In my teaching I use a combination of print and digital texts as part of my learning activities. This includes for example, the use of texts within the Reading Eggs program, the app Epic! and video based literature such as Book Box Library. In particular, the app version of ‘The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore’ by William Joyce stands out, in my mind, as a complementary adaption of the print version to digital. In discussions with other teachers I found they also felt that the adaption was engaging for their students and one where the digital elements not only supported the story but enhanced the learning experience for the students. This insight was a surprise to me as I had never connected the quality of the digital components of online literature beyond the fact that it was useful for certain teaching and learning intentions. The realisation that the digital components might distract from the story as Dobler (2013) suggests is something that will be beneficial in my teaching practice when evaluating the relevance of the complementary nature of digital and printed text to support student learning outcomes. This is not a solitary opinion. McGeehan, Chambers and Nowakowski (2018) also believe that the digital elements of digital literature need to support the reader’s literacy experience. From a professional development perspective, the readings in module 1 of ETL533 have me questioning the types of digital texts I should be choosing to better support my developing readers who might require increased guidance and context.

Quality digital elements are important, but in reality, what does this mean? Lamb (2011) identifies five types of digital literature; eBooks, enhanced eBooks, interactive storybooks, reference databases, hypertexts and interactive fiction, and transmedia storytelling. Each of these types of digital texts have tools that aid the reader to have meaningful interactions with the text such as; highlighting, dictionaries for establishing meaning, embedded media and web links, audio, and words that are highlighted and fade as they are read (Lamb, 2011). The presence of such digital elements doesn’t necessarily relate to, or add to, the quality of the digital literature as Yokota and Teale’s (2014) evaluation of the app version of ‘The Tale of Peter Rabbit’ by Beatrix Potter found. Their review suggests that although the app had many good reviews it contained animation, in parts, that had little to do with enhancing the reader’s understanding or appreciation of the story (Yokota and Teale, 2014). While entertaining and engaging such animations have the potential to distract the student from the actual learning experience.

My readings have shown that when digital elements are included in a text in a considered way with clear purpose then the quality of the learning outcome is enhanced. However, with the increased proliferation of digital texts and ability for anyone to publish their own digital text without the evaluation processes (Walsh, 2013) that publishers, editors and professional reviewers undertake for printed text, means that educators and teachers, like myself, need to be more aware and critical about what constitutes quality digital literature and evaluate the appropriateness of such texts. This needs to be combined with passing on such skills to students so they can make informed choices about their own digital text selections as they journey through their educational studies.

References

Dobler, E. (2013). Looking beyond the screen: Evaluating the quality of digital books. Reading Today, 30(5), 20-21. https://web-p-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=1b2a8f5e-8ca0-46aa-b202-52209b34b771%40redis

Lamb, A. (2011). Reading redefined for a transmedia universe. Learning and Leading with Technology, 39(3), 12-17. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.csu.edu.au/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=67371172&site=ehost-live

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

Walsh, M. (2013). Literature in a digital environment (Ch. 13). In L. McDonald (Ed.), A literature companion for teachers. Marrickville, NSW: Primary English Teaching Association Australia (PETAA).

Yokota, J. & Teale, W. H. (2014). Picture books and the digital world: Educators making informed choices. The Reading Teacher, 34(6). https://doi.org/10.1002/trtr.1262