DESCRIBER:
Video clip of Grace Meo being interviewed.

GRACE:
One advantage of digital text over printed text is that students can learn the same subjects through multiple levels of reading. In her work with students for whom English is a second language, Angie Christiansen uses an astronomy Web site that has multiple reading levels.

DESCRIBER:
Video clip of Angie Christiansen being interviewed.

ANGIE:
As I looked at the site, I started thinking of some of the possibilities that the students might have. One of the wonderful features about this, about Windows to the Universe is that,

DESCRIBER:
A screen shot from the web site of Windows to the Universe is displayed. The screen shot shows a photograph of two young smiling students with the title "Kid's Space". There are three buttons across the top offering options for beginner, intermediate and advanced. There also are seven icons in a column down the right of the screen shot with links to various parts of the site.

ANGIE:
well actually both Windows to the Universe and the Aeronautics Internet Textbook.

DESCRIBER:
A screen shot from the web site of The K-8 Aeronautics Internet Textbook is displayed. The title of the web site is displayed in the center of the screen shot surrounded by 10 icons and links to content within the web site.

ANGIE:
Both of these sites have the capability of having a beginning, intermediate and advanced level of text

DESCRIBER:
Return to video of Angie.

ANGIE:
which is critical to ESL students. The lower level kids need to be able to be involved in the same content but can’t usually grasp the texts that are normally available to them. And so I thought, wouldn’t this be a great way for them to, like, for example, each one of the students chose a planet

DESCRIBER:
Screen shot from Windows to the Universe showing photograhs of nine planets with links.

ANGIE:
that they wanted to study and do some research with and I had them go to this site and then

DESCRIBER:
Screen shot from Windows to the Universe with the title "Saturn's Rings" showing a photograph of Saturn and some text. Along the top of the screen shot the beginner button is highlighted in red.

ANGIE:
they would try the beginning level and if they felt like they were comfortable with the beginning level I’d say, "Now why don’t you try the intermediate level."

DESCRIBER:
Return to video of Angie.

ANGIE:
And because they’d had the background of the beginning level, it made the intermediate level more accessible to them.