MESHGuides

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 Free access to high-quality digital books from around the world is provided by International Children’s Digital Library:

http://en.childrenslibrary.org/ 

Magic Blox offers a special pricing program for schools interested in using their digital library which involves several digital books, as well as the possibility to create and upload users’ own books.

http://magicblox.com/

The research suggests that digital books can support children’s traditional literacy and language outcomes, as well as new literacy skills. See the information which follows

There is no agreed definition and terminology for children's digital books. Digital books for children aged 2-8 years -- available on tablets and smartphones -- are often called story apps (or book apps). Those which are downloadable for eReaders (e.g., Kindle, Kobo), or for computers or laptops, and are typically used with older children, are often called e-books. This is not the norm, however, and publishers and digital producers often use the terms interchangeably.

The author has been researching in children’s reading particularly digital reading since 2010. She has published widely in the area (see her publication list on www.academia edu) including three years funded research for her PhD and subsequent projects funded by the literacy charity The Book Trust.

The references here are part of the evidence base for this resource and are indicative of the most recent and relevant publications in the area.

When implementing digital books in the classroom, you need to consider:

- the entire context, the entire classroom environment.

-the literacy skills you wish to support with the digital books

-the literacy and digital competency of individual children

-the quality and appropriateness of a digital book (see “Criteria”)

If you would like to use digital books in your classroom, you need to first choose the right book. There are several rubrics and evaluation criteria available for evaluating and assessing digital books. The choice of a rubric/of the evaluation criteria will depend on your learning goals and teaching objectives. Do you want the app/digital book to support children’s reading for pleasure or digital literacy or perhaps writing skills? Here are some rubrics currently available.

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This column outlines the possibilities for implementing digital books in the classroom. It specifies that teachers need to decide on the purpose or objective of the activity before implementing digital books.