Synopses & Reviews
“This stellar book extends teachers thinking well beyond 'book spaces' and into 'digital spaces' by offering theorized approaches to analyzing childrens literature across media, and careful descriptions of effective learning activities that are rich in detail and practical advice. This book (and its digital spaces) is an indispensable guide to engaging with childrens literature and new digital media.” Michele Knobel, Montclair State University, USA.
“The book overall is exciting, informative and practical, outlining important theoretical perspectives and ideas while also providing much wisdom and advice to teachers about how to transform their literary programs.”
Frances Christie, Emeritus Professor of Language and Literacy Education, University of Melbourne and Honorary Professor of Education, University of Sydney, Australia.
This book connects classroom teaching of childrens literature with the digital age. It celebrates the charm of childrens literature and its role in literacy development, as well as the appeal of information and communications technology (ICT) to students and its capacity to enrich students learning and enjoyment of literary texts.
The authors outline the ways in which childrens literature is developing new dimensions, for example:
- The re-publication of childrens books on CD ROM and the world wide web
- Web resources for working with literary texts, including e-mail discussion groups
- Childrens participation in the collaborative construction of online narratives
The book provides practical guidance for teachers who are inexperienced with ICT. It describes and discusses implementation of activities that extend traditional approaches to literary texts and take advantage of available technology.
Synopsis
-What could the use of the ICT add to my teaching about literary texts?
- What is the range of activities available for use of ICT in my classroom with literary texts?
-How do I go about learning what to do with ICT in my classroom work with literary texts?
This is a book that connects classroom teaching of children's literature with the world wide web. It outlines the ways in which children's literature is developing new dimensions in a digital age, the re-publication of children's books on CD ROM and the WWW, and WWW resources for working with literary texts including email lists for discussion groups and children's participation in the collaborative construction of on-line narratives. Practical activities that extend traditional approaches to literary texts and take advantage of available technology are described and samples of classroom programs incorporating such activities are included.
This book celebrates the enduring appeal of children's literature and its role in literacy development as well as the appeal of information and communication technology to students and its capacity to expand the dimensions of students' learning and enjoyment of literary texts.
About the Author
Len Unsworth is Professor in English and Literacies Education in the School of Education at the University of New England in Armidale, Australia. Len was a classroom teacher in Queensland before moving into teacher education at the University of Western Sydney, and then the University of Sydney prior to taking up his present position at the University of New England. As well as an extensive list of journal articles, Len has published a number of books including Literacy learning and teaching (Macmillan, 1993), Researching language in schools and communities (Continuum, 2000) and Teaching multiliteracies across the curriculum (Open University Press, 2001).
Angela Thomas is a lecturer in English and Literacy Education at the University of Sydney. She has been a Primary school teacher, Drama and Arts Consultant and Literacy Advisor. Her main area of research is virtual theatre in visual worlds.
Alyson Simpson lectures in literacy in the teacher education programs at University of Sydney. Her current research projects include the study of design in interactive learning communities such as: children's online responses to literary texts. Her work aims to extend the successful use of multiliteracies in the classroom.
Jennifer Asha is a primary school teacher experienced in teaching students with a wide range of abilities. She holds a Masters degree in English and Literacy Education and shares her passion for conventional and computer based literacies as a guest lecturer and conference speaker. As president of an Australian Literacy Educators Association local council, she leads a group of teachers and librarians interested in promoting the use of conventional and electronic childrens literature in the primary classroom.
Table of Contents
1. Changing dimensions of childrens literature in book and digital formats.
2. Exploring childrens literature on CD ROM and the WWW.
3. Booktalk 'on-line': Learning about literature through 'book raps'.
4. Playing in the MUD; performing in the Palace: Literary narratives and students multimodal on-line authoring.
5. Classroom management of computer-based work with children's literature
6. New directions in research and classroom practice using electronic literature for children.