eBooks are electronic versions and copies of books which you can access on the go at any point if you have an electronic device available. Due to this, eBooks are becoming more commonly used in place of paperback books. Therefore, it is important to be able to establish an understanding of eBook and how to work it. Especially in an environment that is so enwrapped in the use of digital technology.
Through ‘Book Creator’ on the iPad, we were able to recreate our own chosen eBook whilst ensuring it was interactive and enjoyable for children. My partner and I recreated the book ‘Charlotte’s Web’ as there were different ways, we could make it interactive whilst incorporating and covering curriculum areas.
In this activity we took the key characters from ‘Charlotte’s Web’ and focused in on the spelling bee that happened. 
In the eBook there were spelling activities in the book where just as charlotte had made words out of her web, the children have to make words out of the letters provided. There was also allocated times to answer questions about the book and the tasks in it and respond in whatever way the children thought to be appropriate and correct. We aimed this multimodal book creation at children who are in first level. We used the knowledge gained from the multimodal session and incorporate 3 semiotic systems which were linguistic, visual and audio. Here are some examples of how we done this.
Curriculum experience and outcomes that we met were:
- “I can show my understanding of what I listen to or watch by responding to and asking different kinds of questions.”(LIT 1-07a)
- “I can spell the most commonly-used words, using my knowledge of letter patterns and spelling rules and use resources to help me spell tricky or unfamiliar words.”(LIT 1-21a)
(Education.gov.scot, n.d.)
The collaboration of digital technologies such as iPad being used as a learning tool in the classroom allows the experiences gained during this time to be more recognisable and relatable by children in their every-day life as this is an area incorporated into almost every child’s home environment. Therefore, by allowing the children the knowledge, ability and independence to use ‘Book Creator’ and generate their own ideas and creativity into an activity that they can relate to and find enjoyable they are becoming active participants in their own learning with the hope that they will transfer the skills gained and used when using ‘Book Creator’ in the classroom to their home environment.
As a developing student teacher, the importance and benefits of using IPads in the classroom were further conveyed after reading an article on a school that were analysing and studying the use of IPads before incorporating them into an aspect of the children’s learning. One advantage that the schools found was for the teachers that by discovering and exploring IPads and different apps that they could use, it was found that most teachers came away with different experiences and outcomes that could be moulded into extended and in-depth learning experiences for the children. Also, as all teachers were allowed the opportunity to explore the use of IPads as a learning experience they all came up with different activities that they could share and receive ideas and constructive criticism in order to allow the children to gain the fullest experience and learning development.
This allowed me to gain knowledge and understanding on the use of IPads and other variety of digital technology at present, this allows me to have a greater understanding on aspects to do with digital technology and how to adapt the use of it to suit every child’s needs in the classroom. For example, when using ‘Book Creator’, ensuring that a dyslexia friendly background is used, or larger text adapted to suit the needs and ensure no child is left behind in their learning development. This is further backed up by the Scottish Governments ‘Digital Learning and Teaching Strategy’. In it concludes that it is everybody’s role in the teaching environment to ensure that the use of digital technology is being delivered and received equally and fairly by all children.
I enjoyed this session as it opened up a side to technology that I have not had much experience in. I have never really enjoyed reading but I do feel that when on a piece of technology that I use all the time, it has given me the opportunity to learn more about and have access to it at any time. Therefore, I think this could benefit me and give me a nudge to exploring the world of reading in a modern-day way and this could benefit others like me so this is something I would definitely use and implement in the classroom.
References
- Andrews, D. (2012). An Apple for the teacher: are iPads the future in class?. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2012/aug/13/schools-secondary-schools [Accessed 6 Feb. 2019].
- Education.gov.scot. (n.d.). Curriculum For Excellence. [online] Available at: https://education.gov.scot/Documents/All-experiencesoutcomes18.pdf [Accessed 6 Feb. 19].
- Wainwright, A. (2013). Why Use iPads & Other Technology in the Classroom as Learning Tools. [online] Securedgenetworks.com. Available at: https://www.securedgenetworks.com/blog/Why-Use-iPads-Other-Technology-in-the-Classroom-as-Learning-Tools [Accessed 6 Feb. 2019].
