The Digital and Traditional Storytimes Research Project: Using Digitized Books for Preschool Group Storytimes
Lauren Collen
Picture books for children are now available in digitized format, and questions arise as to how, when, and by whom these digital books will be used. Librarians, who already evaluate print, audio, and video materials for children, will need to begin evaluating the use of digitized books in programming for young children.
Questions to consider include whether this new computer-based technology can become an accepted educational tool; what, if any, differences might occur when using a digital book versus a traditional book; and, whether a new type of group storytime can be created - a digital storytime - and how that can be conducted in a library or preschool setting.
The Digital and Traditional Storytimes Research Project attempts to provide some answers to these questions and is a first look at the differences or similarities that occur when preschool children listen to and view digital picture books from the International Children's Digital Library (ICDL) versus a print copy of the same picture book during group storytime [1].
On November 20, 2002, ICDL launched a Web site that made hundreds of children's books available online, full-text, for free. This digital library is a five-year research project of the University of Maryland and the Internet Archive, funded through grants from the National Science Foundation and the Institute of Museum and Library Services. It is located online at www.icdlbooks.org or www.childrensbooks.org.
To date, ICDL has collected children's books from around the world and currently houses 1,562 books in 37 different languages [2]. The ultimate goal of ICDL is to host a collection of 10,000 digitized children’s books in 100 languages, a virtual Alexandria created just for children.
Picture books are used every day in preschools and libraries during group storytime read–alouds for three- to five-year olds. Now, in addition to the traditional tools of early childhood - toys, games, and books - children have computers. For those of us who work with young children, some of the important questions we face are how to best deploy technology and, in particular for young children, how best to use computers and digital technology to increase learning and literacy during the preschool years.
Research that looks at using books in new formats or in new media is in its infancy. Picture books as e-books (or books on CD-ROM) have interactive components that allow children to deviate from the story sequence by clicking on hyperlinks or hotlinks that activate games, music, or other interactive features. The results of one recent research project suggest that when picture books are either retrofitted as interactive e-books or are "born digital " - coming into existence as interactive electronic books — they are less supportive of learning about story content than traditional picture books [3]. However, the results of another recent research project suggest there is no difference in story memory between the interactive and noninteractive versions of the same picture book [4].
The books in ICDL are neither born digital nor are they interactive - all of the books on ICDL were first created as traditional, hard-copy books. The only added features on the ICDL Web site are part of the enhanced version of the site, where the pictures can zoom in and out (from smaller to larger format); a "whooshing" sound activates as the zooming occurs. However, there are no interactive or audio functions that accompany the actual presentation of books on the ICDL Web site. The books on ICDL have been reproduced in digital form exactly as they exist in hard-copy form. There is no voice on the ICDL site that reads the book for the viewer, there is no automatic page–turner that advances the book independent of the viewer, and there is no alteration in any form to the books as they exist for the viewer in the non-digital world.
Thus far, it appears that no one has looked at the learning potential for using digitized books, such as those available on ICDL, with young children during group storytimes. The existing storytime research on traditional books supports the proposition that how a storytime is conducted affects learning. In a recent article, early literacy specialist William Teale stated that
"both new technologies and new applications of existing technologies are providing fresh opportunities for introducing read–alouds into early childhood classrooms and are inviting innovative research efforts that will help us understand how those practices affect young children and their teachers." [5].
Because digital storytimes are new for teachers, librarians, children, and researchers, ICDL chose a qualitative model for this study to extract as much information as possible about the technology and storytimes. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to observe the patterns, themes, and issues that emerge when using digitized books for group storytimes in a library or preschool setting; future research may begin to quantify these similarities and differences.