This document summarizes a presentation on promoting cultural competence in digital storytimes. It discusses the importance of diversity and cultural competence in programming. It provides criteria for selecting culturally diverse materials, both print and digital. Examples are given of partnerships between libraries and early childhood centers, and diversity-related apps are presented along with recommended and non-recommended pairings with books. The document concludes by taking questions from the audience.

1. Dynamic Digital Día:
Promoting Cultural Competence
in Digital Storytimes
Presented by
Jamie C. Naidoo, Ph.D.
Assoc. Professor & Author
Univ of AL - SLIS
Presented by
Karen N. Nemeth
Author & Educator
Language Castle LLC
Presented by
Cen Campbell
Founder & Educator
Little eLit

2. Overview
« Diversity & Cultural Competence
« Día Programming as Diversity in Action
« Criteria for Selecting Diverse Materials
« Exploring Diversity in Early Childhood Settings
« Partnerships between Early Childcare Centers & Libraries
« Examples of Diversity-Related Tech for Storytime
« Sample Pairings of books and digital media to
promote cultural competence (and non-
recommended media)
Image Source: http://celebritybabies.people.com/2011/07/17/cool-ipad-childrens-books-round-up/

3. Cultural Competence
Cultural competence is the ability:
« to recognize the significance of culture in one’s own
life and in the lives of others;
« to come to know and respect diverse cultural
backgrounds and characteristics through interaction
with individuals from diverse linguistic, cultural, and
socioeconomic groups
« to fully integrate the culture of diverse groups into
services, work, and institutions in order to enhance
the lives of everyone involved
Patricia Montiel-Overall, “Cultural Competence: A Conceptual Framework for Library and Information Science Professionals,” The Library Quarterly 79 (2): 189-190.

4. Día! Diversity in Action
« Founded in 1996 by award-winning Latina author and
literacy advocate Pat Mora with assistance by
REFORMA
« Celebration of children, families, and reading that
culminates every year on April 30th.
« Daily commitment to connect children to books,
languages, and cultures.
« Increases understanding of the importance of serving
multicultural, multilingual populations.
« Allows librarians to introduce families from all cultural
backgrounds to the rich diversity of other cultures from the
United States and around the world; thus, promoting cultural
literacy.
« Builds community and provides a logical avenue for
community collaborations.

5. Día (Diversity in Action) Programming
« Provides opportunities for children and their families
to interact with high-quality children’s literature in
the first language of the family.
« Offers exciting, culturally relevant, literacy
programs in the library throughout the calendar
year.
« Connects all children with rich materials (print and
digital) that represent their cultural experiences.
Image Sources: http://analternativeeducation.com/five-things-look-education-app/; and http://papaswitch.nifty.com/blog/cat222/

6. « Demonstrates the importance of literacy to life-long
learning.
« Promotes cultural competence by creating a forum
for facilitating understanding and acceptance of
diversity based upon:
« culture
« ethnicity
« race
« linguistic ability
« religious preference
« gender identity
« physical ability
« domicile
« immigration status
« sexual orientation
« And . . . .
Día (Diversity in Action) Programming

7. “American cultural hegemony is so strong that it is
much more likely that a child living in France, Korea,
or Kenya will read a book about the United States
than that an American child will read a book that
originated in one of those countries.”
~ Virginia A. Walter, 2010, p. 69.
Twenty-First-Century Kids, Twenty-First
Century Librarians. Chicago: ALA Editions.

8. Selecting Diverse Materials
10
Quick
Ways:
Council
on
Interracial
Books
for
Children
1. Images
-­‐
stereotypes,
tokenism
2. Storyline
–
agency,
gender
roles
3. Lifestyles
–
class,
cultural
assumpEons
4. RelaEonships
between
people
5. Heroes
6. Effect
on
child’s
self-­‐image
7. Creator’s
background
8. Creator’s
perspecEve
9. Loaded
words
10. Copyright
date
Source:
“Ten
Quick
Ways
to
Analyze
Children’s
Books
for
Racism
and
Sexism” Council
on
Interracial
Books
for
Children
­ Book apps can be evaluated according to the same criteria
used for print media.
­ While interactivity is important, it can’t compensate for cultural
inauthenticity or inaccuracies.
­ Materials should promote connections between cultures, greater
understanding of and respect for cultures, & engagement with
cultures

9. Selecting Diverse Materials - Basics
­ SophisEcated
­ Developmentally
appropriate
­ Free
of
grammaEcal
and
spelling
errors
­ Free
of
factual
errors
­ Free
of
stereotypes
and
culturally
offensive
content
­ MulEple
languages
­ Updates/Current
InformaEon

10. Locating International & Multicultural Books

11. Growing Young Minds Report, June 2013:
http://www.imls.gov/assets/1/AssetManager/GrowingYoungMinds.pdf

12. Growing Young Minds Report, June 2013: http://www.imls.gov/assets/1/AssetManager/
GrowingYoungMinds.pdf

13. Information About Digital Media and Children

14. Karen N.Nemeth,Ed.M.
• Supporting 1st and 2nd language development in early
childhood education depends on appropriate use of digital
resources to meet the individual needs of each child
• www.languagecastle.com
• www.ecetech.net
• Karen@languagecastle.com
• Twitter @KarenNemethEdM

15. ­ Language Castle: www.languagecastle.com

16. Karen’s
Work

17. Partnerships Between
Early Childcare Centers & Libraries
­ Partnering with early childhood education (ECE)
programs can be mutually beneficial
­ By supporting early literacy, librarians are helping
prepare children for school
­ Librarians need to understand what’s happening in
the classrooms their children attend:
­ Public school, Head Start, Special education
­ Bilingual education, ESL, General education
­ Common Core Content Standards
­ Literacy curriculum

18. Partnerships Between
Early Childcare Centers & Libraries
­ Librarians can extend the effects of their work by
collaborating with schools and preschool programs
to provide a seamless system of support for diverse
young children
­ Librarians can benefit from collaborations with
schools by accessing their knowledge and best
practices about developing literacy in young
children who are English learners.
Image Source: americanprogress.org

19. Head Start’s National Center on Cultural and Linguistic Responsiveness
http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/tta-system/cultural-linguistic

20. « ¡Colorín
Colorado!:
http://www.colorincolorado.org/librarians

21. National Association for the Education of Young Children:www.naeyc.org/
files/yc/file/201101/GillandersR_Online0111.pdf

22. East Coast Migrant Head Start
Program created their own
class books using technology to
take digital photos of scenes
that were familiar to their
children and compiling them
into high quality printed books.
http://www.ecmhsp.org/

23. ECMHSP helps children who
are DLLs connect with language
and learning by using
technology to create relatable
materials for play and learning
http://www.ecmhsp.org/

24. LittleeLit.com– Cen Campbell

25. ­ Haines Borough Public Library, Haines, Alaska

26. ­ The only children’s book app based on Alaskan content
Homer Library, Alaska

27. ­ Berries on the Tundra
I need a book that’s relevant

28. ­ Alaskan book app project
…so I’m going to make
some.

29. ­ There are some great multicultural apps out there!
Or find some that are
available digitally

30. Comienza en Casa/It Starts at Home:
http://www.manomaine.org/programs/mep/comienzaencasa

32. Locating Culturally Diverse
Digital Apps for Promoting
Cultural Competence

33. Apps with Multicultural Content & Book Pairing
Barefoot World Atlas
­ Stack the Countries: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/stack-the-countries/id407838198?mt=8
and http://www.commonsensemedia.org/mobile-app-reviews/stack-the-countries
­ Books for Africa, Books From Africa: http://www.ibby.org/index.php?id=553

34. ­ Drum Kids App: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/drum-kids-for-iphone/
id429211216?mt=8
Apps with Multicultural Content & Book Pairings

35. ­ Up and Down: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/up-down/id560485488?mt=8
Apps with Multicultural Content & Book Pairings

36. Recommended App for Cultural Programming
­ My Story: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/my-story-book-maker-for-kids/id449232368?mt=8

37. Recommended App for Cultural Programming
­ Felt Board: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/felt-board/id492342753?mt=8

38. NOT Recommended App for Cultural Programming
­ Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/rosemary-wells/head-shoulders-
knees-and-toes/

39. NOT Recommended App for Cultural Programming
­ Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/rosemary-wells/head-shoulders-
knees-and-toes/
­ Images contains culturally loaded symbols
and costumes (piñata, kimono, mariachi outfit,
etc.) that have been used over time in
children’s books, cartoons, etc. These images
perpetuate stereotypes.
­ The use of bunny characters to represent the
various cultures dehumanizes people from
Japan, France, America, and presumably
Mexico.
­ If a child is from any of the cultures
represented, she may be confused by the
depictions of her culture and wonder if
something is wrong with her because she
doesn’t look like the representation in the app.

40. Recommended App for Cultural Programming
­ Draw & Tell: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/draw-tell-by-duck-duck-moose/id504750621?mt=8

41. ­ Diversity Programming for Digital Youth: Promoting Cultural Competence in the Children’s Library by Jamie
Naidoo. Libraries Unlimited, 2014.

42. Questions
or Comments
Presented by
Jamie C. Naidoo, Ph.D.
Assoc. Professor & Author
Univ of AL - SLIS
Presented by
Karen N. Nemeth
Author & Educator
Language Castle LLC
Presented by
Cen Campbell
Founder & Educator
Little eLit