This document discusses e-books and their potential use in early childhood education. It outlines the goals of the Akron Ready Steps program, a partnership between the University of Akron and a local nonprofit that serves over 300 at-risk preschool children. The document poses a series of questions about how e-books can support early literacy, what makes an effective e-book for young learners, and how teachers can incorporate e-books into a language-rich classroom environment to help children learn.

1. Towards an e-Book Instructional Model
#oetc11
February 2, 2011
h"p://akronreadysteps.ning.com/

2. @brueckj23
h"p://brueckei.org/
Jeremy
Brueck
Co-­‐Director,
Akron
Ready
Steps
–
University
of
Akron

3. What
is
Akron
Ready
Steps?
• A
partnership
between
The
University
of
Akron
College
of
EducaNon,
(UA)
and
Akron
Summit
Community
AcNon,
Inc
(ASCA)
• Akron
Ready
Steps
(ARS)
is
a
program
that
serves
over
300
at
risk
children
in
five
Head
Start
sites
in
high
poverty
communiNes
in
Akron,
OH.

4. ARS
Program
Goals
• high
priority
knowledge
and
skills
preschoolers
need
to
learn;
• high
priority
knowledge
and
skills
teachers/
teacher
assistants
need
to
teach;
• the
design
of
high
quality
21st
century
language
and
literacy-­‐rich
environments;
• acNve
parent
engagement;
• and
mobilizing
the
community
around
strong
preschool
literacy
educaNon.

5. What
are
e-­‐Books?

6. What
is
it
we
hope
to
have
children
learn
using
e-­‐
Books?

7. What
makes
a
good,
workable,
instrucNve,
enjoyable
e-­‐Book
for
young
children?

8. Do
e-­‐Books
represent
quality
children’s
literature?

9. Can
e-­‐Books
support
young
children’s
emerging
literacy
skills
just
like
tradiNonal
storybook
reading
can
do?

10. What
might
a
high
quality
21st
century
language
and
literacy-­‐rich
environment
look
like?

11. What
do
we
need
to
consider
in
order
to
have
quality
and
meaningful
access
to
e-­‐Books
in
an
early
elementary
environment?

12. When
do
we
need
to
employ
e-­‐Books
in
an
early
elementary
environment?

13. What
do
teachers
need
to
know
about
teaching
with
e-­‐Books?

14. What
are
the
essenNal
“digital
elements”
that
we
might
find
in
a
high-­‐quality
e-­‐Book
for
young
children?

15. Are
e-­‐Books
well-­‐designed
for
use
by
young
children,
similar
to
convenNonal
books
that
are
a"racNve,
easy
to
hold
and
manipulate?

16. Designing
an
e-­‐Book
Nook
(learning
space)
e-Book Research
Observing
student
behaviors
(engagement)

17. Examining
the
Technology-­‐
Mediated
Environment
(e-­‐book)
e-Book Research
Observing
teacher
behaviors
(instrucNon)

18. Visit
h"p://akronreadysteps.ning.com/
h"p://akronreadysteps.ning.com/