Are Highlighters the Answer?
reading in a new age
Oh, hi there! Guess what? Since writing this, I have migrated from Substack. You can see why here. Want to keep up with my work? Come subscribe at my new home!
Still want to read? Carry on ……
Three spontaneous Friday newsletters in a row ~ is this a trend? Will it continue? Who knows! I just know that there are no rules and I’m having fun with less structured and planned writing at times. All other pieces are planned and pondered and curated and these …. aren’t.
Yesterday, when I sent
the latest edition of 1because I knew it would be right up her alley, I said I wouldn’t write about it. But … here I am.One of the things that puts me off writing about the state of reading and writing education is that as a professional in the field, it sometimes feels like I have to have something *bigger* to say, with so many sources and proof and *an answer*. Honestly, that’s not what I’m here for, and also don’t have capacity for. Although this may surprise you, this publication is not a scholarly journal, and need not act as such.
includes a piece about the use of AI in reading (not writing), and I haven’t stopped thinking about it yet. I am not linking to the article ~ you need to go read every single word of what says and every word of his articles this week!
Okay, I am assuming you have now read all of it, and have also subscribed to , which is guaranteed to make you smarter.
With annotation long being a darling in the BookTok and BookTube (is that how we say it?) worlds, 8th graders annotating sexy books, and AI now able to do all of our reading for us …
Is annotating the answer (again)? Is this the definitive way to AI-proof student reading?
With tools being sold to teachers with the promise of being able to do their grading and give writing feedback for them, requiring annotation is a way of students showing their work that is also AI-proof for teachers2. Is that a benefit? Killing innovation?
One of my first-ever newsletters here back in 2023 was about AI in education and it’s hilarious how archaic that seems now.
I promise that I have no definitive or research-based answers. And forced annotation of *all* reading is a certain way to kill a love of reading, so please please please let’s not go there.
But it seems like perhaps, just maybe, buying mass amounts of highlighters and sticky tabs (or even just pens) could ensure assigned reading is done by human brains instead of computers?
Is ensuring reading is done by brains instead of computers even our goal? Does it matter?
No one in education can tell you the future. No one can or should have a definitive answer. What I know for sure is that anyone who says they do, isn’t thinking deeply enough.
See you tomorrow!
XO,
Katy
and also emailed it to a best friend at work with the subject line “Reading Homework” because I’m that kind of friend
HT to
for this link and for writing it! Also, my district purchased a tool for both staff and student AI use, and I’m one of the people in charge of rolling it out. I am also on a committee about teaching annotation. My life is complicated. My brain is fighting with itself.
As a former teacher of High school student I always found it helpful to provide students with brand new materials to use and found it to motivate them to do what was required. Also, breaking things down into smaller tasks or reviewing an assignment as a group ensured the students were participating. I’m not sure where the topic of AI fits in here unless you are talking about writing.
Actually I need to explore the ramifications of AI.
Katy what are your feelings about AI? I’ve only heard minimal discussion and it was negative.
In middle school, I had to take a study skills class. Is this still part of today's curriculum? Maybe we need more of those to teach kids how to approach a text and take notes. Even when I was in college I had a few professors note that "none of you know how to write a research paper" or implemented pop quizzes when it was obvious no one read the material before coming to lecture. I'm probably one of the rare students that actually did my college reading. I used a highlighter and pencil to do my own version of Cornell notetaking in a book.