Family Literacy

As parents and educators, we must look for ways for children to read -- including the iPad, Kindle and NOOK. Since the reading experience is different, let's think through how to best use this technology for learning purposes.

On November 1st, Pew Internet released a report called “How Teens Do Research in a Digital World”. I spent time reading the fifth section of the report, which relayed teacher comments about literacy, reading, focus, overexposure, and adaptation. Parents who are curious about how digital technologies are impacting the classroom will find a variety of perspectives to consider. The report can be downloaded via PDF, or viewed online.

Here are two points of view written in the report, along with a graphic about what skills teachers consider most valuable for students to have in the future ...

I love books.  Physical books.  Books that sit in my lap and warm it like a sleeping pup.  Three and a half years ago, I had an e-reader unwillingly thrust upon me.  I ignored it at first; shunned it.  Then one day I was packing for a long trip and...

Wrapping IL with Inquiry Learning - In this post I outline the characteristics of everyday inquiry and explain how everyday inquiry is related to inquiry learning. Everyday inquiry involves asking questions, and finding and using inf...

University of College Cork (UCC) scientists have shown that brain levels of serotonin, the ‘happy hormone,’ are regulated by the amount of bacteria in the gut during early life.  Their research is being published today in the leading international...

Technology is transforming learning for people of all ages. Educational software is merging with gaming to help engage children. In many places textbooks have already moved into the digital realm, and teachers are “flipping the classroom” – using the internet to provide pre-classroom lectures and the classroom to embed that knowledge. New educational augmented reality applications are on the market. Inside and outside of schools educational technology is blossoming as new partnerships are being formed to help move numerous new initiatives forward ...

To follow up on insights revealed in our Print vs. E-books QuickStudy, the Joan Ganz Cooney Center conducted a second QuickStudy to survey parents about reading books with their 2-to-6-year-old children.  In this survey we assessed family ownership of devices on which e-books can be read and included a set of questions about reading e-books with children since market research indicates these are emerging trends (Rainie et al., 2012). 

Because the Apple iPad has demonstrated a quick rise to dominance in the tablet marketplace, this report delves into iPad owners' practices and perceptions surrounding the use of e-books in their kids' literacy development.  We found noteworthy patterns of perceptions and use of e-books among the families in this sample who own iPads.  These patterns warrant broader conversations and pose important questions for researchers and designers.

Omar Kattan: "Lego understood very early on that they’re not in the toy business, but instead, the imagination business. As a result of this, Lego brought their bricks to life through the magical power of story told through multiple platforms."