In the article, one school reading specialist was so excited by a presentation by Tumblebooks that could possibly help her reluctant readers that she "got chills" at the prospect of using this technology to help her students. Once the program was implemented, these students jumped 23% higher than those in the non-Tumblebooks group. A number of librarians seemed to advocate a mix of print and digital books for children, and the article suggested that just as emergent readers are not a one-size-fits-all group, "the same could probably be said of ebooks and how they should be used."
On the parent/caregiver end, this article in the New York Times suggests that many still prefer print books for children, and even if parents/caregivers are avid ebook readers themselves, many prefer the experience of reading a physical book with their child. They cite the immediate, connected experience of reading a print book, together with the fear that reading a book on a shiny gadget might distract from the overall reading experience.
A recent study compared the interactions of parents reading with preschool children with a print book and then either an "enhanced" ebook that included features such as games and videos, or a "basic" ebook that only had narration and features such as highlighting text. The results indicated that children had "more non-content related interaction (e.g. Don't touch that)" with the enhanced ebooks, which might lead to less content recall.
It seems like there is a lot of potential for ebooks to help children learn to read, as the School Library Journal article points out, but it also seems that there is a fine line in ebooks for children in terms of what constitutes a book that can help children learn to read, and what is more of a game rather than a book.
It seems like there is a lot of potential for ebooks to help children learn to read, as the School Library Journal article points out, but it also seems that there is a fine line in ebooks for children in terms of what constitutes a book that can help children learn to read, and what is more of a game rather than a book.
Anne, your post reminded me of an NPR story on children's book apps. In it, children's librarian Elizabeth Bird is quoted as saying, "not all apps are equal... but the ones that get it right can take a book to a whole new level." Though this piece is over a year old now, its point about the importance of evaluation is still relevant today. I think it's a good reminder not to pass a blanket judgement on ebooks. They are an evolving technology with a lot of potential to engage children, as long as the content is not obscured by "bells and whistles" and parents/teachers don't let a machine take their place in the reading process.
ReplyDelete"Children's Book Apps: A New World of Learning"-- http://www.npr.org/2011/03/28/134663712/childrens-book-apps-a-new-world-of-learning
Thank you for the links to the articles on ebooks. I had read a couple of articles on the subject this week and was hoping to search out a couple of more--you did that for me. :)!
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