How have my views knowledge and understanding of concept and application of literary learning has developed?

 

I have always used Literary learning through picture books with my students in the primary school classroom. Whether it be to introduce a topic or to reinforce previous learning, the act of sitting down to enjoy a picture book is a practice that benefits all children. The reading and viewing of books and picture books are ways of seeing ourselves and about viewing others (Ross, 2014, p.567). Through this subject, I have gained a stronger understanding of how various types of literary works that can be “insights into the inner character” (Poulakka, 2022, p.58). This subject has reinforced that the use of pictures books across the curriculum is crucial to building perspectives through literary learning.

 

I also gained more understanding about the digital library space and use of e-books across the curriculum. Multimodal texts are about making meaning through image and language and audio (Rankine & Callow, 2017, p.46). This makes e-books very enticing to students especially when students can access accessibility features such as talk to text and audiobooks. O’Connell, Bales, & Mitchell (2015) go further to explain that digital books are so motivating that they can even increase students’ fluency and accuracy in reading, offering “an explosion of choice” (O’Connell, Bales, & Mitchell, 2015, p.196-197).

 

This made me reflect on my library and changes that would need to be made to improve the digital collection. Being a school in a low socioeconomic area, issues of access are always a concern. Will students have access when at school? Will students have access when they are at home? Will this increase the availability of books at school and will our wifi system and Library Management System cope with the activity? It is clear from the literature around digital libraries that this has to start with the collection development policy.

 

How will this inform my future practise?

 

The knowledge and understanding about e-books and digital books through this subject have been invaluable. My school library has 1% of its collection as e-books. This subject has prompted me to look into e-books and interactive books to start boosting my library’s collection.

Through my local library I have been accessing the app indyreads. This has revolutionised my access to books for study and for reading for pleasure. I agree with O’Connell, Bales, & Mitchell, (2015) when they describe the use of e-books as game changers (O’Connell, Bales, & Mitchell,, 2015, p.195). Not only are digital books more motivating to read, but they also offer me the opportunity to read anywhere, even while waiting for my morning coffee, giving me an explosion of choice (O’Connell and Michell, 2015, p.196).

 

I am motivated to implement the use of e-books in my school. I am researching the best way for this to be done to suit the educational and recreational needs of my students and staff. I will need to increase awareness of e-books and their value to my school community, embed into teaching and learning programs and promote e-books for recreational reading. I look forward to developing this exciting new chapter for my school community.

 

 

 

References:

 

 

NSW Department of Education. (2017). Guide to using picture books in Geography K-10. https://education.nsw.gov.au/content/dam/main-education/teaching-and-learning/curriculum/key-learning-areas/hsie/media/documents/geography-es1-s1-s2-s3-s4-guide-to-picture-books-in-geography-.pdf

O’Connell, J., Bales, J., & Mitchell, P. (2015). [R]Evolution in reading cultures: 2020 vision for school libraries. The Australian Library Journal, 64(3), 194–208. https://doi.org/10.1080/00049670.2015.1048043

Puolakka, K. (2022). Learning from Literary Experience. The Journal of Aesthetic Education 56(1), 56-73. https://muse.jhu.edu/article/848304.

Rankine, A. & Callow, J. (2017). “It’s all lighted up, because this is a happy ending.” Beginning critical literacy – young children’s responses when reading image and text. Scan , 36(4), 46–54.

Ross Johnston, R. (2014). Literary literacies: Digital, cultural, narrative, critical and deep literacies. In G. Winch, R. Ross Johnston, P. March, L. Ljungdahl & M. Holliday (Eds.), Literacy: Reading, writing and children’s literature (5th ed., pp. 556). Oxford University Pre