WHEN IS A BOOK NOT A BOOK?

ETL533 – Literature in Digital Environments – Assessment 1

 

 

Reading for me has always been an enjoyable adventure and becoming a teacher meant engaging children in text through modelled reading. Digital technology was a thing of the future then and big books were the tools to do this.

University began with a typewriter, then progressed to a desktop computer in my first year, with dial-up internet not quite off its feet. Microsoft Encarta ’95 was included in the package and brought a whole new meaning to encyclopaedias, with moving pictures, music clips, videos, and other interactive content. A massive leap from my prized Encyclopedia Britannica set!

Uni introduced me to HyperStudio and Myst, both multimedia software products that allowed interactivity and storytelling using HyperCard as a basis (think of a stripped-back version of Microsoft PowerPoint). In HyperStudio, I created an interactive text based on the lifecycle of a butterfly. We were also introduced to the interactive world of Myst. This graphic adventure began by reading a digital book and then navigating through the world/island by solving various clues and puzzles to unlock the next “Age” and the next part of the story. Rettberg (2012) described this as, playing with technology, and not necessarily where authorship is the focus.

Fast forward to the beginning of my teaching career and I welcomed Living Books into my classroom. The children loved the interactive read-along books and the various clickable images that made sounds and added to the characterisation, but did not necessarily add to the story. So, can reading include graphics, sounds, and motion or only text (Lamb, 2011)?

Though it’s difficult to determine the beginning of electronic literature (Rettberg, 2012), the pace is hard to keep up with and has become a daily source of engagement with texts for most educators. Although there is no single eBook file that is downloadable to all devices the pros seem to outweigh the cons according to Sadokierski (2013).

Lamb (2011) goes on to say that redefining reading is necessary for the digital age, where reading could be now defined as “the process of constructing meaning from symbols” and furthermore, a book as “a published collection of related pages or screens” (Lamb, 2011, p.2).

In the 2011 TED talk by Joe Sabia, he notes that the way stories are told continues to be reinvented. Though how our brain responds differently to onscreen books compared to paper books (Jabr, 2013). Leu et al (2015) say that reading online prepares students for life in today’s world, though many lack the skills to do so and need to be taught to navigate online texts to ensure comprehension.

Yokota and Teale (2014) found that digital formats have moved on from just a novelty and both print and digital books play a role in the primary school classroom. Careful selection of digital texts is required, just like we do when looking for quality print-based texts. Consideration of the criteria for selection is crucial to ensure it is of benefit to the learner and not just a “window dressing” (Yokota & Teale, 2014, p.585) to ensure that readers are developing through engaging and motivating context.

With the flood of digital texts in vast forms, McGeehan et al.’s (2018) research confirmed that as digital technology is being used more and more in schools, educators seek to use criteria to select quality texts, from trusted sources to ensure a rich reading experience with the end goal of creating more motivated readers with deeper conceptual knowledge.

 

References

Jabr, F. (2013). The reading brain in the digital age: The science of paper versus screens. Scientific American, April 11. Retrieved from http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/reading-paper-screens/

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

Leu, D. J, Forzani, E., Timbrell, N., & Maykel, C. (2015). Seeing the forest, not the trees: Essential technologies for literacy in the primary-grade and upper elementary-grade classroom. Reading Teacher, 69(2), 139-145

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

Rettberg, J. W. (2012). Electronic literature seen from a distance: The beginnings of a field. Retrieved from http://www.dichtung-digital.org/2012/41/walker-rettberg.htm

Sabia, J (2011, May) The technology of storytelling (TED | 3:45 mins) | https://www.ted.com/talks/joe_sabia_the_technology_of_storytelling

Sadokierski, Z. (2013, November 12). What is a book in the digital age? [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://theconversation.com/what-is-a-book-in-the-digital-age-19071

Yokota, J. & Teale, W. H. (2014). Picture books and the digital world: educators making informed choices. The Reading Teacher, 34(6). http://www.academia.edu/3886534/Picture_Books_and_the_Digital_World_Educators_Making_Informed_Choices