Once Upon an App: The Process of Creating Digital Storytimes for Preschoolers

The library is a place for informal learning positioned to accommodate and encourage children's use of new technology.¹ As youth librarians, we set out in 2011 to explore how digital literacy skills might intersect and support early literacy skills by initiating a series of digital storytimes implementing iPads for preschoolers. We conducted several forms of preliminary research while creating the digital storytimes in order to gauge audience receptivity, identify best practices, and learn about current findings in the field.

Our digital storytimes, which include the traditional storytelling, songs, and activities, focused on counting, sequencing, and learning colors, as enhanced by technological capabilities. These storytimes take into account not only the six early literacy skills laid out in 2000 in the Every Child Ready to Read (ECRR) program², but also the five supporting practices in ECRR 2^nd Edition created in 2010³ (see Table 1). In addition to these skills and practices, we are focusing on skills associated with the concept of digital literacy as identified by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) in 2007. First among these skills are creativity and innovation, where children "apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes and create original works as a means of personal or group expression."⁴ Second, communication and collaboration means "interacting, collaborating, and publishing with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media."⁵

Table 1. Six Early Literacy Skills as defined in ECRR (1^st Edition) and Five Early Literacy Practices identified in ECRR (2^nd Edition).

A Brief History of the Project

In the first days of using iPads in traditional storytimes, we added the device to show a few digital books that include animation and read-aloud capabilities, as well as some music and animal noises. We combined these apps, downloaded from the Apple website, with the traditional storytime fare of print books, CD player music, rhymes, and flannel boards. At first, we tried using a projector in a small room with about 30 children and parents. This method didn't work very well because of the small size of the room and the number of people. Since the room and the crowd were not too big, we found that children could see the iPad screen just fine without the use of a projector.

We received some positive responses from parents and children who attended the storytime. Parents started approaching the desk and asking about the apps we used. They wanted to know how we had discovered the apps and if there were others that we could recommend. Fellow staff members and upper management expressed a range of opinions; some staff were excited about trying something so different while others were apprehensive about how and why we would want to use a digital device in storytime. No one said flat out “don’t do it,” but there was some push-back that maybe storytime is not the venue for digital devices. So we came up with a new idea. We stopped using the iPad in traditional storytime and waited a few weeks, then we put out a survey about digital devices and started planning an all-digital storytime.

Getting to Know Our Audience

In a survey administered to caregivers attending traditional storytimes, we set out simply to gather data "describing the characteristics of [our]...population."¹ Despite a fairly low response rate to our survey (186 completed surveys amounting to approximately 8 percent of all traditional storytime attendees), we discovered information about the use of technology among children attending storytimes, including types of devices used, frequency of use, and whether children used the devices under supervision (see Appendix for full survey results). Caregivers responded to questions about their child's use of digital devices. We broke down the responders into one of three groups:

• Heavy Users. Children who use a digital device at least once a day: Represents 50 percent of responders.
• Moderate Users. Children who use a device at least once a week: Represents 35 percent of responders.
• Non-Users. Children who never touch a digital device of any kind ever: Represents 14 percent of responders.

With these results we assumed that Heavy Users would be very interested in using digital devices during storytime. We also assumed that Non-Users would be opposed to the idea of using digital devices in storytime. In actuality, the survey revealed that each group had a similar divide; most groups were divided pretty evenly about the use of devices in storytime. Half are interested in devices and the other half do not want to use devices in answer to the question: "Do you like the idea of using a digital device in storytime? Please comment."

The write-in comments gave us an insight into caregivers' feelings. Many people commented that they like the interaction between the storyteller and the children. They were afraid that we would lose this interaction if we used a device. This told us that people are envisioning a storytime where the librarian hands the children a digital device then lets the device read to the children. It seems that some librarians also shared this concern. We learned a lot during the survey, but this bit of information is the most telling.

In a similar fashion, many people think reading books is also a solitary endeavor. Any librarian, child, parent, or library user who has ever been to a storytime or a book club knows that reading is often best shared with friends. Anyone who has ever read a blog, made an online comment, shared an eBook, or forwarded an interesting story to a friend from their digital device knows that reading is anything but solitary. The challenge with incorporating a digital device into storytime is not how to do it, but how to show people that we are not replacing traditional storytime with digital devices. We need to show the benefits of adding a new twist to what is already working.

Write-in Comments Expressing Reservations about Digital Storytimes

"I like storytime to be more interactive with an adult different from Mom and Dad. I love all the songs, storyboards, etc." - Heavy User

"I like exposing my kids to books without the digital distractions. It would be nice to get a list of age-appropriate apps though." - Heavy User

"[Traditional Storytime] gives my child a chance to socialize with other children as well as use manners and pay attention to adults." - Heavy User

Creating a Digital Storytime

Figure 1. The steps to building a digital storytime.

Figure 1 identifies goals for creating a digital storytime, including:

• Interaction. Demonstrate to parents the right way to use digital devices with their children. Technology is not a babysitter. We need to emphasize interaction with these devices so parents are not simply handing technology to their children and leaving them to their own devices.
• Exposure. Provide access to technology for those children who are on the disadvantaged side of the digital divide. Not everyone can afford this technology, in much the same way not everyone can afford to go to a bookstore and buy books. The library is a place where everyone has a chance to get equal access to books, materials, and technology.
• Look to Librarians. Position ourselves in the parents' eyes as the go-to resource for questions about software, apps, and literacy. If they don’t see us using this technology they might not know that we are a resource they can trust for help with technology.

Finding Quality Apps

Professional organizations such as PBS and the New York Times have begun to address the quality of children's apps on the market. We chose top-rated apps for the digital storytimes. Here are a few examples that we have also mapped to the ECRR early literacy skills and practices discussed in the introduction and highlighted in Table 1:

• Wheels on the Bus (app) (http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/wheels-on-the-bus/id303076295?mt=8) by Duck Duck Moose is an interactive musical book created by a biologist, software engineer, and architect based on the popular children’s song. The app provides opportunities for singing and reading, recording children’s voices, and hearing the music played on a variety of instruments. Both professional reviewers and customers raved about the art, music, and entertaining sub-story shown through animation. Winner of the 2010 Parents' Choice Gold Award and KAPi Award for Best Children's App. Recommended by the New York Times.
• Puppet Pals HD (app) (http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/puppet-pals-hd/id342076546?mt=8) is also useful for learning narrative skills as children create impromptu "movies" based on their choice of character(s), setting, and plot. The voice-overs and animation provide multimodal components in the app. In keeping with digital literacy skills, this app also supports publishing story creations via email or YouTube. Winner of the 2011 Children's Technology Review Editors' Choice for Excellence in Design.
• Don't Let the Pigeon Run This (app) (http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dont-let-pigeon-run-this-app!/id459749670?mt=8) is a digital book featuring characters and artwork of the creator Mo Willems. This app supports the publication of drawings created by a child. Once a drawing has been made, the child can publish the picture anywhere. Children have three options for developing skills through storytelling activities: With the Egg feature, children can develop phonological awareness by listening to a funny animated story told by the pigeon, with the option to see the words and "read" along. With the Chick feature, children can develop narrative skills and vocabulary by choosing from a set of words, represented by images, to complete a personalized story mad-lib style. With the Big Pigeon feature, children can develop vocabulary, phonological awareness, print motivation skills by supplying their own answers to a series of questions to complete a story.
• Go Away, Big Green Monster (app) (http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/go-away-big-green-monster!/id470038297?mt=8) is a digital book that provides different ways to interact with a fun story and to build early literacy skills such as phonological awareness, vocabulary, singing. Children can listen to the author read, listen to a song version, or as their skill level increases, read the story on their own.
• Build-It-Up (app) (http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/build-it-up/id421839260?mt=8) builds children's skills with sequencing and identifying sizes, shapes and colors. This app is comparable to traditional flannel boards and promotes the early literacy practice of playing.

PBSparents offers tips for choosing and using quality children's apps:

• a balance of education and entertainment
• shared play and involvement of caregivers
• developmentally appropriate
• limits (i.e, time restrictions, balance with other activities)
• trusted, reliable sources⁷

We also recommend looking for trial apps or lite versions where families can get the basics for free or at a low cost before adding on more features for an additional charge.

Putting it All Together

Parents and pajama-clad preschool children gathered in one of the large (68 person capacity) meeting rooms at the Philip S. Miller Library in May 2012. They were there to see a nighttime storytime featuring a digital device (iPad) projected on a wall. The group enjoyed punch and crackers while they waited for the show to start. The storytime started the way all of our traditional storytimes start with the "Open Them, Shut Them" rhyme. In order of presentation, children and parents participated in the following series of books, songs, and flannel boards all presented by the librarian on the iPad:

• Go Away Big Green Monster app – Read by the Librarian
• Go Away Big Green Monster app – Musical Version
• Old Mac Donald Had a Farm app – Rhythm sticks also used by children to keep the beat as they sang along
• Build-It-Up app – Mimics a color- and shape-identification flannel board
• Don't Let the Pigeon Run This App – Read aloud by the librarian, as well as the recorded version by the author Mo Williams
• "Can You Clap" – Song played on iPad performed by Sue Schnitzer from the CD Can You Nap
• Puppet Pals app – Character-based story created by the children and the librarian
• "Teddy Bear Playtime" – Song played on iPad performed by Hap Palmer from the CD So Big

After the storytime the children did a craft activity while the parents filled out a survey. The survey results were both encouraging and illuminating. We assumed that the children and parents would like the digital storytime as much as a traditional storytime. In actuality, the majority preferred digital storytime to traditional storytime. A nice surprise! Because of these surprising results, the next digital storytime evaluation form will include follow-up questions as to why they liked the digital storytime more or less than a traditional storytime. Another interesting point on the survey is that all of the parents indicated that they felt that, after participating in the digital storytime, they knew more about appropriate apps for their children. Helping parents to make better choices for their children is one of the goals of and reasons for including digital devices in storytime.

Conclusion

We are excited by this study that has enlightened us about the community's response to current technology. As mentioned, we are working with staff to develop best practices that reflect our mission of literacy. We hope to continue our exploration of digital storytimes and the role of current technology in today's children’s lives.

Notes

1. Jennifer Nelson and Keith Braafladt, Technology and Literacy: 21st Century Library Programming for Children & Teens (Chicago: American Library Association, 2012), x.

2. Stacie Shaw and Stephanie Bailey-White, "Every Child Ready to Read: Six Early Literacy Skills," Idaho Commission for Libraries, accessed March 15, 2012, http://libraries.idaho.gov/files/Six-Early-Literacy-SkillsPresent.pdf.

3. Saroj Ghoting, "Every Child Ready to Read @ Your Library: From the Six Skills (in ECRR 1st Edition) to the Five Practices (in ECRR 2nd Edition)," accessed April 13, 2012, http://www.earlylit.net/workshopmats/ecrr2/From%20Six%20Skill%20to%20Five%20Practices.pdf.

4. "The ISTE National Educational Technology Standards (NET-S) and Performance Indicators for Students," International Society for Technology in Education, 2007, access June 14, 2012, http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-students.aspx.

5. Ibid.

6. Earl Babbie, The Practice of Social Research (CA: Thomson, 2007), 276.

7. "6 Tips for Buying Children's Apps," PBSparents, accessed May 22, 2012, http://www.pbs.org/parents/childrenandmedia/article-6-tips-for-buying-children%27s-apps.html.

Appendix

Figure 2. Storytime Survey Results.