This week sees digital technology combined with another love of mine: children’s literature.
From their very earliest days children are immersed in a rich environment of learning through storytelling. Children develop their social and cultural identities through the stories they hear from family members, adults and peers who shape their world and from the multimodal texts which surround them. They develop their use of language, imagination and thought processes from a very early age; learning to hypothesise, question and interpret information (Browne, 2009). In exactly the same way storytelling can be used in the classroom to convey information and encourage investigative and critical thinking skills.
With the rapid advancement in the inclusion of digital technologies in education and their commonplace feature in children’s lives, storytelling can take on a new dimension while simultaneously creating a link between the school and home environments. Children can quickly and easily access technologies which allow them to become active participants in their own learning. Students develop their literacy and thinking skills at the same time as being engaged in more “play” focused activity (Sagri, et al, 2018).
The inclusion of mobile digital technologies such as the iPad in schools means that learning has become portable and can be expanded into many environments. The capacity of these technologies means that reams of previously printed media are now accessible almost anywhere and the opportunity to add information from the user’s own environment, e.g. photographs, is endless (Jarvis, 2015). Adding multimodal features to the traditional printed text adds an extra dimension which gives an advantage and allows the author to convey much more information. However, although technologies such as the iPad allow for great creativity it is, again, essential that teachers using them to promote learning are fully aware of how to use the device correctly and appropriately (Vitalis, 2018). This idea is supported by the Scottish Government (2016) who are committed to ensuring that support exists for both staff and student teachers while encouraging practitioners to support each other through the use of digital platforms as well as in person. Educators strengthening their own personal knowledge and ability will, in turn, enable them to further assist learners who may gain greatly from using digital technologies to enhance their learning but require greater support to do so.
The iPad Scotland Final Evaluation Report (Burden et al, 2012) identifies that gains in achievement among students using mobile technologies were particularly evident for students with English as an additional language. They were able to share their own stories, identities and cultural foundations with a decreased language barrier. Similarly, the technology offered benefits to children who may be described as “focus learners”, with issues such as Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) (Korsgaard and Andersen, 2017). These children are found with increasing frequency in mainstream schools aiming to achieve educational inclusion. Indeed, the inclusion of these students’ ASN provides a learning opportunity for all; teachers and students: “…demonstrating the new technologies are an opportunity for all to learn.” Department of Education and Training (2011, p.18). With these ideas in mind, we set out to use the iPad to create our own e-book.
So what did we decide to do?
Working collaboratively with Nicholas Meikeljohn, we used the “Book Creator” app, available on iPad, to complete this week’s task. We chose the hilarious and wonderful “The Day the Crayons Came Home” as our inspiration and utilised the app to produce our own e-book.
After giving a brief introduction to the premise of the story we chose to focus on the (mis)adventures of “Neon Red” crayon. Readers can easily spot, either through the text or the accompanying illustrations, that Neon Red and have incorrectly identified his location. This inspired us to include interactive elements in our e-book which allow readers to find out more about each of the areas Neon Red thinks he is visiting. The inclusion of video links provides an opportunity for the reader to expand their general knowledge and confirm their suspicion that Neon Red is indeed wrong. The inclusion of audio clips makes the e-book accessible to those whose reading skills may not be sufficiently developed for independent reading and the use of sound effects provides an element of fun. The final feature of the e-book, a maze activity, links the themes of “The Day the Crayons Came Home” with a problem-solving activity.
So… how did it go?
In discussion, while completing the task Nick and I both felt the need to explore why we would opt to use e-books. We are both firmly in favour of books in their original form and while I am very much a Cyberostrich to Nick’s Cyberlemming (Jarvis, 2015) we both agree that there is the possibility of technology for technology’s sake could be a risk here. While digital technologies are an everyday part of the life of the modern child they need not be included in every part of life and some would argue that they can be detrimental to health and development (Chorab, 2016). This thought made me reflect on the point that the learning must be enhanced by the inclusion of technology.
We developed the idea for our e-book with that point firmly at the forefront. Rather than simply using the technology to re-tell the story which already exists in a perfectly functional form, we opted to focus on expanding one particular point. We decided that this approach could be highly beneficial when children are producing larger pieces of “topic” based work. Being able to include many different types of information in one e-book presentation could lead to some very informative final work. The portable nature of the iPad means that that work could then easily be shared both within the class and within the wider school. Potential also exists (data protection rules allowing) for sharing between school and home, strengthening the important links between the two communities.
This type of activity could be utilised successfully across the curriculum and across all stages. With particular reference to our task, which we identified as First Level, we selected the following E&Os as appropriate:
- SOC 1-13a: “By exploring a natural environment different from my own, I can discover how the physical features influence the variety of living things.“
- LIT 1-14a: “Using what I know about the features of different types of text, I can find, select, sort and use information for a specific purpose.“
- LIT 1-16a: “To show my understanding across different areas of learning, I can identify and consider the purpose and main ideas of text.“
- LIT 1-01a: “I regularly select and listen to or watch texts which I enjoy and find interesting, and I can explain why I prefer certain sources. I regularly select subject, purpose, format and resources to create texts of my choice.“
- TCH 1-02a: “Using digital technologies responsibly I can access, retrieve and use information to support, enrich or extend learning in different contexts.“
And finally…
On personal reflection, I can absolutely agree that mobile technologies can be very useful. My first voluntary experience in a primary school was with a child for who English was a third language. He had almost no spoken English at all and I was tasked to support him in the classroom. It was via the use of technology that we were able to communicate. More accurately, it was via his proficiency in using technology that we were able to communicate. This was a great practical example of the point stressed throughout the literature that teacher proficiency in Digital Technologies is key.
Which brings me to my nemesis…
I hate iPads. I don’t own one, I don’t own an iPhone. The Macs in the Mac Lab bring me out in a cold sweat. There is something about the interface I just can’t get to grips with. OK, I’m not alone, loads of people can’t work the Mac interface but iAppliances are anathema to me. I am an Android girl through and through (and I’m not significantly more proficient there either!) which looks like it’s going to present me with a problem I’m going to have to strive to overcome.
iPads are increasingly found in Primary Schools and as they feature not only there but in the coming tasks on this journey I will have to make an extra effort to get to grips with that part of the language.
References
- Browne, A. (2009) Developing Language and Literacy 3-8. London: Sage.
- Burden, K., Hopkins, P, Male, Dr. T., Martin, Dr. S., Trala, C. (2012) iPad Scotland Evaluation. Hull: University of Hull.
- Chorab, G. (2016) The brain to new technologies: the risks and losses. General and Professional Education. Vol. 1, pp.9-15.
- Department of Education and Training. (2011) iPad Trial: Is the iPad suitable as a learning tool in schools? Australia: Queensland Government.
- Education Scotland (2019) Curriculum for Excellence. [Online] Available: https://education.gov.scot/Documents/All-experiencesoutcomes18.pdf [Accessed: 7 February 2019].
- Jarvis, M. (2015) Brilliant Ideas for Using ICT in the Classroom: A very practical guide for teachers and lecturers. Oxon: Routledge.
- Korsgaard Sorensen, E. and Voldborg Andersen, A. (2017) Strengthening inclusion of learners with attention difficulties through interventions with digital technology in process of production. European Journal of Open, Distance and e-Learning. [Online] Vol. 20(1), pp.45-53. Available: https://doi.org/10.1515/eurodl-2017-0003.
- Sagri, M., Sofos, F., Mouzaki, D. (2018) Digital Storytelling, comics and new technologies in education: review, research and perspectives. The International Education Journal: Comparative Perspectives. Vol. 17(4), pp.97-112. [Accessed: 7 February 2019].
- Scottish Government. (2016) Enhancing Learning and Teaching Through the Use of Digital Technology. [Online] Available: https://www.gov.scot/publications/enhancing-learning-teaching-through-use-digital-technology/ [Accessed: 7 February 2019].
- Vitalis, E. (2018) I can locate it! Teaching location with the assistance of digital technologies. Australian Mathematics Classroom. Vol. 23(3), pp.8-11.
