kids using ebooks

[europas_ice]

I'm curious how young you all think that kids could be using today's ebooks. Let's start the poll at first grade, though hopefully a lot of kids start reading before that. At what grade range would you get your kid an ebook reader? And which one would you get?

Let's assume you could find age appropriate material for the ebook.

[NatCh]

I'll go ahead and answer your excellent question while you're working on that poll.

Realistically, it would depend on the kid. I know some 30 year olds I wouldn't trust near anything vaguely fragile, and I have known some five year olds I wouldn't be particularly concerned about.

If I have to pick a general rule of thumb ... I'd probably say 6th grade, about 11 years old. At that point here in the States they're starting middle school and having to carry books from class to class for the first time, so it's a logical entry point. Also, I'd think a majority of 11 year olds have grasped the concept that some things are expensive and have to be treated gently.

If/as the durability of the devices goes up, then the age might drop, but then again, it might not, because I'm not sure how useful it would be before that educational stage.

[slayda]

As NatCh says, it depends on the kid & the reader. If we're talking about a $300 reader then I'd say around 14 at the youngest & with some kids not even then.

However when (not if) Matel (or similar company) comes out with an ereader, with a robust design & cheap (~$20 - $40) then probably preschool would be the best time.

[HarryT]

I don't know what these "grades" mean and neither, I'm sure, do most of the other non-US members of this site . Could you translate into a simple "age", please?

Please remember that this is a site with a world-wide readership .

[nekokami]

For those outside of the US, just at 5 or 6 to the grade number to get the typical age.

I gave my daughter her first ebook reader (eBookwise 1150) last year, when she was in 6th grade (she was 12 years old at the time), but I'd have given her one much earlier if they had been readily available. There is still quite a problem getting content, though. Most of the books she wants to read just aren't available electronically (even via "alternate" sources).

[NatCh]

First graders typically turn 7 during the course of that school year, and it increments from there (obviously) so that they're turning 18 in their Senior, or 12th grade year.

I hadn't thought of it in terms of nekokami's add 5 or 6 to the grade before, but maybe I'll be able to keep it straight now with that trick.

[sianon]

my 2 year old grand daughter plays with my Iliad (under supervision), she is curious about everything in her world and this is just another object to explore. However she does not accept that it is a book, to her books have covers and pages . But then I also allow her to play with my digital camera which appalls most people. She is getting a fisher price digital camera for Christmas. Seriously, kids who grow up with technology from a very early age learn to treat it with respect and make use of it very well.

Karen

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

I'd say around 10 years old would be a good age to get kids going on e-book readers. By that age (or thereabouts), they should be able to appreciate their use and take good care of them. Mind you, I also would like to see a more robust model for that age, knowing how active they tend to be.

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by europas_ice

I'm curious how young you all think that kids could be using today's ebooks. Let's start the poll at first grade, though hopefully a lot of kids start reading before that. At what grade range would you get your kid an ebook reader? And which one would you get?

Let's assume you could find age appropriate material for the ebook.

First, I'd want to get the kid reading, deliberately, for fun. An awful lot of folks never learned to view reading as anything other than a chore they had to do, and do so only when required.

The best way to do that is to set an example by reading to them, when they are still to young to do it themselves.

If you use an ebook reader when you read to them, they'll also pick up the idea that it's a tool they can use to do it. When they say "Can I try?", you can start letting them use a reader, under supervision, setting further examples of how you take care of the device.

When the kid starts making noises about having one of her own, then you start thinking about whether to get one and which to get.

How old she'll be at this point will depend on the kid.
______
Dennis

[europas_ice]

Thanks for all the ideas folks. You certainly bring up a lot of good points. I especially like the idea of reading to kids from the ebook -- that will surely get them started early.

And sorry about the confusion about the grades. I specifically didn't use terms like "elementary", "junior high", etc to avoid international confusion, but apparently I needed to go a step further.

[nekokami]

My younger daughter had already learned to enjoy reading. She wanted an ebook reader from the moment she saw me using mine while waiting for her to arrive with my husband at the restaurant we were eating at that night. The idea of "an iPod, but for books" was an instant sell. She's using my eBw 1150, now that I've got an iLiad.

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by europas_ice

Thanks for all the ideas folks. You certainly bring up a lot of good points. I especially like the idea of reading to kids from the ebook -- that will surely get them started early.

It's a 'kill two birds with one stone" move. The main purpose is to simply get the kid interested in reading, period. If it also gets her into ebook readers, so much the better.

I was at an SF convention a while back, and the talk at the dinner table turned to declining literacy. I asked "How many folks at this table have folks who read to you when you were kids?" Every hand was raised.

I contrast that with my SO's older brother. He's a voracious reader. Mom isn't. Dad came home from work and plunked himself down in front of the TV till dinner was ready. Neither read to their two sons. Guess which example the kids followed? (Older son would go into a slack jawed trance when the TV went on.)

My mother read to me as a child, and told me later I had the idea well before being able to do it myself, as I'd say "Mommy, you missed that part!" and point unerringly when she tried to skip a section to finish and get on to other chores faster. I've always read everything that didn't read me first, and I know where I got the habit.
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Dennis

[ischeriad]

I totally agree with DMcCunney, kids should like reading first.

I remember going to the library on my own (I started reading quite early) an getting the books I wanted to read and to explore what else there was.

Ebooks need too much supervision, the devices are quite delicate, the content has to be purchased etc., I think too much control of reading kids is not good.

At some point, they might want their own ebook, especially if they have seen it being used. This is the right time to consider getting them a device.

[nekokami]

I got an interesting piece of news this week. According to the test administered at school, my 13 year old daughter is now reading at an 11th grade level (usually about 17 years old in the US). The interesting part is that the same tests have pretty consistently showed her reading to be on the low side up to this year. What's the big difference? She has her own computer this year and has spent much of her time reading websites in her room.

She's also getting very interested in writing, which I'm encouraging -- she has lately been developing some quite good story ideas.

This is the same daughter who's using my eBw 1150, but I'm pretty sure she spends more time reading online. She was hoping it would be easier to transfer fanfiction to the eBw. I think I should work on setting up tools to help her do this.

[Fallen angel]

I'm pretty young to think about the age that my children will have their own ebook device, cause I'm a child myself ... I bought a Sony Reader via ebay around a month ago (I'm 15 years old). I love books and lately I had started downloading many ebooks that was impossible to read in front of a pc. Unfortunately, in my country most people don't even know what such a thing is, so it was quite difficult to convince my parents to buy one, although I was raising the amount myself quite a long time. I think that they still don't get it's a book, I get a feeling like they consider anything about electronics kinda like a waste of time.

Originally Posted by europas_ice

especially like the idea of reading to kids from the ebook

I think that I'm gonna use this technique the opposite way, so as they get used it ...