Review 2: Enhanced Book from Vooks
Title: Unicorn (and Horse) by David W. Miles, illustrated by Hollie Mengert
Hirtzel, R. (2019). Unicorn (and Horse) [Video]. Vooks. https://watch.vooks.com/be-kind/videos/unicorn-and-horse
For the purpose of this review, an enhanced book was chosen from the website Vooks. Vooks is an ad-free streaming service that brings known storybooks to life using the synergy of animation, narration, sound effects and music. This enhanced book was chosen to review for its animation, audio and visual content and to examine comparisons to the linear e-book version and the print version. This digital mode was found to differ greatly from the previously examined print and e-book versions. So, this review will evaluate the digital criteria first before examining where it could fit into educational contexts and curriculum.
In terms of accessibility, Vooks is free to access for 1-year by educators using a school email account, but only for a limited time. For families, Vooks has a free trial for 1 month and following this a cost is incurred of $4.99 per month or $49.99 with 2 months free for a year subscription (Jenkins, 2019). Similar to Epic, a cost is incurred by families and with acknowledgement to this, it may be more likely to be used in school settings depending upon socio-economic status.
First, the biggest stand-out difference of this digital version of the literature is that the illustrations are added onto and become animated graphics. It uses the same illustrations and font as the traditional print book, but every page is animated to look like a seamless video of the book. This animation and amplification of the literature could engage the digital native (James & De Kock, 2013).
This enhanced book combines a synergy of audio effects to accompany the visual such as music, voice over narration of the story and also sound effects, which may have an immersive effect to the reader. The sound effects are a big component of this immersive experience, as it is almost every page that has some sort of animal, rain or vehicle sounds. The music also changes to be in sync with the mood of the storyline. For example, when Unicorn is captured by the villains the music changes to become darker and mysterious. These additions integrate well and can even highlight the storyline (Walsh, 2013).
The font highlights as the narrator reads a word aloud. The narrator also reads with a lively and captivating voice and this could teach young readers about the importance of intonation. Biancarosa and Griffiths (2012) affirm that this can have positive implications for early readers and EAL students as studies have indicated that “presenting children’s books on devices with multimedia features, such as the text being read aloud expressively with simultaneous highlighting of the words being read, helps to improve children’s focus on word recognition, develop their vocabulary and support second-language learners success in fluency” (p. 144).
An issue with this digital form is that the reader is passive. The only interaction with the text is when the user by clicks to play, pause or scroll through the video. This form of the literature is therefore lacking an important social component and reading experience that you get with a traditional print picture book read together with children and parents (Yokota & Teale, 2014). While read aloud and highlighted text features of digital texts can be helpful, this can also take away the readers freedom of choice as to where their attention is spent and attention goes to “where the director wanted it to go” (Yokota & Teale, 2014, p. 579).
This form of the text could align with the “examining literature content description”, where students “discuss features of plot, character and setting in different types of literature and explore some features of characters in different texts” (Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority, (n.d.-b). As stated by Walsh (2013) the visual effects on screen and audio effects could aid learners in forming their understanding of the characteristics of traditional narratives. Furthermore, this enhanced book could be used for individual students who are early readers, EAL learners or learners who could benefit from the use of extra audio-visual aspects to support their reading development.
References
Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority. (n.d.-b). English. https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/english/
Biancarosa, G., & Griffiths, G. G. (2012). Technology tools to support reading in the digital age. The Future of Children. 22(2). 139-160. https://muse-jhu-edu.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/article/508199
James, R., & De Kock, L. (2013). The digital David and the Gutenberg goliath: the rise of the ‘enhanced’ e-book. English Academy Review, 30(1), pp. 107-123. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10131752.2013.783394
Jenkins, J. (2019, May 28). Free for Teachers. Vooks. https://www.vooks.com/blog/2019/5/28/free-for-teachers
Walsh, M. (2013). Literature in a digital environment. In L. McDonald (Ed.), A literature companion for teachers. (pp. 181-194). Primary English Teaching Association Australia (PETAA). https://doms.csu.edu.au/csu/file/863c5c8d-9f3f-439f-a7e3-2c2c67ddbfa8/1/ALiteratureCompanionforTeachers.pdf
Yokota, J., & Teale, W. H. (2014). Picture books and the digital world: Educators making informed choices. The Reading Teacher, 67(8), 577-585. http://doi:10.1002/trtr.1262