Publishing Digital Book Apps for Kids

Our world is changing at a fast pace through our increasing usage of mobile devices, media applications, and new technology. The way we learn and think is also changing to accommodate our new environments. There has been a lot of talk recently about screen time and children. Some see it as beneficial and some see it as harmful. Hopefully, more research will be coming forward on the issue, but from what I have read it is the engagement and interaction keywords that keep standing out in every argument on both sides of the issue. Applying gamification to reading seems to be an opportunity for us to make things interesting for a new generation of readers. Some of us are already doing this in our summer reading programs by using game boards instead of reading logs.

This is how I see gamification…

Presenter: Warren Buckleitner Talk title: Trends Date and Location: May 20, 2013 at Asilomar Conference Grounds, Pacific Grove, CA Bio: Warren Buckleitner is...

Some 34% of U.S. adults now own a tablet computer, like an iPad, Samsung Galaxy or Amazon Kindle Fire, according to the latest numbers from the Pew Internet

One of the big advantages of creating stories in app or ebook format is the ability to include sound effects and music. When implemented thoughtfully, these can really help move a story along and a...

Recently, I had the pleasure of attending AppFest, the opening afternoon of Dust or Magic’s App Camp in Monterrey, CA. While there, I met many talented folks, including Dr. Tico Ballagas, creator of a new app called Kindoma.

 

Our family tried this new, free app and it is really unique. Initially you download the app to two different iPads (anywhere in the world – using email accounts that are easy to set up). Then you can video chat within the app while reading a small but growing selection of children’s books together. Instead of having narrated books or a way to record, this app lets you connect with your child’s favorite storytellers directly, in real time. After using this intuitive and well-designed app, it wasn’t hard to see why it received the 2013 Editor’s Choice Award from Children’s Technology Review. In addition, Kindoma has a wonderful blog with great resource articles like this one about early literacy ...

"The arrival of mobile computing hasn't altered the laws of economics for developers, a new survey confirms."

 

First, the bad news: most app developers aren't seeing a dime from their creations. Now, the slightly better news: with some marketing and reaching out to advertisers, there are revenues to be made ...

Publishing is now at that moment when it can begin to imagine a commercial future for projects that don't simply replicate the print book ...

It's going to be a very good trial for the Justice Department and a few very bad days for Apple, said David Balto, a public interest antitrust attorney ...

Now, I may have a crazy view of the world, but as a cultural anthropologist, social worker, mom and educator I cannot understand how we can treat the most precious role we have in life, that as caregivers and parents, as something that boils down to time and not quality. I even notice differences between how my child reacts to seeing a feature length film vs 90 minutes of TV shows back to back. And if we watch the movie or participate in ‘screen time’ together as a family, the quality measure changes again.

 

I suspect I’m not brilliant, but just like most parents who notice these things about our kids unique interactions with their environment … we mothers are all a bit like Diane Fossey studying a tribe of gorillas when it comes to our kids. We do it both out of love but also for survival, to understand what our kids need to make it in the world and how to help them navigate a sea of challenges to their attention spans, temperaments and desires.

Recently I had the pleasure of walking down memory lane when we added some new books to the Bookboard collection. I remember reading both the Berenstain Bear books and the Boxcar Children books as a child, but I always just accepted them as they appeared to be; stories about bears and children, respectively. Now, as a librarian, I look back on them and see more ...

We talk a lot about the iPad here on #storyappchat, but Android remains a powerhouse player in the mobile market, both in the U.S. and worldwide. So, what are the challenges when developing for And...

Recently, Porter Anderson’s column for authors, “Writing on the Ether” (in Jane Friedman‘s most excellent blog) had a post titled, “Faster, Authors, Faster!” It inspired this post and has given me something to chew on intellectually for several days now.

I’ve been following Anderson’s delightful curation, usually weekly, for over two years. He gives an up to the minute (nearly) assessment and distillation of some of the most interesting Twitter mumblings (and more) within the publishing industry, including everyone from the biggest players to the smallest (but often most salient) independent voices.

Between Porter and Jane herself is a virtual cornucopia of wisdom that is simply riveting if you are in the slightest bit interested in reading, writing or finding your voice and audience as an author.

2 recent surveys about children and digital books generated headlines hinting that, for kids, paper books are preferable to ebooks.

In the three years since he co-founded the adaptive, online learning platform KnowRe, David Joo has visited a number of schools.

Most parents are not all that worried about the role of technology in their children’s lives. And they are more likely to rely on books and analog activities than digital devices to keep their children busy. Those are the conclusions of a new survey released this week. Based on a nationally representative survey of more than 2,300 parents of children from birth to 8-years-old, the study examines how media is being incorporated into family life. We sat down with Alexis Lauricella, one of the study’s coauthors to hear more. Lauricella is a research associate at Northwestern University’s Center on Media and Human Development. Her work examines children’s learning from media as well as parents’ and teachers’ attitudes toward media and how they use it with young children.

Book publishers still aren't sure what to make of digital publishing. While readers have enthusiastically embraced digital publishing, the book industry itself has continually dragged its heels.

By guest poster Mary Mahon from The iMums Community “The times they are a- changing” nowhere is this more true than in the world of children and technology. Everything has changed so much since we ...

Over two years ago, as one of my very first blog posts I wrote about the prices in the book app market, using my first 100 reviews for analysis. Now that I have reviewed over 700 titles in this new industry, I’d like to share a few of the points I made in 2011, which are still very much true … along with some stats to compare over time.

 

True today and even evident at the very beginning of this revolution in enhanced digital picture books was a tendency toward very low prices. If you compare these apps to other book-like products in the cultural environment, getting new releases for under $3 is rather unusual. However, this ‘sweet spot’ of $2.99 for eBooks is even more true today than two years ago, with over 70% of children’s book apps in our survey priced at $2.99 or less.

The effect of media and technology on children 8 and under in the US

"Apple wanted to sell e-books to the public, but did not want to compete against the low prices Amazon was setting," the government wrote in its court papers. "Apple knew that the major publishers also disliked Amazon's low prices and saw Apple's potential entry as a pathway to higher retail prices industrywide."

 

The Justice Department accuses the conspirators of agreeing that instead of selling books to retailers and letting them decide what price to charge readers, the publishers would convert the retailers into "agents" who were restricted from lowering the publisher-set retail price. The arrangement guaranteed Apple a 30 percent commission on each e-book it sold.

Parents who have young children at home are a relatively tech-savvy group. They are more likely than other adults to have computers, internet access, smartphones, and tablet computers.

Two key events are taking place this week for children’s app developers. First is the Dust or Magic App Camp on the Monterey Peninsula, where a variety of experts share best practices for making interactive media.