Beyond the Book Report: Better Book Practices in the Digital Age

This is a post against that oh-so-common school assignment, the book report, and an argument in favor of better book-reading practices now available to us. What's more, I'm going to argue against the digital book report, that half-breed that gets posted into a learning management system (LMS) or onto a blog, but is essentially no different from a paper book report turned into a teacher in the 1950s.

In the digital age, there is no excuse for book reports (either from teachers or students). Books --and our individual and communal experience with them -- are just too important, and the book report is more likely to kill engagement with that book than it is to invigorate one's literary experiences. So let's be done with it, replacing it with better practices.

Why I Can't Stand Book Reports
Where is this coming from? Well, one of my students, assigned to write a book review for my Digital Culture class, dutifully posted his on his blog and then linked to it with the phrase, "Book report time!"

That really bugged me. What is this, 7th grade?

It bugged me in part because as a parent, I've suffered through many a book report my children have belabored--usually at the last minute. And as a teacher, I've suffered from reading so many superficial or tedious responses to books or other readings. But mostly, it bugged me because it meant I had failed to get across to my students the more consequential ways that books can be part of their learning nowadays. So, I'm going to try to fix that, and I'm going to do so by arguing against the book report genre.

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Flashy Soup Can - Flickr

The Classic Book Report

1. Student reads the assigned or chosen book
2. Student writes a response that partly summarizes, partly analyzes the book (sometimes using a prompt from the teacher).
3. Student turns in book report to teacher.
4. Teacher grades book report, using it as evidence that the book has been read and its ideas understood.
5. Rinse, lather, and repeat

What is wrong with this picture -- especially given what books can be in the digital age? Let's take a look.

Give me a purpose for learning new media!

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by godserv (Flickr)

Do you have a purpose for learning and using the new media?

Recently I asked a student in my Digital Culture class what she hoped to get out of it. Other students have said they hope to get more proficient at blogging or becoming more informed about digital issues. But she surprised me. In fact, she seemed to push back a bit. Why should I learn yet another thing to do online when I already waste enough time there?

Wow. That really made me think twice about asking my students to learn another social network, to blog, and to learn the other skills I've listed in my expectations regarding digital literacy. I don't want my students to waste time or overdo it with media and technology. I worry all the time about my own children becoming cyberkids. Just 10 minutes ago I made my 14 year-old son pause from playing his favorite online game ("Realm of the Mad God") to be sure he'd practiced his cello and read from the scriptures before getting caught up in something less important.

"I need a purpose," my student told me. She didn't want another tool necessarily; she wanted a good reason to be using these new media at all. This is a totally fair response, and a thoughtful one. And I've been thinking about it.

Here are some purposes for learning to use new media as I am requiring: