Tag Archives: ebooks

It’s August. August? How did that happen? We are facing a new school year, which as a parent of a 6- and 8-year-old I am simultaneously saddened about (where has the time gone?) and relieved by (these kids need to get back to school!). As the end of summer approaches, it’s time to start thinking about preparing for school. Are the kids ready? Not just in terms of getting their stuff ready (school supplies, anyone?), but also emotionally and academically.…

Imagine: a young child looks up at an adult expectantly and hands them a book. It’s hard to say no to a simple request like that, so the adult settles down next to the child and dives into the story. When we break this adult-child book-reading interaction down, there are many elements that vary. For example: The physical proximity and orientation of the adult and child. Is the child sitting in the adult’s lap? Are they next to each other at a…

Book publisher and app developer Nosy Crow has the best fairytale apps on the market today. Though many app developers lean heavily on the fairytale stories because they are in the public domain and therefore free to use, Nosy Crow is truly innovative in their use of mobile device capabilities and they truly use those special features to move the story forward, not just distract with bells and whistles. Tune in to episode #4 of the App Fairy Podcast to…

Family Time with Apps is a free interactive guide for parents and caregivers that highlights some ways that families can use technology together. The book features comic strips that parents and children can enjoy together, as well as tips on selecting apps that can help turn screen time into family time. The guide provides tips on how using apps together can support a child’s learning and development. It is available from the iBook Store. This week, Jason Boog, author of…

In today’s information-obese world, book reading has become a refuge from my click-happy, easily distracted, multitask-ery. But as books extend their reach into the digital landscape through the Kindle, iPad and the new Barnes & Noble Nook, I have to wonder: Does a book by any other platform still smell as sweet? The Internet and digital media have often been blamed for the decline of children’s interest in reading books. In a 2007 report by the National Endowment for the…

This post originally appeared in New Media Literacies on October, 25, 2010. I recently attended Digital Hollywood, a digital media trade conference in Los Angeles for executives in the film, television, computer, music, and telecommunications fields. As a Ph.D. student in Communication at USC Annenberg, I attended four panels relevant to my research interests in children and media. These panels were organized around the following themes: immersive touchscreen media, mobile apps, crossmedia content reinvention, and one specifically on children in…

Reprinted from the February 2010 Cooney Center Bits Newsletter: The Cooney Center kicked off 2010 with the 3rd annual Consumer Electronics Show Kids@Play Summit in Las Vegas on January 8. The jam-packed agenda included an announcement by the Cooney Center that our Prizes for Innovation in Children’s Learning are now open for submissions. White House executives, including FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski and Department of Education Director of Technology Karen Cator delivered remarks. Panels included a mix of industry, public media,…