After returning back to my family home last weekend, I was greeted by my eighty-year-old grandmother waving frantically; I thought she was delighted to see me, this was not the case. She was more delighted to show me her brand new Amazon Kindle she had purchased. As an avid book reader, she has (like many) latched onto the technological hype. And it is not just her generation who are relishing e-readers; they are fast becoming an avid member in schools today.
Nook media has signed a multi-media platform membership with ESI media (the commercial department of the London Evening Standard and The Independent) to re-create last year’s successful ‘Get London Reading’ Initiative. The campaign offers children free e-books and aims to instil a love of reading and other opportunities for them. (Carpenter, 2014). This is just one example of how e-readers are being incorporated much more in children. But the question I ask here how important are they?
According to Digital Book World’s 2013 report ‘The ABCs of Kids and eBooks’, over half of all U.S children aged two-to-thirteen are not only reading, but 85% of them are using e-readers, with tablets being the preferred choice. (Gunsen, 2013). Introducing a more interactive platform enables children with entirely different learning styles and even some with disabilities to enjoy a ‘more alive’ learning environment. Audio files are now available to help those who struggle with their literacy and teachers are also able to re-structure their lesson plans in the classroom by selecting the widely available resources and elements from different parts of text. Ultimately this is allowing a much more enticing multimedia based lesson.
Although there was a drive in government funding in the mid to late 1990s, introducing new technology in schools such as interactive whiteboards. Growing up in my primary school I know I would have absolutely relished the opportunity to learn literacy and numeracy on an e-reading device. Kim Floyd explains that the proof of e-reading success is in front of her every day when she sees how excited her students are the second she pulls out the tablets and how their vocabulary increases easier. (Dreams, n.d).
In conclusion technology is reshaping the world of publishing and whilst printed books are of course central to the teaching of reading in the early years of school. The digital market is growing and the UK consumer marketplace has an annual growth rate of between 200 and 400 per cent. (Hall, 2013). I quite liked Tim Carmody’s approach: “A bookfuturist, in other words, isn't someone who purely embraces the new and consigns the old to the rubbish heap. She's always looking for things that blend her appreciation of the two.” (Carmody, 2010). Schools should embrace how technology can now be taught across new platforms and realise books and technology can actually complement one another quite nicely. After all, these multi media platforms were unheard of in my dear grandmother’s generation…
Word Count ~ 488.
Bibliography:
Burns, J. (2013). E-books come top in school reading competition. [online] BBC News. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-22942908 [Accessed 5 Oct. 2014].
Carmody, T. (2010). A Bookfuturist Manifesto. [online] The Atlantic. Available at: http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2010/08/a-bookfuturist-manifesto/61231/ [Accessed 5 Oct. 2014].
Carpenter, C. (2014). Nook builds on partnership for 'Get London Reading'. [online] Thebookseller.com. Available at: http://www.thebookseller.com/news/nook-builds-partnership-get-london-reading [Accessed 5 Oct. 2014].
Clark, G. and Philips, A. (2013). Inside book publishing. 4th ed. London: Routledge.
Dream, J. (n.d.). E-Books vs. Print: What Parents Need to Know. [online] Scholastic.com. Available at: http://www.scholastic.com/parents/resources/article/developing-reading-skills/e-books-vs-print-what-parents-need-to-know [Accessed 5 Oct. 2014].
Gunson, J. (2013). Why Children Hold The Key To Your Future As An Author | Bestseller Labs. [Online] Bestsellerlabs.com. Available at: http://bestsellerlabs.com/why-children-hold-the-key-to-your-future-as-an-author/ [Accessed 5 Oct. 2014].
Hall, F. (2013). The business of digital publishing. 1st ed. New York: Routledge.
Nook media has signed a multi-media platform membership with ESI media (the commercial department of the London Evening Standard and The Independent) to re-create last year’s successful ‘Get London Reading’ Initiative. The campaign offers children free e-books and aims to instil a love of reading and other opportunities for them. (Carpenter, 2014). This is just one example of how e-readers are being incorporated much more in children. But the question I ask here how important are they?
According to Digital Book World’s 2013 report ‘The ABCs of Kids and eBooks’, over half of all U.S children aged two-to-thirteen are not only reading, but 85% of them are using e-readers, with tablets being the preferred choice. (Gunsen, 2013). Introducing a more interactive platform enables children with entirely different learning styles and even some with disabilities to enjoy a ‘more alive’ learning environment. Audio files are now available to help those who struggle with their literacy and teachers are also able to re-structure their lesson plans in the classroom by selecting the widely available resources and elements from different parts of text. Ultimately this is allowing a much more enticing multimedia based lesson.
Although there was a drive in government funding in the mid to late 1990s, introducing new technology in schools such as interactive whiteboards. Growing up in my primary school I know I would have absolutely relished the opportunity to learn literacy and numeracy on an e-reading device. Kim Floyd explains that the proof of e-reading success is in front of her every day when she sees how excited her students are the second she pulls out the tablets and how their vocabulary increases easier. (Dreams, n.d).
In conclusion technology is reshaping the world of publishing and whilst printed books are of course central to the teaching of reading in the early years of school. The digital market is growing and the UK consumer marketplace has an annual growth rate of between 200 and 400 per cent. (Hall, 2013). I quite liked Tim Carmody’s approach: “A bookfuturist, in other words, isn't someone who purely embraces the new and consigns the old to the rubbish heap. She's always looking for things that blend her appreciation of the two.” (Carmody, 2010). Schools should embrace how technology can now be taught across new platforms and realise books and technology can actually complement one another quite nicely. After all, these multi media platforms were unheard of in my dear grandmother’s generation…
Word Count ~ 488.
Bibliography:
Burns, J. (2013). E-books come top in school reading competition. [online] BBC News. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-22942908 [Accessed 5 Oct. 2014].
Carmody, T. (2010). A Bookfuturist Manifesto. [online] The Atlantic. Available at: http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2010/08/a-bookfuturist-manifesto/61231/ [Accessed 5 Oct. 2014].
Carpenter, C. (2014). Nook builds on partnership for 'Get London Reading'. [online] Thebookseller.com. Available at: http://www.thebookseller.com/news/nook-builds-partnership-get-london-reading [Accessed 5 Oct. 2014].
Clark, G. and Philips, A. (2013). Inside book publishing. 4th ed. London: Routledge.
Dream, J. (n.d.). E-Books vs. Print: What Parents Need to Know. [online] Scholastic.com. Available at: http://www.scholastic.com/parents/resources/article/developing-reading-skills/e-books-vs-print-what-parents-need-to-know [Accessed 5 Oct. 2014].
Gunson, J. (2013). Why Children Hold The Key To Your Future As An Author | Bestseller Labs. [Online] Bestsellerlabs.com. Available at: http://bestsellerlabs.com/why-children-hold-the-key-to-your-future-as-an-author/ [Accessed 5 Oct. 2014].
Hall, F. (2013). The business of digital publishing. 1st ed. New York: Routledge.