Assessment item 1- Online Reflective Journal Blog Task
I stumbled upon this fantastic book called It’s a book by Lane Smith and as I read this hilarious book to my primary students, they were intrigued and amused. The book depicts how children are so engrossed in the world of technology/ digital interactive texts that they don’t know what to do with a traditional book!
Well, I am pleasantly relieved that this is not the reality. For a millennial like me who has always preferred to read from a paper rather than from a computer or tablet or e-Book; digital or multimodal texts are still a second option. I did buy Kindle reader once when they were initially launched so I can keep up with current trends and technologies but after downloading many books and reading a few of them, my lightest book with a capacity to hold 5000 books died and hence was forever abandoned.
There are studies that have concluded that people read slower, less accurately and show less text understanding on screens than on paper. Paper books are easy to navigate, the ink is much more pleasant to the eyes rather than sharp LED screens. Those who have a habit of highlighting essential notes find it very satisfying as compared to digital texts (Jabr, 2013).
As an educator I think it is essential we keep ourselves abreast of the changes and developments taking place, to better understand the concepts, practices, tools, and uses of digital literature environment. The entire landscape of technology keeps evolving, which makes it essential that educators consider different ways they can incorporate literature into curriculum and learning experiences so that students can effectively utilise digital formats. Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) mentions ICT capability as an important component of the Australian Curriculum. Students use ICT when they interpret and create print, visual and multimodal texts using digital publishing.
As a primary school librarian, I like to educate myself all the time so my students can have innovative and engaging experiences with Digital literature/storytelling. I have explored different platforms like Canva, Beebots, Storybox Online, Book Creator, Wushka, Reading eggs, e-Platform, Vimeo, and apps like Little Learner Love Literacy (LLLL) etc. Our school experienced sudden growth of online reading during Covid due to library closure. Internet platforms like Z-Library, e-Platform were used frequently by most of the students to read and borrow e-books, audiobooks etc. to help support their reading and literacy development.
Students with learning difficulties can explore digital picture books with features like “read-aloud” technology, clickable dictionary links, the ability to upsize font on screens. Our school’s EaL/D cohort also immensely benefitted from the use of digital literature by listening to stories using ‘Read to me’ feature that could offer multiple/native language options. This is exciting as it motivates the students and present them with new literary experiences. These multimedia, interactive stories have digital picture- print- sound- movement-animation. Some of them like Learn from Play contain supplementary features that a student can access like puzzles, matching games, colouring etc.
Social media platforms like BookTube, Bookstagram, and BookTok offer different ways for older readers to engage with books and connect with communities of readers. They are inspiring young people to read (Reddan, 2022). Their short videos feature audio content like popular songs, trending videos and memes etc. The combination of books and music is another important element of BookTok’s popularity with teen readers (Merga, 2021).
Students need to be given opportunities to explore and analyse multimodal texts(transmedia) that uses a combination of text, still and moving images, sound, and animation so they can communicate ideas and interact in local and global contexts (ACARA). Finally I will conclude my reflection I would like to quote this:-
“If we are to choose appropriate digital texts to engage students with literature, we need criteria that will help us judge which texts are suitable for students at different ages and appropriate for classroom use” (Walsh, 2013).
References: –
Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority. (n.d.). The Australian Curriculum v5.1 Information and Communication Technology (ICT) capability – ICT capability across the curriculum. Retrieved from http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/generalcapabilities/pdf/ICT
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/
Merga, M. K. (2021). How can Booktok on TikTok inform readers’ advisory services for young people? Library & Information Science Research, 43(2), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.LISR.2021.101091
Reddan, B. (2022). Social reading cultures on BookTube, Bookstagram, and BookTok. Synergy, 20(1). Retrieved from https://www.slav.vic.edu.au/index.php/Synergy/article/view/597
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).