Abstract
In Norwegian kindergartens there is a strong emphasis on communication and language stimulation. In this educational context the reading of picture book apps offers an opportunity for extended dialogs, which have great didactic potential in that they integrate language knowledge with cultural knowledge. In this chapter we discuss what dimensions of the picture book text (words and pictures), medium (app on digital tablet) and situation (adult-child relations) that the teacher needs to take into consideration when designing dialogs to encourage early language and literacy development in kindergarten. This work represents the first phase of a major innovation project that will develop a research-based online assessment tool for picture book apps. The part of the project presented here focuses on how different semiotic affordances and technologies may affect dialogic reading. Theoretically, this project is rooted in New Literacy Studies, which sees reading and language as social practices where competence develops in interaction with others. One of the main objectives of our contribution is to present central dimensions within the text, the medium and the situation that preschool teachers need to take into consideration for reading in the digital age.
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Notes
- 1.
The project is funded by the Research Council of Norway (2016–2019): https://lesesenteret.uis.no/category.php?categoryID=19984
- 2.
The app What happened then? developed by Finnish Tove Jansson is published in Norwegian by a Norwegian publisher in cooperation with the Finnish publisher and a game company.
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Acknowledgements
We would like to thank our colleagues in the research group responsible for choosing and analysing the apps used in the VEBB project, Professor Terje Hillesund, Associate Professors Margrethe Jernes and Trine Solstad and PhD Candidate Marianne Larsen Undheim.
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Tønnessen, E.S., Hoel, T. (2019). Designing Dialogs Around Picture Book Apps. In: Kim, J.E., Hassinger-Das, B. (eds) Reading in the Digital Age: Young Children’s Experiences with E-books. Literacy Studies, vol 18. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-20077-0_11
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