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Video Storybooks: A Way to Empower Children at Risk

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Technology as a Support for Literacy Achievements for Children at Risk

Part of the book series: Literacy Studies ((LITS,volume 7))

Abstract

As a result of Ferreiro and Teberosky’s seminal publication and numerous follow-up studies, researchers and educators became aware that the early years may form a crucial stage in becoming literate. However, not all children come from home environments that stimulate precursors of literacy. At the time that children from less stimulating homes enter preschool, they lag behind in early literacy skills, and it would be naive to believe that the preschool curriculum alone can narrow the gap. In the current studies, we tested whether digital technology could be used to stimulate early literacy skills in at-risk populations. This chapter presents a series of randomized experiments that show the surplus value of video storybooks for understanding the storyline (e.g., understanding the actions and internal responses of main story characters) and the story’s vocabulary in groups of at-risk kindergarten children. Another promising finding is that interactive features such as multiple-choice questions can add to the learning effects of video storybooks. Final remarks concerning level-up effects are made.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands

    Maria T. de Jong & Marian J. A. J. Verhallen

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  1. Maria T. de Jong
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  2. Marian J. A. J. Verhallen
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Correspondence to Maria T. de Jong .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Faculty of Social Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, 23 Yoav St., Ramat-Gan, 69081, Israel

    Adina Shamir

  2. , Faculty of Social Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, 7 Rupin St., Ramat-Gan, 63576, Israel

    Ofra Korat

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de Jong, M.T., Verhallen, M.J.A.J. (2012). Video Storybooks: A Way to Empower Children at Risk. In: Shamir, A., Korat, O. (eds) Technology as a Support for Literacy Achievements for Children at Risk. Literacy Studies, vol 7. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5119-4_4

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