Practice2023-06-06T18:47:36+00:00

Here are some resources for teachers who are interested in supporting the reading of digital books in their classrooms

Evaluation tools and Quality criteria

Researchers in Norway and England developed frameworks and criteria for guiding teachers in evaluating children’s digital books.

The VEBB Tool (available in English and in Norwegian) helps teachers reflect on the value of a digital book for classroom dialogue. It can be used by simply entering the book’s title.

The All Children Reading consortium has identified and brought to scale the most promising digital reading tools, initiatives and solutions. ACR’s solution hub provides information and inspiration with a focus on children with reading difficulties and minority languages.

eKitabu

The UKLA Criteria (in English) help teachers establish children’s reading for pleasure with digital books. As part of the judging process, teachers receive free codes to shortlisted digital books and use the research-based criteria to judge which book best engages the children in their classrooms. The Award is run in partnership with the Open University.

This project is run by the faculty and students in the School of Communication Sciences and Disorders at McGill University, Canada and is focused on interactive and participative reading on the iPad, including interactive story books and tools that help children tell their own stories. The group maintains an excellent blog site with tips and reflections for parents, teachers, designers and scholars.

The iRead criteria help teachers establish quality markers of digital games and adaptive reading

Framework for teachers free pdf

Inspirational projects

Courses

University College London and the National Literacy Trust created a course for kindergarten and primary school teachers interested in using digital books in their classrooms. The course consists of one day face-to-face training and one day online self-paced study. You can check details and sign up here.

Guides

“Mesh Guides”

International guides based on research in classrooms. These guides are available in many languages and feature step-by-step recommendations on how to introduce digital books to your classroom.

Mesh Guides

Digital libraries we like

“International Children’s Digital Library”

A Library for the World’s Children

StoryWeaver

Free original digital stories in 202 languages

Unite for Literacy

Unite for Literacy offer narration in no fewer than 43 different languages

WorldStories

A growing collection of stories from around the world.

African Storybook

Open access to picture storybooks in the languages of Africa.

Global Storybooks

Multilingual stories from the African Storybook

Bloom Library

More than 10,000 books in many languages

Reviews and recommendations

Literacy Apps by the National Literacy Trust

Expert reviewed apps for young children’s literacy development

Common Sense Media

Carefully reviewed apps with tips for parents and educators

Children’s Technology Review- Library Apps

Expert-reviewed apps for reading and literacy

Open University Research Rich Pedagogies

Reading for Pleasure Recommendations

Awards

Teachers know best which digital books work in their classrooms. The UKLA Children’s Digital Book Award is judged entirely by UK teachers and focuses on digital books for children in primary schools. Teachers use shortlisted digital books in their classrooms for a term and select the winner based on the UKLA evaluation criteria.

The Award is growing into an international award, please contact the Award Chair if you are a teacher interested in taking part in 2020.

The American Association for library service to children administers several awards, including The Notable Children’s Digital Media, which rewards ‘real-time, dynamic, and interactive media content for children 14 years of age and younger that enables and encourages active engagement and social interaction while informing, educating, and entertaining in exemplary ways’.

The BolognaRagazzi Digital Award is run in partnership with the Children’s Technology Review  and it focuses on ‘the latest trends and developments in children’s digital content. Interactive publishing and Augmented Reality + books are key points of the BolognaRagazzi Award: titles where the two components come together to deliver an enhanced reading experience.’

Guiding books and videos

How and Why to Read and Create Children’s Digital Books

Free Text Book from UCL press
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