"Bringing Up an E Reader" by Thomas J. Fitzgerald. The New York Times - nytimes.com. Published March 28, 2012

Link to Article

In the article "Bringing Up an E Reader" by Thomas J. Fitzgerald, we look at the changing world of learning to read.  Young readers today are as likely to read their picture book on the screen of an iPad or Nook color as they are on the printed page.  Classrooms are beginning to integrate e books and tablets into their curriculum, and many parents use the devices with their children at home.

While some parents and educators are thrilled by e readers, others are more wary.  While a child may show more interest in reading on a device, those with reservations wonder if the child’s enjoyment has more to do with the stories themselves or the animation and games that often accompany the stories. 

After attending a workshop on picture book apps, I have seen how passionate people can get about this topic.  After first reading the print forms of the books The Going to Bed Book by Sandra Boynton and Freight Train by Donald Crews, we were then given the chance to view the books in their app form on iPads.  The text and pictures were still there, though the form was slightly different as it had to fit on an iPad screen rather than an open book.  The stories were also accompanied by animation and activities.  Boynton’s book allowed the reader to move characters around and find secret animation hidden on the page.  Crews’s book had a musical track (that could not be muted) and each car of the train had a simple activity or game hidden inside. 

After reading the book we debated whether the apps added or took away from the experience of reading the book.  While most thought that it was a fun addition, a few people at the workshop declared they would never give such a thing to a child as it would ruin real reading.  The discussion kept going back to the fact that an app shouldn’t replace the one on one interaction of parent and child reading together.  This is also where the article leads.  Many researchers believe that these apps will encourage parents to abandon their children to the screen. 

Yet, I believe that a parent who is going to hand their child an iPad and not engage their child would do the same thing with a regular picture book.  It is up to the parent or guardian to make sure that a child is truly learning early literacy skills.  By discussing the pictures, the text and yes even the animation on the iPad, a parent can engage in the activities that will help a child grow as a reader.  While I believe that reading regular books will always be an important aspect of early literacy, we cannot deny the direction that technology is moving.  To prevent children from seeing how these devices work, we will be hindering their technological literacy.  By incorporating both into a child’s learning, we can help to ensure that they become well-rounded readers.