INF533 Literature in Digital Environments

The digital learning environment is becoming even more saturated with opportunities to view literature using technology. This means that students in the 21^st century are maintaining a strong connection with both their Classroom Teacher (CT) and the Teacher Librarian (TL) when they are exploring literature in different formats (Burns, 2020a). These formats are constantly changing as the student and educator is exposed to a variety of digital learning programs. When I first started teaching in schools, I was encouraged that smartboards are the main source of technology to integrate into classroom lessons. This piece of technology is still incredibly relevant in displaying lesson content and uses interactive digital features for productive learning. The student’s knowledge can be expanded using the smartboard but is overall limited in the approach to get them thinking collaboratively with their peers compared to using other interactive devices.

During my time working as a TL at my current school, I have found that all education professionals need to be constantly updating their technology skill levels to teach lessons that inform and challenge our learners. While teaching primary aged students in the library, I discovered that experimenting with programs such as Mindomo (Expert Software Applications, 2020) allows more opportunities for students to broaden and display their understanding of a certain topic (Burns, 2020f). Eyal (2012) encourages this idea of self-directed learning and that students are given opportunities to work collaboratively with their peers. This provides the opportunity for education professionals to observe and support students with any technology issues that they may face during lessons.

I have had conversations with my colleagues prior to working on technology-based units of work at my school. Having conversations around how our library lessons can be improved with the use of collaborative team teaching provides more opportunities to learn from each other. This method of teaching encourages a variety of technology-based activities to be incorporated which focus on broadening student knowledge about different topics (Burns, 2020c). Encouraging my colleagues for their opinion about new teaching units that centre on technology is something that I strive to do prior to altering or adapting previous units of work. For example, after exploring the term transmedia in this course I have inquired with my colleagues about developing lessons using a program called Metaverse (Shapiro, 2019) that explores open-ended storylines. These lessons will focus on linking to relevant topics in current units of work that are taught throughout the school year.

The term transmedia has been a concept that I wanted to fully unpack during this course. I particularly wanted to explore different types of digital literature that could be easily accessible for students at different reading levels. Kalogeras (2013) discusses that merging storytelling across visual and written media is just one way to incorporate different ideas that appeal to the learner. Engaging with a variety of online enhanced and interactive narratives has certainly provided more ideas that I can explore, particularly for those non-readers at my school. This is just one way that I want to integrate methods of viewing and interacting with literature for students with various reading abilities (Burns, 2020b).

Using augmented and virtual reality allows each student to experience alternative ways of understanding and immersing themselves in their learning through technology (Mystakidis & Berki, 2018). Integrating audio and visual effects in this type of media enables students to explore their learning in an updated and exciting format. I enjoyed exploring the different types of enhanced and interactive books during our second assessment task for this course. Since completing this assessment task, I have found more examples of digital literature that I plan to use with my students during library lessons. It was particularly interesting to discover the strong connection that students have to digital storytelling as their level of engagement increases over time (Burns, 2020e). Implementing digital literature in different formats allows all students to view and interact with their learning in new, alternate ways.

Engaging learners with a new way to read stories, whether it be a self-scroll or a read-to feature, shows how advanced our level of storytelling has become. Having access to literature across multiple forms of technology allows the learner to be provided with more opportunities for exposure to learning in the 21^st century. I strongly believe that the education professional should be able to integrate various examples of literature into their own lessons. This means that students can become more familiar with the format and how to interact with these stories (Burns, 2020d). Creating these experiences allows students to observe new, exciting ways of interacting with literature in a format that is constantly being improved and adapted to suit the learner.

References

Burns, S. (2020a, 25 July). Assessment 1 – Online reflective blog [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/simonb/2020/07/25/assessment-1-online-reflective-blog/

Burns, S. (2020b, 3 August). Transmedia and integrating technology into our busy curriculum! [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/simonb/2020/08/03/transmedia-and-integrating-technology-into-our-busy-curriculum/

Burns, S. (2020c, 10 August). Digital environments [Online discussion forum]. Retrieved from https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/discussionboard/do/message?action=list_messages&course_id=_47762_1&nav=discussion_board_entry&conf_id=_94384_1&forum_id=_198785_1&message_id=_3170967_1

Burns, S. (2020d, 23 August). INF533 assessment 2 part a: Enhanced book review [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/simonb/2020/08/23/inf533-assessment-2-part-a-enhanced-book/

Burns, S. (2020e, 23 August). INF533 assessment 2 part b: Critical reflection [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/simonb/2020/08/23/inf533-assessment-2-part-b-critical-reflection/

Burns, S. (2020f, 4 September). Digital artefact creation and interpretations [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/simonb/2020/09/04/digital-artefact-creation-and-interpretations/

Expert Software Applications. (2020). Mindomo (4.3.2) [Windows app]. Google Chrome. Retrieved from https://www.mindomo.com/

Eyal, L. (2012). Digital assessment literacy—the core role of the teacher in a digital environment. Educational Technology & Society, 15(2), 37–49. Retrieved from http://web.a.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=2&sid=05878c38-3aad-4a29-a8f1-1707fb0ba3d0%40sessionmgr4008

Kalogeras, S. (2013). Media-education convergence: Applying transmedia storytelling edutainment in e-learning environments. International Journal of Information and Communication Technology Education (IJICTE), 9(2), 1-11. doi:10.4018/jicte.2013040101

Mystakidis, S., & Berki, E. (2018). The case of literacy motivation: Playful 3D immersive learning environments and problem-focused education for blended digital storytelling. International Journal of Web-Based Learning and Teaching Technologies (IJWLTT), 13(1), 64-79. doi:10.4018/IJWLTT.2018010105

Shapiro, D. (2019). Metaverse (4.0.14) [Mobile app]. Google Play Store. Retrieved from https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gometa.metaverse&hl=en_AU 

The focus for my digital story is to encourage students in stage two of primary school to build a love of graphic novels by understanding the imaginative writing structure for this form of literature. This digital story has been created to link with a stage two English imaginative writing unit in the New South Wales syllabus (NSW Department of Education, 2019). This story acts as a template that students can use to develop their own imaginative narratives using creative thinking skills and the graphic novel template. Having students view and interact with the completed story on the chosen program Book Creator (Tools for School Limited, 2019) allows them to understand and depict the writing process in a digital format.

Book Creator (Tools for School Limited, 2019) provides more opportunities for students to interact with elements of digital capabilities that is encouraged throughout the curriculum. Meyer & Jiménez (2017) encourage learners to integrate a variety of digital elements throughout an interactive story. These digital elements enable the graphic novel to act as a multimodal text that can be introduced throughout this writing unit. Focusing on digital capabilities that develop a sequential story will enhance the student’s own multimodal texts by including interactive features such as hyperlinks, videos and voice recordings. Each of these features provides an opportunity for students to experiment with the digital program after being shown the completed teaching example.

Organising and structuring a graphic novel is something that needs to be taught, particularly when the reader is developing an understanding of how to interpret this form of literature. Penguin Random House (2017) encourages the reader to determine the flow and movement of a story based on the structure of the panels as well as the position of the images and text on the page. Students need to be explicitly taught to use their eyes to scan across every panel to interpret new information in the story. This includes understanding what is happening in the narrative based on the visuals and how speech or thought bubbles are positioned on the page. Developing this skill takes practice as students can learn to do this by observing imaginative writing elements in my digital story telling project.

Graphic novels can act as just one pathway to exploring creative writing (Scholastic, 2018). There are many elements in a graphic novel that require explanation and experimentation. This is particularly important when shifting from writing narratives on lined paper compared to using interactive digital comic panels that incorporate pictures and words. Pantaleo (2018) highlights that when students discuss the different formats of a graphic novel with their peers and teachers, they can gain new understanding of this writing structure. There are many ways that a graphic novel can be compiled to create a cohesive narrative. Having students understand the basics of this writing structure prior to using the digital format will encourage them to explore how they organise their own narrative.

Motivating reluctant readers with graphic novels is another aspect that the Teacher Librarian (TL) and Classroom Teacher (CT) can strive to improve. Ensuring that these types of readers are exposed to short, humorous stories is often just one way to ignite an interest in reading (Hargadon, 2018). Providing opportunities for discussions about these stories can increase the reader’s motivation to explore other texts with the same writing style. Exposing students to a variety of graphic novels will encourage them to think about the format of their own digital graphic novel while they plan, draft and publish their writing.

Providing a teaching example for these stage two students will allow them to observe just one way that a graphic novel can be created. This means that the TL and CT can communicate and work collaboratively to encourage their diverse learners when implementing literary devices throughout their own presentations. Teaching each literary device in detail will encourage each student to choose a variety of imaginative writing features that enhance the narrative. Students can also experiment and work technologically to incorporate their own knowledge of the written and drawn components of their own stories (McClanahan & Nottingham, 2019). This allows all students to use creative thinking skills and have continual conversations with their TL or CT to improve their story before publishing it.

Creating interactive narratives will appeal to learners in 21^st century learning environments and encourage future students to build their own digital literature based off previous writing units. Implementing interactive digital skills that students have learnt during this unit will also provide opportunities for the TL to explore further learning areas that can use this interactive program during library lessons. Establishing communication with members of the school community through social media presence will enable parents and caregivers to view their student’s work. This work will be accessible through the Book Creator (Tools for School Limited, 2019) website once each digital graphic novel has been published using student logins.

References

McClanahan, B. J., & Nottingham, M. (2019). A suite of strategies for navigating graphic novels: A dual coding approach. International Literacy Association, 73(1), 39-50. Retrieved from https://doi-org.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/10.1002/trtr.1797

Meyer, C. K., & Jiménez, L. M. (2017). Using every word and image: Framing graphic novel instruction in the expanded four resources model. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 61(2), 153–161. doi:10.1002/jaal.666

NSW Department of Education. (2019). Writing and representing 1. Retrieved from https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/k-10/learning-areas/english-year-10/english-k-10/content/887

Pantaleo, S. (2018). Elementary students’ meaning-making of graphic novels. Language & Education: An International Journal, 32(3), 242-256. doi:10.1080/09500782.2018.1434788

Penguin Random House Australia. (2017). Getting to know graphic novels – A guide to using graphic novels in the classroom. Retrieved from https://prh.azureedge.net/resources/TR_OppositeLand.pdf

Scholastic. (2018). A guide to using graphic novels with children and teens. Retrieved from https://www.scholastic.com/content/dam/teachers/lesson-plans/18-19/Graphic-Novel-Discussion-Guide-2018.pdf

Tools for School Limited. (2019). Book creator online (5.3.2) [Chrome app]. Google Chrome. Retrieved from https://bookcreator.com/

When thinking about the different digital tools, I certainly feel like I’m learning about more than using them sometimes (which is definitiely a good thing!). I know I have been building a list of digital resources since working through the module readings in our INF533 course. Seeing as I’ve started using different tools in my library lessons with the 3-6 classes at my school, I certainly think that I’m branching out and allowing these students to expand their interaction with digital tools.

The main digital artefact that has been the focus for my 3-6 lessons has been incorporating an inquiry learning Geography project that caters on displaying information through an application called Mindomo (2007). This application has allowed students to branch out and use their prior learning as well as link with research based learning to display what they have found through research. This program was something new that I wanted to implement into my teaching as the stock standard has been to use PowerPoint when exploring independent research tasks. After conversations with other teachers at my school, they agreed to give the Mindomo program a go to see how the students could display their learning.

We are still in the process of finishing these projects as they will be completed during the last few weeks of this term. This program has absolutely been a learning curve for myself and also the students as we all have had to learn how to use this program effectively. I am really looking forward to implementing more technology in the way of iPad apps such as Book Creator (2011) into my K-2 lessons next term too.

References

Book Creator application. (2011). Retrieved from https://bookcreator.com/

Mindomo application. (2007). Retrieved from https://www.mindomo.com/

A digital text has the ability to engage the reader with a narrative and develop a personal connection to the storytelling (Sukovic, 2014). These texts serve a purpose of building the reader’s level of engagement and understanding their meaning in terms of storytelling or informative information. Many digital texts focus on improving the way that readers interpret information either as a transfer straight from a printed copy or presented as a layered transmedia narrative (Lamb, 2011). Having these texts presented in different digital formats, whether it be an interactive website or reading apps, will motivate the reader to expand their imagination and discover exciting new stories. It is interesting that so many of these digital texts rely solely on two things: a device with a screen and the ability to access the internet. Both factors present a whole new way of storytelling and engaging readers with all manner of digital content.

These digital texts present new ways to view and understand how a story can be structured as many open-ended narratives allow the reader to choose where they want the narrative to go. This allows the reader to have a choice in how they read interesting texts and what types of genres or series they become invested in. Scott (2013) encourages readers to incorporate the ability to alter font, size and the colour of text to improve their interaction with ebooks. This can be seen while borrowing books from their local library online site or purchasing texts to keep in personal digital library collections.

In the past, I have always strived to own printed copies of any text that I read in my personal library. Mainly for the nostalgia of the feeling of having a book in my hands, turning to the next page in excitement and especially having that new book smell! However, this concept that I have built in my head is now being balanced out with the idea of digital texts becoming a significant part of my life too. I used the app called Borrower Box to borrow the Andy Griffiths ebook through my local district library. I will use this method of borrowing more in the future to continue my digital reading habit. This method of borrowing has been an interesting way to view a digital collection that is readily available to the user at the press of a button. It is also interesting as ebooks are returned for you automatically once they expire at the return date.

Building my love and reading of quality literature can now be sourced from multiple places, whether it be from a book store or borrowing ebooks from my local library. Scardilli (2019) highlights that the popularity and appreciation of digital texts does not change as people are still engaged in reading their favourite narratives in a more flexible format (p. 13). This comparison of printed texts does limit readers with how a physical story is formatted when compared to an interactive digital text. Digital library collections certainly are more flexible in the management of a library. These digital collections reduce the amount of space and attention needed that physical collections continuously warrant when managing a library service.

The digital text I enjoyed the most was The Boat (Huynh, 2015) as it represented and displayed a time in history that was tough for so many people from Vietnam. I was able to fully immerse myself in the storytelling and view the entire narrative through the eyes of each character. It made me incredibly sad to know that this is what these people had to go through, and many people still are to this day as these refugee issues are still present in our society. I believe this digital text could be incorporated into a high school English or Creative Arts unit of work in years nine to twelve (Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) Learn, 2016). This digital text could be used to focus on the hardships that refugees have gone through in the past. Particularly the artworks and storytelling could be the primary focus for teaching about the hardships of refugees. The text could be further linked with the phrase known as ‘boat people’ to distinguish the struggle that refugees have faced during immigration periods.

Using this digital text as a starting point, students can research further into the historical impacts that refugees have experienced from all over the world. Murphy (2019) encourages libraries to share their resources, particularly when focusing on new ways to innovate readers to research and discover new information (p. 181). This causes readers to expand the way that they think and allows them to explore new sources of information that can assist them while searching a variety of library catalogues.

References

Huynh, M. (2015). The Boat. Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) Australia. Retrieved from http://www.sbs.com.au/theboat/

Lamb, A. (2011). Reading redefined for a transmedia universe. Learning & Leading with Technology, 39(3), 12-17. Retrieved from http://web.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/ehost/detail/detail?vid=0&sid=623dbb2e-4796-4807-94cb-3259daaf12bd%40pdc-v-sessmgr04&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=67371172&db=ehh

Murphy, J. A. (2019). Ebook sharing models in academic libraries. Serials Review, 45(3), 176-183. DOI: 10.1080/00987913.2019.1644934

Scardilli, B. (2019). The state of ebooks in libraries. Information Today, 36(2), 12-14. Retrieved from http://web.a.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=57be2bfa-dc2a-49bf-935a-48db74589f8c%40sessionmgr4008

Scott, E. (2013). A look at eBook platforms for the school library. The School Librarian, 61(4), Retrieved from https://ezproxy.csu.edu.au/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/docview/1467996481?accountid=10344

Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) Learn. (2016). The Boat. SBS Australia. Retrieved from https://www.sbs.com.au/programs/go-back-to-where-you-came-from/article/2015/07/14/boat

Sukovic, S. (2014). iTell: Transliteracy and digital storytelling. Australian Academic and Research Libraries, 45(3), 205-229. Retrieved from https://ezproxy.csu.edu.au/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/docview/1613911853?accountid=10344

The interactive book that I chose to explore is Icky Mr Fox (2014) by Aleksei and Alexander Bitskoff, which is available as a free download on the Google Play or iTunes store. This interactive story is presented through a downloadable app that is aimed at young readers and students in kindergarten. The app is easy to access and has its own series that young readers can choose to continue downloading after they finish each story. This story takes the reader roughly twenty minutes to complete, including all the interactive movements that are presented at different intervals throughout the story.

The three characters in this interactive story are Mr Rabbit, Mr Mole and Icky Mr Fox. Each character has interactive actions that are presented at certain intervals throughout the story. These actions are prompted with the use of moving animated arrows that assist the reader with progressing to the next part of the story. The characters are inter-connected, making sure that each action affects one or more of the characters. This imaginative story presents opportunities for young readers to interact with the storyline as each character displays human qualities that add to initial and future readings.

An audio read-to feature is used throughout the story so that young readers can listen to each page. This encourages young readers to concentrate on the printed text that is on the screen and follow along with their finger. Having both the printed font and the audio allows young readers, particularly in kindergarten to gain one-to-one correspondence by tracking where each word is placed in each sentence (Department of Education, 2018). Developing this tracking for reading is vital for these younger readers as it sets them up for future improvements in recalling and comprehending a variety of literature as they strengthen their reading ability.

When the story progresses, the background image changes according to the environment where the character is located. This also means that a lot of household items that are placed in the background are interactive for the reader. Each item can be tapped on, and a label appears with the audio being verbalised as well, telling the reader what that item is. There are between eight to ten items that can be pressed in each background. This interaction acts as a source of creative play that young readers often prefer when listening to an unfamiliar story (Ciffone, Weaver & Read, 2016). The reader listens to these new words that are being read to them, slowly building their own vocabulary by listening and viewing the spelling of the interactive words too.

Young readers would be able to enjoy this story as it is structured with animations that prompt them to click to the next part of the story using the arrow at the bottom of the screen. The characters also incorporate certain interactive actions into the storyline, which is prompted after the voice tells the reader about what the character is doing. For example, ‘Mr Fox was very close’ allows the reader to tap on the character and interact with the digging animation linked to this part of the storyline. These moments are shown by the phrases ‘tappy-tap’ and ‘swipey-swipe’ appearing on the screen. This encourages the readers to work on their phonological awareness, concept of print and vocabulary as the story echoes to them (Whittingham, Huffman, Rickman & Wiedmaier, 2013, p. 199).

Comprehension and understanding is an important feature of this interactive digital book. Young readers may struggle to fully comprehend what they need to do without adult supervision. This means that these types of digital texts can assist younger age groups with building their reading habit. Kelley and Kinney (2017) highlight that continual exposure to these types of digital texts will not solely improve the reader’s comprehension ability. The main difference in this situation, however, is that the readers are not questioned throughout this story and are just presented with the storyline as a source of digital media.

There are links to the interaction with digital stories in the English curriculum. This is a skill requisite that children in pre-school and kindergarten need to maintain as it is a different way of interacting with literature compared to physically turning a page (Department of Education, 2018). The other curriculum link that can be investigated by Classroom Teachers (CT) is brainstorming how each character would think and feel throughout the narrative. Demonstrating how a story is structured is also something that could be taught in library lessons for students to interact and experiment while gaining how to comprehend new information from a familiar digital text.

References

Bitskoff, A., & Bitskoff, A. (2014). Icky Mr Fox. [IckyPen app]. Google Play Store.

Ciffone, K., Weaver, & Read, K., A. (2016). The third voice: Do enhanced e-books enhance the benefits of shared story reading with preschoolers? Childhoods Today, 10(1). Retrieved from http://www.childhoodstoday.org/article.php?id=85

Department of Education (DoE). (2018). Reading and viewing. New South Wales (NSW) Syllabus. Retrieved from https://www.educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/k-10/learning-areas/english-year-10/english-k-10/content/859

Kelley, E. S., & Kinney, K. (2017). Word learning and story comprehension from digital storybooks: Does interaction make a difference? Journal of Educational Computing Research, 55(3), 410-428. DOI: 10.1177/0735633116669811

Whittingham, J., Huffman, S., Rickman, W., & Wiedmaier, C. (2013). Enhanced picture books: Enhancing the literacy development of young children. Technological Tools for the Literacy Classroom, 196-218. Retrieved from https://www-igi-global-com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/gateway/chapter/full-text-pdf/76211

The Boat (2015) is an enhanced book that focuses on a non-fiction story about Vietnamese asylum seekers during the venture from their homeland to Australia. It is a harsh and intense story that explores the backstory of the characters Quyen and Mai, as well as the impact that fellow Vietnamese refugees experienced when fleeing their country. This enhanced book is free and easily accessible from the Australian Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) website with readers recommended to be fifteen years or older. The book incorporates a range of animated painting styles to display the full narrative. This art style also uses audio to make the story even more intense and captivate the audience with individual character moments and display of emotions.

The enhance book is split up into six chapters with an auto-scroll website feature that the reader can control by clicking the button at the bottom of the screen. This allows the reader to view the artworks and written text at their own pace while viewing the book. Having a table of contents for the chapter numbers allows the reader to navigate this enhanced book with ease (Browne & Coe, 2012, p. 290). The reader can choose to stop reading if they want to and come back to it by clicking on the chapter numbers on the right side of the website. This also means that the reader can navigate the book with a click of each chapter button to continue this reading experience.

In certain parts of the story there are also elements of interactive arrows that appear next to thought bubble photos that are often found in graphic novels. This ensures that the reader can interpret and use these multimedia arrows and their personal digital skills to fully understand how to access this part of the narrative (Jimenez & Meyer, 2016, p. 426). Each of these arrows provides further information about that character’s backstory and what they are thinking in that situation. This backstory establishes stronger connections to the characters and allows the reader to delve deeper into the storyline.

This enhanced book is displayed like a movie credit as the scrolling feature makes it seem like one continuous roll of film that is playing in front of the reader’s eyes. The book could be further adapted by including old footage of historical situations like this narrative. Providing the backstory for some these characters distinguishes the emotions they are feeling and contrasts what has been left behind. Having this option to view old footage would ensure that the audience has a variety of examples to refer to when researching further on a topic about refugees.

During certain sections of the book, the art style changes according to the situation. This means that instead of the simple left to right reading of written text, there are occasions when the text is completely turned on its side or spread out in single words. This use of image and text in this enhanced book is incredibly similar to graphic novels, which encourages the reader to view the story in multiple ways. With continual changes in 21^st century technologies, readers will be able to gather information from this type of narrative and evaluate what the author is trying to say based on this style of literature (Moorefield-Lang & Gavigan, 2012, p. 32). The written text can change significantly too, being presented like a printed novel and then changing back to single phrases using speech bubbles.

The quality of this enhanced book is fantastic as it provides multiple perspectives from the characters throughout each chapter. The animation style corresponds significantly to the actions occurring in the narrative. The reader’s attention is continually focused on the thoughts of the character but provides audio to make a more impactful emotional response from the reader as you care what happens to them. For example, as the boat rocks to one side you get a sense of worry that something horrible is going to happen. This means that so much of the narrative relies on the animation style to encourage the reader to continue scrolling through each chapter.

The intrinsic motivation behind this story encourages the reader to use their personal graphic novel reading skills to fully understand what is happening. This means that readers must distinguish how the character moves and thinks in each panel and throughout all the corresponding print. McClanahan & Nottingham (2019) encourage that readers of graphic novels need to acknowledge the correct way to interpret information and storylines based on the visual literacy contained in a storyline. Having this personal interpretation allows the reader to develop more motivation to finish the story as they discover what this experience would be like for refugees.

References

Browne, G., & Coe, M. (2012). Ebook navigation: Browse, search and index. Australian Library Journal, 61(4), 288-297. Retrieved from https://ezproxy.csu.edu.au/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/docview/1242448210?accountid=10344

Huynh, M. (2015). The Boat. Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) Australia. Retrieved from http://www.sbs.com.au/theboat/

Jimenez, L. M., & Meyer, C. K. (2016). First impressions matter: Navigating graphic novels utilizing linguistic, visual, and spatial awareness. Journal of Literacy Research, 48(4), 423-447. DOI: 10.1177/1086296X16677955

McClanahan, B. J., & Nottingham, M. (2019). A suite of strategies for navigating graphic novels: A dual coding approach. International Literacy Association, 73(1), 39-50. Retrieved from https://doi-org.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/10.1002/trtr.1797

Moorefield-Lang, H., & Gavigan, K. (2012). These aren’t your father’s funny papers: The new world of digital graphic novels. Knowledge Quest, 40(3), 30-35. Retrieved from https://ezproxy.csu.edu.au/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/docview/1016285025?accountid=10344

I gained access to the ebook The 26-Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths (2015) from my local district library using the app called Borrower Box. I have read some ebooks in the past on my partner’s kindle, but they were all Amazon purchases. This was my first experience reading an ebook from my local library branch on my tablet. It was an easy process to borrow the story and I will absolutely use this online service again. I was quite happy with the digital presentation of the story but noticed some significant differences in the way a device is used to read the story. It was something that I wasn’t accustomed to and different to my previous experiences of reading ebooks using a kindle.

The navigation of this ebook is easy to use, tapping the right side of the screen to turn to the next page and the opposite way on the left side of the screen. The full menu can be brought up by tapping in the middle of the screen at the top, including going back and bookmarking favourite pages. The chapter search function is fantastic in navigating and tracking the reader’s progress at the bottom of the screen. Having this easy transfer from paper to screen means that different digital skills that can be used to explore this narrative (National Literacy Trust, 2014). This ebook can be read the same way as the printed copy of the fictional storybook. Children will be able to enjoy this storybook in digital form, particularly if there are limited copies available in their school or local library.

I discovered that changing the text size and zooming in on pictures was not a function that could be performed when reading the story on my tablet. It only worked on the font that was not linked to any of the pictures. This meant that any pictures that also had descriptions or labels included in the visual became a lot harder to read as you couldn’t zoom in on them. The simple transfer from paper to screen certainly limited this text function but allows the reader to closely analyse elements of the story on their device (Baldini, 2019). I wondered how children might handle this issue and whether the physical copy would be a better option for those that wanted to read the story.Another feature that an ebook contains is the ability to use an internet browser to search for any unfamiliar words. However, clicking and holding your finger over any of these words throughout the story only created one method of searching for them throughout the ebook. There was no function that allowed the reader to use a dictionary or thesaurus to identify the meaning of those words. Readers would need to understand that this is an important search feature in navigating ebooks before trying to test this (Browne & Coe, 2012, p. 289). The story is imaginative, but if the reader had not heard of any of these comparisons to nursery rhymes for example, then they could not use an internal internet browser on their device to assist them.

There is a lack of colour throughout this ebook, apart from the title page when you click on the title icon to open it. The ebook contains the same black and white art style that Terry Denton has illustrated in the same printed story. It kept me really engaged in the story and occasionally takes up most of the page due to the situation. For example, towards the end of the story Andy, Terry and Jill are trying to escape one of characters in the Maze of Doom. This presents several pictures being formatted onto one page, allowing the reader to view the physical direction that they are moving.

This storybook links to different areas of the curriculum that either Classroom Teachers (CT) or Teacher Librarians (TL) can unpack in their teaching. The main literary focus is the imaginative elements in the storytelling and the use of nursery rhymes that would benefit those readers in kindergarten to year two. The variety of animals could also be discussed and explored in Science lessons as there are themes exploring the care of marine life and how to dispose of rubbish or re-use items. The final link that could assist students in Mathematics is the topic of direction, which will particularly assist students in kindergarten.

I was very happy that I took the time to read this storybook as I had already read the first book and this ebook re-invigorated my interest in Andy Griffith’s writing style.

References

Baldini, M. (2019). Children’s literature and hypermedia. The digitalization breakthrough in the children’s publishing sector. Studi Sulla Formazione, 22(1), 101-114. DOI:10.13128/Studi_Formaz-25557

Browne, G., & Coe, M. (2012). Ebook navigation: Browse, search and index. Australian Library Journal, 61(4), 288-297. Retrieved from https://ezproxy.csu.edu.au/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/docview/1242448210?accountid=10344

Griffiths, A., & Denton, T. (2015). The 26-storey treehouse. Pan Macmillan Australia.

National Literacy Trust. (2014). The Impact of ebooks on the Reading Motivation and Reading Skills of Children and Young People. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED560635.pdf

I thought it was incredibly interesting to explore this concept of ‘transmedia’ last week in our module readings. The definition of transmedia is actually focusing on: “a narrative or project that combines multiple media forms” (Techopedia, n.d.). I took a mental tally with some of my colleagues last week to see if anyone had heard of the phrase and unfortunately no one had… This certainly made for interesting conversations as I could explain what it meant for our curriculum and also for those disinterested readers that come into the library. Having a purpose of reading a short story such as (3:15 Season One – Things that Go Bump in the Night) makes it worthwhile to just try out small snippets of developing a narrative as well as integrating the technology side too. Many combinations of these different types of print and animation can certainly be explained to students as they are probably already using them at home or without even knowing it.

The other part that I’ve found particularly expansive, after continuing Module 2 readings, is the way that Bloom’s Taxonomy can now be interpreted for the purpose of the technology side of our Australian curriculum (Schrock, n.d.). The line start small OR think big certainly has stuck with me and I’d like to experiment further with a lot of these dynamics for how students interact and present their learning, particularly with the use of technology. I absolutely was thinking about the different students that I have taught in the past and how their way of thinking can fall under only a couple of these categories and not all. For one, the applying phase seems to be a constant as I noticed the example about making PowerPoint presentations has been a common trend for quite some time. I REALLY want to move past that program, but still use it when necessary, with some of those extension students that want to learn new ways of presenting information.

I will have to investigate even more examples of these transmedia texts and other ways of incorporating different styles of technology into my library lessons (I already have several ideas for lessons in next term’s library program). I’m quite excited to see what my students are able to achieve when they put their mind to it because they already have so much experience with technology they can bring their learning to the next level!

References: 

Techopedia. (n.d.). What is Transmedia? Retrieved from https://www.techopedia.com/definition/30425/transmedia

Schrock, K. (n.d.). Bloomin’ apps | Kathy Schrock’s guide to everything. Retrieved from http://www.schrockguide.net/bloomin-apps.html

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).

Since starting my master degree I have always enjoyed the idea of picking up a physical book, but my partner has introduced me to the use of kindles which I think certainly has it’s advantages. I hope that I can continue to explore these increasing uses of digital reading and media outlet during the INF533 course.

I have enjoyed reading a few books on the kindle, but I will always enjoy the nostaglia of a physical book…