reading – Media! Tech! Parenting!

21st Century parenting, American Academy of Pediatrics, digital parenting, early childhood, family life, parents and technology, print versus electronic books, reading, reading on electronic devices, reading with children, toddlers

Print Books: Better Than Digital for Toddlers!

Posted on March 27, 2019March 27, 2019 by Marti Weston

Are print books better for young learners and especially toddlers? Ask almost anyone in early child development and they will likely say yes, print books are so much better in so many ways. Many educational technology specialists — people like me who love learning with technology — will say the same thing. You can also read this New York Times article by pediatrician, Perri Klass.

Dr. Klass writes about a study conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan and published at the journal Pediatrics. They conducted their research with 37 parent-child pairs who read together in three formats — print, electronic, and electronic with extra bells and whistles such as sound effects. Readers were videotaped. Toddlers and parents verbalized but interacted and collaborated less with electronic books. Then the researchers studied the recordings and coded the verbalizations and behavior or the parents and children. Continue reading “Print Books: Better Than Digital for Toddlers!” →

21st Century Learning, 21st Century parenting, digital learning, libraries, reading

It’s Summer: Take this Quiz and then Visit Your Local Library

Posted on June 13, 2014June 13, 2014 by Marti Weston

Pew Internet Libraries — Click to visit the Pew site and take the quiz.

It’s summer and if you and your children — those digital kids you are raising — are not regular library users, you should be. Almost any teacher will tell you that children who regularly use libraries develop better and more sustained reading habits. More significantly, I’ve observed that my 21st Century students with public library habits are often more critical and thoughtful users of digital materials, whether they use those digital materials at home, school, or even away from adult supervision.

No matter where you are located this summer, a library is probably nearby. Moreover, in addition to great books, many public libraries provide excellent tutorials on searching, evaluating resources, and digital commonsense. Be sure to visit.

Continue reading “It’s Summer: Take this Quiz and then Visit Your Local Library” →

libraries, parents and technology, reading, research on the web

Parents, Libraries, and Reading in Today’s Digital World

Posted on May 6, 2013March 18, 2019 by Marti Weston

Libraries continue to play a significant role in the development of young readers, even as digital resources increase and children engage in more digital activities.

Recent research by the Pew Internet and American Life Organization finds that families with incomes under $50,000 consider libraries to be an important resource in the lives of their children.

Whether they are considering digital or non-digital opportunities, these families are more likely to rate library services as important than parents in families with higher incomes.

Some interesting research findings, quoted from the report:

94% of parents say libraries are important for their children and 79% describe libraries as “very important.” That is especially true of parents of young children (those under 6), some 84% of whom describe libraries as very important.

84% of these parents who say libraries are important and a major reason they want their children to have access to libraries is that libraries help inculcate their children’s love of reading and books.

81% say a major reason libraries are important is that libraries provide their children with information and resources not available at home.

Too see other graphs and learn more about the research released on May 1, 2013, read the report, Parents, Children, Libraries, and Reading.

21st Century Learning, family conversations, leadership, parent child conversations, parents and technology, reading

Reading Promotes Leadership Skills — Even in a Digital World

Posted on August 21, 2012March 19, 2019 by Marti Weston

As parents, children, and teachers prepare for the start of a new academic year, many may enjoy reading the Harvard Business Review blog (HBR Blog) post For Those Who Want to Lead, Read. Parents of digital kids may want to take the time to share this short, thoughtful. and well-written article with family members as a back-to-school activity.

In today’s digital world, many people — including individuals who consider themselves literate — are not reading books as often or as deeply as in the past. In this HBR Blog post, John Coleman notes that reading digital chunks of content is far more common today. He provides inspiring examples of leaders who are well-read and describes in detail how reading benefits individuals who aspire to lead. Plenty of links take readers back to the sources of information that are mentioned in the article.

Best Quotes (Choosing only two was really difficult.)

Even as global literacy rates are high (84%), people are reading less and less deeply.

… Deep, broad reading habits are often a defining characteristic of our greatest leaders and can catalyze insight, innovation, empathy, and personal effectiveness.

For Those Who Want to Lead, Read concludes with recommendations that can support people who want to read more. After you peruse these suggestions, take a few minutes to think about how you might encourage the people in your family (or your students) to develop and maintain a deeper and more literary reading life?

You can also check out the post, How to Raise a Lifelong Reader at the Common Sense Media website.