I was going to simply Tweet this latest video and ask my question, but felt that since I haven’t blogged here in such a long time, and the fact that I am sitting here not doing much of anything, and since my post revolves around the idea that words are powerful, I thought I would write a few more than 140 characters. Take that Twitter! Blogging is not dead.
I found this link from the Huffington Post on one of my wandering journeys of the Interwebs, and I was not sure how I felt about the video below. Please watch and come back for some thought sharing.
The article says that:
Some of these content creators have taken advantage of Apple’s new platform better than others, incorporating colorful, interactive, video, and web elements into their e-versions.
Don’t get me wrong, I think the App is stunning, and I think my daughter would love to play with it, but the question I was left asking as a father, educator, and of lover of words was:
Is this reading?
Are we so committed to re-inventing reading that we lose site of what it is really about: The power to transform ourselves and our realities through the simple act of sitting quietly by ourselves and absorbing, consuming, being transformed by words? Sure media is fun, as are games, movies, and now iPhone Apps, but I am left wondering if we are doing our kids and students a disservice by not getting them to love to read the old school way first.
I see how my daughter interacts with books. She is not yet four, but she is slowly, through a lot of hard work on my part, falling in love with the idea of stories and words. We have begun to read books without pictures and she can keep up. She is constantly asking me to tell her “Nikka” stories. Nikka is a fictional character that does everything she does. I tell her these stories at breakfast, in the car, every second it seems, but I am excited and proud that it is in the story, the narrative that Kaia is learning to love reading not in the Flash. (Sorry I know the new iPad doesn’t have Flash; you know what I mean) So would something like this make our old books seem boring? Will she not care about Nikka unless there is some App attached to it?
So what do you think? Do we need to inspire reading with cool apps and gadgets, or can we simply rely on the art of reading and the magic of stories to improve literacy. I am open to any ideas and hope this proves to be a good conversation. Go!
As I was cross pollinating this post on Twitter injenuity sent me this great link:
Forcing me to rethink my ideas of literature and literacy all together. Will let thoughts and comments stew a bit before moving forward, but I urge you to contribute.
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Why are you comparing it to reading?
As an avid reader and the mother of an 11-year-old who says she hates reading I don’t know what to say. Personally I rejoice at reading in its traditional form and I know what you mean very well about the power of words. But now I am deeply perplexed and I am afraid that if reading isn’t re-invented my daughter will miss all these great stories…I know it’s not the same and I wish things change sometime, research says actually that the important thing is for the child to be surrounded by books (and that she is), but I have lost a lot of my certainties as she is growing up….
And mind you as an educator I think I’m doing a good job what with the library we have built at school and bookcrossing and various other book related things… It’s as a parent that I am most doubtful and I welcome new technologies if they are for a good cause….
Well, I guess because everyone is talking about how new E-readers will revolutionize reading and iPad is the latest E-reader. I was not sold on the Kindle either, before this came out. Did I miss something? Isn’t that want this is meant to be- The new book?
“The developers have created the pop-up book of the 21st-century. With this creative update to Alice in Wonderland, users don’t just flip the “pages” of the eBook–they’re meant to shake it, turn it, twist it, jiggle it, and watch the characters and settings in the book react.”
I think this is different than a video game or a movie right? Perhaps you are right in insinuating that this is a new medium, but even if that is true, will it kill reading?
I don’t see reading as we know it going away any time soon. I am not sure what the future holds, but I suspect that using reading/writing to communicate will still be used long after we are gone, although I am not sure exactly how it will be used.
I prefer to read a book first, listen to an audio book second, and watch the movie last. I prefer the book over audio because I read much faster and can go back more easily and find things I need to clarify. I also prefer to read over watching because my vision is much more fun than someone a director’s. I have to admit that I am really loving to read books on my Kindle. I have been reading much more since I received it as a present for Christmas.
This is a very thought-provoking question. The funny thing is, as a child, I dreamed of this very exact tool. I remember wishing that newspapers would come to life, pictures would move in them, help me understand all those things the “adults” would be in constant discussion about. I understand your concern – that children will have a crippled imagination because everything is being provided to them in media form. But be that as it may, it is still the parent’s choice as to how they would like to educate their children. In today’s world, parents hardly have time for their kids anymore (this could be a hasty generalization, but it’s not fallacious in terms of what I’m getting at). My mother spent hours everyday reading to me, urging me to read, teaching me new words. This resulted in me being an avid reader and writer, and today I cannot imagine life without literature. But can we still expect that of future generations? Is the iPad an infiltration of proper education, or is it a crutch for those children whose parents just simply do not have the time? The economic state of America almost requires that both parents work. This is not to say that parents do not spend any time with their children, only that the quality of imparting knowledge suffers because of the everyday strain that is put on them. This kind of technology could be a very good thing. As a very pro-reading for leisure person, I cannot endorse this to be just as ‘effective’ as novels, but it can certainly be a starting step. Children can be baited with the pictures, videos, and pseudo-imagination and then weaned from it into the literature we have read and love.
I think just as (some) children learn to love to read first with picture books and then gradually with books with fewer pictures and eventually with books with no pictures, so, too, will children eventually learn to love traditional books (whatever form that may take). The reality is that not everyone manages to learn to love books, and so maybe by providing some new enticing entrees into the world of reading we will manage to capture more imaginations than otherwise.
I just talked to a student today–a poor reader–whose mother is dangling the promise of an iPad in front of him if he reads more. He’s pretty excited about the whole idea.
As a first grade teacher my biggest job is teaching kids how to read. To do that I constantly ask myself “what is reading?”. When I sit down with a 6 year who can read every word on the page but not tell me a single thing he has read I know he is not really reading. Reading is more than accuracy, it is also the comprehension of the books. Can kids talk about books, make mental images, connect personally to what they have read, relate it to the world around them, create questions and want to read more to answer those questions? When all this is happening our minds start to work in amazing ways and we are really reading. That is what makes a book come alive, not a cool app on new technology. The tool that gives us the words isn’t the most important thing. The conversations we have about the books and how we make the books our own in our minds is what is important. The only way to teach this to kids is to talk with them. And then talk with them some more. Alice looks amazing on the ipad and it might get many more kids to read the words but that is only half the job. As parents and educators we still need to take the time and talk to kids to make the meaning of the words come alive.
I am an educator and mother of two very different boys. My oldest boy, 9 years, carries books around with him. He does not leave the house without a book. He sneaks reading in school. He is the student with his head in the desk trying to get a few pages in while the teacher is giving instructions. My youngest boy, 7 years, loves to be read to but struggles with decoding. He is a bit behind and that worries us. My husband and I are both avid readers. (Just got a Kindle for my birthday and love it!) I read to my boys every night. They are surrounded by books but one is a reader and one is not. My 7 year old wants to read chapter books and he gets his big brother to read books to him but he gets frustrated with the process of reading. Anything that would help him want to practice reading would be very welcome. Bring on the gadgets or anything that will help him want to practice reading.
I am happy to have been introduced to this post and the comments. I find much of the feedback to be very interesting.
I am currently enrolled at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, AL USA as a Secondary Education/Math student. In addition, I’m the mother of 5 and 8 year old girls. I’m grateful to be introduced to the technology put forth here.
I am in agreement with many of the comments here. I watched the clip prior to reading the comments. My first thoughts were that while the app was different, I couldn’t help but fee that would be a distraction to the child reading. I didn’t feel that would provoke reading at all, but game playing. I would not be in favor of this for my children, based on my experience so far in helping develop two avid readers.
Books are meant to inspire imagination, in my opinion. My second grader has really taken off this year in understanding what she is reading as well as predicting the outcomes, and devising her own endings. I love that she can read a book and at some point she just has to turn the next page to find out what happens. Video serves it all to the viewer, taking away that opportunity to imagine the setting, the details of the characters, and other things that the author has left to the reader. I didn’t find the iPad app to be much different.
It actually frightens me to think that reading programs could be introducing more of the gimmicks, while eliminating the imaginative piece of books. I hope that Mr. Chamberlain is correct in that books and reading as we know them are not going to go away anytime soon.
Thank you for sharing this very important piece.
Jackie Gorski
University of South Alabama
EDM310
Secondary Education/Math
my blog : http://gorskijacquelineedm310.blogspot.com/
In my opinion, the key problem here seems to center around some of the recreational activities that technology is often used for these days. For kids, I believe this makes them only associate the devices they are using with games. Some of these games and technologies seem to condition the user to only respond to very quick “flash in the pan” emotions. The problem here is that reading literature, and comprehending words and language can be a somewhat demanding and slow process. I worry that apps like these teach kids to be averse to slower and more complex thought processes that really are necessary for true lingual evaluation and learning. As long as the true intellectual process of interacting with words is preserved to some degree in these apps, I think they could be useful.
A.W. Faris
EDM 310
http://www.arthurfarisedm310.blogspot.com
I think you raise a question that many people have different opinions on and I, personally, like to see what others would think. In my opinion, it is reading, but in a different form. I believe there is something relaxing about sitting and reading a book and forming your own mental pictures of what the book is telling. I also believe the “cool apps and gadgets” as you called them would also be benefitical to certain children. Each child is different. Some children do not like to read for the simple fact that they feel it is boring or not interesting. But if they were able to use various apps and gadgets to read then maybe that would open their mind to the idea of pulling a book off of a shelf and reading it themselves. The tools and gadgets are useful don’t get me wrong, but children should still be able to get a book and read without having to grab the closest technological device to help them read.
Summer Anderson
http://andersonsummeredm310.blogspot.com/
Reading not in the Flash. yes, if i read book i would chooce paper book not ebook
Well, I think cool apps are all well and good but there is nothing like reading a good book and using your imagination to visualize your own pictures from the story. So, read a good book. It’s usually better than any movie or, for that matter, an ipad.
I am a student at the University of South Alabama and was asked to comment on your site.