Supplement not Substitute: Why E-books Still Require a Human Touch

• In Event: When Technology is Here to Stay: Maximizing the Potential of E-Books for Learning in Young Childhood

Abstract

The digital media revolution is altering the landscape of early childhood. U.S. children under 8 spend more than 2 hours daily on screen media with a dramatic rise in the use of mobile devices (4% to 35%) since 2011. More than 70% of parents report giving children an e-book to read alone when they are busy (Vaala & Takeuchi, 2012). Three studies in this presentation make the case that e-books bring tremendous advantages for young children but are best used in the company of, rather than as substitutes, for caregivers. Parish-Morris et al., (2013) investigated 165 dyads while reading traditional books or the precursor to e-books, electronic console books. Children could touch pictures and the console book would respond with a label or the book could read the text aloud. Would dialogic reading known to support strong story comprehension be preserved in both conditions? No. Parent–child dialogic reading and children’s story comprehension were both negatively affected by the presence of electronic features. In the second study, Dore et al., (2018), investigated 135 preschoolers for comprehension of an e-book in three conditions: (1) parent reading, in which parents read the e-book to their children, (2) independent with audio, in which children see the e-book independently with audio narration, and (3) independent without audio, in which children see the e-book independently but do not have audio narration available. Results suggested that children comprehend content from e-books using audio narration, indicating that using e-books independently may be a worthwhile activity for preliterate children while caregivers are otherwise occupied. However, results also showed that children recall the most information about the e-book after reading with a parent. Our third study investigated whether e-books offer children the same emotional bonding that accompanies shared book reading. Prior research suggested that interaction, warmth, and positive affect were compromised when reading e-books (Yuill & Martin, 2016; Ross, Pye & Randall, 2016). Physiological data examined the hypothesis. Thirty-seven 4-year-olds and their mothers were randomly assigned to read either a traditional book, an e-book with a parent, or to listen to an e-book independently (Avelar et.al., in progress). An Empacta E4 multi-sensor allowed us to collect heart rate, skin conductivity and arousal at baseline and during the reading activity. Children also rated their emotions using the McLoughlin, Tipper & Over (2017) scale to indicate their level of happiness, sadness, excitedness, sleepiness, or nervousness. Results suggest that when parents participated – either in traditional or e-book conditions, the children were more aroused and happier. Together these studies suggest that e-books offer a number of advantages for young children and that they can be as stimulating as traditional books if they are used in the company of adults. Adult engagement remains a key part of what makes reading special for young children. These digital advances offer a supplement to traditional reading, but not a substitute.

Authors

• Kathy A Hirsh-Pasek, Temple University
  Presenting Author

• Brenna Hassinger-Das, Pace University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Rebecca Dore, Ohio State University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Daniela Avelar, University of Delaware
  Non-Presenting Author

• Roberta M Golinkoff, University of Delaware
  Non-Presenting Author