What collaborative process can teachers offer in order to stimulate their students' reading of and writing on Shakespeare's plays? How can new technologies contribute to facilitating the classroom experience? The eZoomBook (eZB) template was designed for teachers to create and share multi-level digital books called "eZoomBooks" that allow readers to access enriched versions of the original, organized according to different tabs related to places mentioned in the original text. A zooming in and out function enables the readers of the eZoomBooks to navigate freely between the original and the enriched tabulated versions. This paper focuses on a pilot study of the methodology using a simplified version of the template. The targeted learners were English as a Second Language engineering students. Our objective is to show that the eZB framework and pedagogical applications are especially appropriate in making a difficult subject easier to teach (giving and correcting group assignments) and learn by providing learners an innovative and motivating approach to reading literature.

No abstract

Abstract

This article is a comparative study of five pedagogical experiments that involved the use of the digital eZoomBook tool. An “eZoomBook” is a customized multi-level document incorporating links among the different layers that are accessible by tabs in a menu. eZoomBooks include a zooming in and out function allowing readers to navigate easily among the different layers. Each of the five experiments is examined in light of six classroom variables. We aim to demonstrate that the eZoomBook editor facilitates a blended, eclectic approach adaptable to a variety of pedagogical contexts and highly motivating for its users.