as a part of thematicstudy. The Discis non-narratives were not accompanied by reproducible follow-upsheets so Jacqueline constructed her own questions. However, rather than includethe probing types of questions found in the Discis activity sheets, she reverted toher normal format where the questions were entirely factual in nature. Apparently,the new directions forged by the activities accompanying the talking books did notseem to inform other, seemingly similar, activities.

Individualizing instruction

One unrealized goal was the planned use of the recall list. To individualize instruc-tion she kept a record of every word a child accessed while reading a story. Jacque-line believed this feature could benefit her in helping teach students difficult words.Furthermore, she thought it would be a useful tool to measure growth. Initially, sheplanned to construct vocabulary flash cards from students’ recall lists for follow-updrill. In addition, she planned to include the lists in students’ reading folders thatwere sent home for practice with parents. She also thought that words appearingfrequently could be using for spelling lists and tests based on common needs.

This initial excitement did not translate into practice as the recall lists were saved onlyafter the first book, Scary Poems for Rotten Kids, was introduced. What could accountfor this rapid departure from the original plan? First, the recall list is readily availableas the computer does all the work; however, it is the teacher who must print the list,and because the computers were not linked directly to printers, time and effort wererequired to save the lists on the hard drive and, consequently, to produce thenecessary lists. Second, the recall list is useful only if something is done with it. The

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individualized, activity-based type of instruction Jacqueline planned takes time andeffort. Jacqueline’s classroom was busy not only with learning but with all the otheractivities that characterize the real world of schools. To realize the value of the recalllist, Jacqueline might have been required to abandon an established curriculumactivity, or she would need extra preparation time to extract the words from the listand create flash cards.

Initially, Jacqueline was excited about the subject matter of the Discis books; she listedthemes where she thought they would fit. She also talked about organizing a unit aboutfairy tales so that she could incorporate Cinderella and The Paper Bag Princess as wellas a unit about fables using the Discis book Aesop’s Fables as the main resource.Jacqueline also said the Discis narratives would fit into her regular curriculum asoptions for independent reading, not in relation to theme work.

Nevertheless, she expressed an eagerness to organize and introduce new themes intoher curriculum for the purposes of integrating the relevant Discis titles; however,despite the original goals, the proposed themes did not materialize. Theme work was acommon instructional form in Jacqueline’s class, and other themes, used in the past,were carried out during the investigation. During the study we asked Jacqueline aboutthe intention to integrate the Discis Books into new themes, and she offered a nowfamiliar rationale as to why the goal was not realized, i.e. time.

Integration of computer learning

Jacqueline said she frequently took advantage of special situations and events, of-ten on short notice, to provide unique learning experiences for the children. Exam-ples included a visit from a Zambian educator and an art contest. Her normalpractice was to include all children when these special projects were carried out. InNovember, a teacher from Zambia visited Jacqueline’s classroom to talk aboutschool systems in Africa. To prepare for the visit, Jacqueline conducted a brain-storming session with the students where she asked them to devise questions theywanted to ask the visitor. In addition, students looked up Zambia in a large atlasand talked about characteristics of Africa and aspects of African life. Jacqueline kepttwo pairs of children on the CD-ROM computers while the discussion was takingplace, and the books had nothing to do with the topic. Thus, four students did notparticipate in the brainstorming or the geography discussion because they werereading a Discis narrative. The narrative was not integrated into the on-going workof the classroom at that point.

On another occasion, Jacqueline entered the class in a drawing contest sponsored bya popular breakfast cereal. Each student created an illustration, and the drawingswere submitted as a class. Because this was considered a classwide activity,Jacqueline put aside an entire period for students to draw and colour their entries;they were allowed to talk, listen to music and compare their work. Although themajority were drawing for the contest, four students read CD-ROM books and weretold to work on their entries in their own time. Again, Jacqueline did not excuse thestudents working on CD-ROM books to allow them to participate in this activity.

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This apparent belief that ‘the computers must be employed at all costs’ was seen inother contexts. In one case, all centre activities, except the CD-ROM centre, werecancelled so the children could work on a special project. In another instance, whilemost of the class worked on spelling, four students worked on CD-ROM non-narrativeactivities at the computer centre. The above examples suggest to us that Jacquelineallowed these books to take on a larger role by giving them more ‘personality’ withinher classroom than other, more traditional, materials. The computer work tookpriority in some cases, leaving it isolated from other classroom activities.

One possible reason for this usurping of power may be attributed to the researchers’presence. Jacqueline knew the purposes of the study, and she may have felt anobligation to use the technology as often as possible; however, throughout theinvestigation Jacqueline said that our presence did not influence her behaviour.Another reason may be that parents, guests and other teachers frequently visited theroom, and the CD-ROM books became a focus of interest and discussion. Jacqueline’sexplanation was that she wanted the children to have as much opportunity toexperience the books as possible within the study’s time frame. This reason providedthe basis for the paired reading grouping pattern and, perhaps, influenced her actionof having students read the CD-ROM books as much as possible. However, suchactivity still suggests a role given to the books that was not given to other tools forfostering literacy and learning. Several unique activities arose during the study, someof which were mentioned earlier in this section. Yet, some students missed thembecause they were reading the CD-ROM books. Thus, she appeared, in some instances,to be adapting teaching strategies and routines to the technology.

CONCLUSIONS

How are we to gauge our observations of the teacher’s and children’s use of the CD-ROM talking books placed in the classroom? A sceptic or pessimist might wish toscourge the teacher for her lack of consistency, inability to act upon her intentionsand unwillingness to see problems with the technology. An advocate of technologymight see her actions as ground-breaking, and view her as a leader in the vanguardof educators making technology an important tool in fostering literacy and learning.We find neither extreme position congruent with our findings. In our view, Jacque-line is an honest worker in the vineyard, attempting to make effective use of a newmedium.

Our study does demonstrate the types of difficulties a teacher may face whenimplementing new information technology. Sometimes, as we have seen, theseproblems go unrecognized or unacknowledged. Teachers are busy professionals, andmodifying an existing curriculum is not an easy task to accommodate. In this instance,the teacher decided that the CD-ROM books would be used as a normal aspect ofteaching and learning. Yet, at other times, they were privileged. The opportunity toindividualize was not taken up; yet, computer time was freely given even when thatmeant isolating students from other opportunities.

What can we say about the influence of the computer on practice? We saw new skills

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and instructional patterns that were fostered by the CD-ROM books, but whetherthese modifications, on balance, were positive is uncertain. On the one hand, studentswere exposed to new learning because of the technology, as we saw, when studentslearned the Cinquain pattern so they could create a poem of their own. On the otherhand, even though the Discis narratives stressed higher level comprehensionactivities, such as inferencing, sequencing and identifying character traits, theteacher used a traditional questioning format when creating her own follow-upactivities for Discis non-narratives.

Although teachers may plan to use technology in one manner, children may frustratethese ideas through their actions. In this study, we saw the admirable notion of co-operative learning truncated not because of the children’s natures as they had shownco-operative capacities in numerous other instances, but because the pairing patternswere not congruent with the structure and embedded features of the software.Educators and developers who believe that technology automatically fosters effectivelearning styles and instructional patterns need to think seriously about such findings.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors are grateful for the financial support provided by The Spencer Founda-tion (Chicago, Illinois) in carrying out this study. The authors appreciate the CD-ROM talking books provided for the study by the following publishers: Living Books(Random House/Broderbund), Discis Knowledge Research, Interactive Media Cor-poration and Scholastic Canada.

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