Assessment 1 – Online Reflective Blog

The definition of digital literature is something that I am still continually building over time. With our first lot of reading for this course, I started reviewing how Walsh (2013) connected the trends for presenting digital forms of communication. The idea that when a person is presenting a storybook to an audience, particularly in video form, they are in fact just storytelling. This correlates with the idea that when a story is created as a digital narrative that media becomes a new interactive source of information. Creating these digital narratives is something new and exciting that will hook students into viewing and understanding stories.

Reading a physical copy of a novel certainly still has that nostalgia of turning the paper and the satisfaction of seeing how many pages you have read in a particular novel. However, stories can now be presented through kindles and tablets, which introduce a whole new way for the reader to access their favourite books as well as find new information. I have viewed different ways that literature in physical or digital format, is displayed across a variety of schools within my local region. It was interesting to observe how Teacher Librarians (TL) or Classroom Teachers (CT) maintain a strong reading or comprehensive connection for their students. Struggling readers would have access to a variety of storytelling through technology as listening to the audio built their own understanding of stories. Having the student interact with a digtial platform that they are accustomed to will bring more enjoyment and allow them to thrive with storytelling in a new way.

In my library space and previously in the classroom, students have found it easy to access methods of storytelling through services such as Vooks, Storybox Library or even the Reading Eggs library. I especially like the Reading Eggs library as it caters to the student’s reading age or ability and allows them to search for topics that interest them. This closely ties in with the idea of building the love of genres and interacting with stories that make our imaginations race.

Figure 1: Reading Eggs library (Family Magazines 2017)

The constant debate between the physical copy and the digital presentation of literature has become a question that has been answered in many different ways. Lamb (2011) questions the use of physical books in comparison to transmedia storytelling which has become a new way to link with fictional storytelling. A strong connection to ‘Choose Your Own’ stories is a new way of exploring how characters can develop their own plotlines, which I have experienced outside of school hours. Having this flexibility in creating stories, allows the reader to have more control of the narrative as well as give them the ability to choose what direction they want the overall story to go.

Moving forward, I would absolutely love to introduce some of my students to these examples of transmedia storytelling and see how they engage with digital formatting and the ability to diverge onto different pathways in a story. I also hope to build my understanding of the various tools that are easily accessible for incorporating digital literature into a school environment.

References:

Family Magazines. (2017). ABC Reading Eggs Review Australia for Parents & Kids [Image]. Retrieved from https://www.familiesmagazine.com.au/abc-reading-eggs-review/

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

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).