Development of a tool for choosing the best picture book apps for digital e -readers: Some guidelines for educators

1. Development of a tool for choosing the best picture book apps for digital e-readers: Some guidelines for educators Marcy Zipke mzipke@providence.edu Providence College http://appsmykidslike.blogspot.com

2. What is an e-book anyway? • Is it just semantics? • E-book vs. interactive storybook app • Jeremy Brueck: term is too broad. Can be a PDF of the book, or 75% movie. • Creators of Bats! Furry Fliers of the Night suggest “bapp,” short for “book app.” Say their intent was to make reading “deeper and richer”

3. Features of an e-book Pre-tablet computers Exciting new features animation zooming in and out hotspots activated by the touch screen musical scores voice recognition surprises that occur with tilting and shaking of the physical machine • Text and illustrations on a screen, accompanied by an oral reading • text highlighting • built-in dictionaries • sound effects

5. Are e-books good for children? Shamir and Korat (2009) reviewed the research on pedagogical uses of e-books and concluded there is “accumulating research literature showing the positive effects of well-designed software on children’s cognitive and social development” (p. 171).

6. What does it mean to be well-designed? • Focus on literacy experiences, rather than games, movies, or other distractions • But what about background music? interaction with the characters? • In some instances—in some e-books, and for some students—these interactive elements contribute valuable background knowledge, vocabulary support, and more. In other e-books, or for other students, those same elements can be distracting. • Each e-book needs to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis

8. What is quality literature? • Began by thinking about what I look for in print books • Norton’s (1995) developmental approach • at ages 3 and 4, preschoolers are beginning to compare two things and identify which is bigger or smaller, so Rod Campbell’s Dear Zoo • Exemplars of good writing • Judy Schachner’sSkippyjon Jones = voice • Margie Palatini’sMoosestache= sentence fluency • Mo Willem’s Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus = persuasive writing

9. How does this translate to e-books? • E-books should make good use of the medium, while still encouraging good literacy practices. • Provide a read-aloud that enhances comprehension (Matthew, 1996) • Display the text with tracking that can be turned on/off (Kluver, 2012) • Have word pronunciation and dictionary tools (Olson and Wise, 1992) • Scaffold the reader through all animation and interactive media (Brueck, 2013)

10. Systematic review • 25 e-books, chosen by positive review in a respected source like The New York Times or Kirkus Reviews. Goal was to have a selection of quality literature with interesting digital features to analyze. • Approximately half were originally published in print. Half are original e-books. All aimed at pre-k to grade 3. • Listed and cross-referenced all the features of the e-books, until categories emerged. Focused on interaction with the characters, interaction with the language, sound (both in terms of the music and sound effects), navigation of the e-book, and specific skill instruction. • Attempted to critically analyze their role in helping or hindering a young student’s independent reading of the e-book. • “Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen” in The Great Cookie Thief = distracting or an aid to comprehension?

11. Results • A table with categories for interaction with the characters, interaction with the language, sound, navigation, and specific skill instruction in which I had written notes for every e-book • The best e-books were interactive, but not so interactive that the storyline was lost • Sound supported the story and added to the students’ background knowledge • Navigation of the e-book was simple or supported by characters within the story • Some e-books supported a particular element of literacy instruction • Example: Winken, Blinken, and Nod by Larva Labs as a fluency tool

12. Suggestions for Getting Started 1. Make a List of Which Features are Most Important to You • Who will be reading these e-books? What do you want them to learn? 2. Browse Reviews on the Internet • www.kirkusreviews. com/book-reviews/ipad • digital-storytime.com 3. Look for Lite or Free Versions of the App 4. Go For It! 5. Set Up the App, Try it Out, and Read it with Kids 6. Weed Out the Duds • 9/10 times, they won’t even notice…

13. E-books evaluated in the study • Arnold, M.D. (2013). Prancing dancing Lily. San Rafael, California: Fat Red Couch. fatredcouch.com/Prancing_Dancing_Lily • Bartleby’s book of buttons. (2010)Seattle, WA: Monster Costume. monstercostume.com/bartleby/ • Bobo explores light. (2011). Seattle, WA: Game Collage, LLC. gamecollage.com/apps/bobo-explores-light/ • Bruza, M. (2012). Even monsters get sick. Santa Clarita, CA:Busy Bee Studios.www.busybeestudios.com/games/evenmonstersgetsick.html • Carson, M.K. (2012). Bats! Furry fliers of the night. New York: Bookerella with Story Worldwide. www.batsfurryfliers.com/bats/ • Curtis, J.L. (2012). Where do balloons go? Los Angeles:Auryn Media. auryn.com/aword/portfolio/where-do-balloons-go/

14. E-books evaluated in the study, con’t • Drori, S. (2011). The magnificent travelling palace.PlaneTree Family Productions. www.travellingpalace.com/ • Field, E. (2011).Winken, Blinken, and Nod. New York: Larva Labs Ltd. larvalabs.com/wb/ • Gleeson, B. (2010). Pecos Bill. Wilton, CT: Ruckus Mobile Media. ruckusreport.com/ • Hachler, B. (2010). What does my teddy bear do all day? Los Angeles:Auryn Media. auryn.com/ • Kingsley, E.P. (2012). The great cookie thief. New York: Callaway Digital Arts. (Publisher is out of business; search app store) • Lester, H. (2010). Tacky the penguin. San Diego, CA:Oceanhouse Media, Inc. • www.oceanhousemedia.com/products/tackythepenguin/

15. E-books evaluated in the study, con’t • The land of me—story time. (2012).London: Made in Me. www.madeinme.com/the-land-of-me/ • The little red hen. (2009). Hong Kong: Kidztory.www.kidztory.com/the-little-red-hen/ • Mayer, M. (2010). I just forgot. San Diego, CA:Oceanhouse Media. www.oceanhousemedia.com/products/ijustforgot/ • Melbourne, C.(2012). Goldilocks and the three bears. London: Playfuel. www.goldilocksapp.com/ • Melling, D. (2012). HuglessDougless. London: Heavy Entertainment. www.huglessdouglas.co.uk/ • The princess and the pea. (2012). Israel: TabTale LTD tabtale.com/apps/the-princess-and-the-pea/

16. E-books evaluated in the study, con’t • Rounds: Parker Penguin/Franklin Frog. (2012). London: Nosy Crow Ltd. nosycrow.com/apps/rounds-penguin • Shanahan, S. (2011). Love you to the moon and back. Los Angeles:Auryn Media. auryn.com/aword/portfolio/love-you-to-the-moon-back/ • Stone, J. (2011). The monster at the end of this book. New York: Callaway Digital Arts in association with Sesame Workshop. (Publisher is out of business; search app store) • Dr. Seuss Properties. (2011). Horton hears a who. San Diego, CA:Oceanhouse Media. www.oceanhousemedia.com/products/hortonhearsawho/ • Dr. Seuss Properties. (2011). The cat in the hat. San Diego, CA:Oceanhouse Media. www.oceanhousemedia.com/products/catinhat/ • The tortoise and the hare. (2010). Hong Kong, China: Kidztory. www.kidztory.com/the-tortoise-and-the-hare • The three little pigs. (2011). London: Nosy Crownosycrow.com/apps/the-three-little-pigs