Before starting INF533 my thoughts on what digital literature actually is were very limited. I assumed digital literature was primarily electronic books (eBooks) or audiobooks. But now slowly, my mind is opening to other possibilities. In my readings of modules and one and two, I realise it is in fact not as simple as what I thought.
At this point, I feel I should add that I primarily engage with books of the physical variety and my interaction with digital literature is limited to audiobooks. This is not because I am against eBooks, but simply because I get tired of looking at screens all day. (And audiobooks are nice to listen to on the drive home). However, as I am hoping to become a librarian after my course, I am extremely interested in the future digital literature holds for librarians and libraries.
Reading the modules so far has increased my intrigue about the possibilities for patrons to experience digital literature. It is quite common for libraries now to provide electronic materials that can be downloaded to electronic readers or tablets. The readings within the modules highlighted positives and negatives surrounding this, for instance, McGeehan et al. (2018) discuss practical facts such as that iPads and electronic tablets are cheaper than desktop computers and allows users virtually the same access to resources.
This was discussed within the context of small school budgets, which I feel is relatable to library budgets, which had seen a decrease prior to COVID1-19. With a smaller budget it may be beneficial to purchase these smaller devices for younger patrons to support their learning and it may even increase their interaction with libraries.
In reading through modules one and two, I have come to understand that current and emerging technologies are used as tools to support learning and some of the ways in which this is achieved. I further learned that parents of children are using digital literature from early childhood in order to support learning (Neumann et al., 2016). Currently eBooks provide interaction with readers, such as by allowing for read alouds or highlighting words as the text is narrated to children (Neumann et al., 2016). Using these tools in a learning environment or in a library can be beneficial to children’s development and their digital literacy skills can be developed early on.
I was excited to learn about augmented reality (AR) incorporation in the educational realm. The results of the study conducted by Pan et al. (2021) with pre-kindergarten students were interesting as it relied on the student wanting to engage with the resource. This study prompted me to do some further investigating with regard to use and if Australia was partaking in this. I was pleasantly surprised to find an NSW Government (2021) page discussing the use of AR for STEM subjects and in school libraries to support learning.
As mentioned earlier, I primarily read physical books but after reading Jabr’s (2013) article, specifically about the detail’s engineers, designers and user-interface experts have put in to ensure an electronic book is as pleasurable as a paper one, I am considering giving it a go.
References:
Jabr, F. (2013). The Reading Brain in the Digital Age: The Science of Paper versus Screens. Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/reading-paper-screens/
McGeehan, C., Chambers, S., & Nowakowski, J. (2018). Just Because It’s Digital, Doesn’t Mean It’s Good: Evaluating Digital Picture Books. Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education, 34(2), 58–70. https://doi.org/10.1080/21532974.2017.1399488
Neumann, M. M., Finger, G., & Neumann, D. L. (2016). A Conceptual Framework for Emergent Digital Literacy. Early Childhood Education Journal, 45(4), 471–479. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-016-0792-z
NSW Government. (2021). Getting real: Learning with (and about) augmented reality. Getting Real: Learning with (and about) Augmented Reality. https://education.nsw.gov.au/teaching-and-learning/professional-learning/scan/past-issues/vol-39-2020/getting-real–learning-with–and-about–augmented-reality
Pan, Z., López, M. F., Li, C., & Liu, M. (2021). Introducing augmented reality in early childhood literacy learning. Research in Learning Technology, 29. https://doi.org/10.25304/rlt.v29.2539
Thank you for your honest perspectives here, Akansha. It seems were are living in transitional and transformational times, and the role of the librarian is certainly one that continues to evolve! I hope you find as the subject goes on that your understanding of digital literature expands, and your enjoyment in this space does too 🙂
Please ensure you meet assessment deadlines – this isn’t just an academic requirement, but an important workplace skill as well.
Don’t be afraid to utilise the functionality of the Thinkspace environment to hyperlink and embed material (but of course, don’t forget to reference these, too!), and to make use of your tags for better searchability. I would also recommend setting up categories for each subject, which makes it easier to find all your posts (categories and tags have two different functions).
Please be careful with your references – the augmented reality piece from Scan is not at all correctly attributed, with even the URL being incorrect (and given that the citation is provided at the bottom of the article, that’s particularly disappointing!). There are also several issues with incorrect title capitalisation in your end references, and it is recommended that you include page/para details for in-text citations, even when paraphrasing – make sure you refer to the CSU APA 7th guides to avoid losing unnecessary marks.
Cheers
Tehani