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Supporting early language development and interest in reading with digital personalised books.
This project investigated听the benefits and limitations of personalisation in children's digital products, with a specific focus on personalised books.
The project听ran from January 2017 until December 2018 and听was funded听by ESRC and hosted by IOE.
- What is personalisation in children's books?
Personalisation is a broad umbrella term for several features, behaviours, patterns or characteristics. Objects and experiences can be personalised for children or they can be personalised by a particular child.
Personalisation is different from customisation, which involves adjustment to a given content or template.
" One of the key differences between digital and printed books is that digital books are customisable and increasingly personalisable. Children's digital books can be customised in terms of their display (e.g. an image can be made bigger or font enlarged) or they can be personalised in terms of their multimodal content. With several story apps, children can insert their own voice-overs or 'selfies' into their favourite story. Clearly, children are likely to be more motivated to engage with books which feature them or a caregiver's voiceover rather than a pre-recorded automated voice. Yet, is personalisation in children's books more than a motivational tactic?
- Team
- (PI)
- About the project
This project explored how mobile digital technology can be developed and used to support young children's language learning and early interest in reading. More specifically, it investigated听the effects of enhancing the child's reading experience through the use of digital personalised books, and considers effective strategies for supporting children's early reading with digital technology at home and in Early Years education.
Read more about the project overview and planned impact:
- Articles and Publications
Blogs and online articles
- 听(IOE Blog)
- (London School of Economics and Political Science)
- (London School of Economics and Political Science)
- (The Conversation)
- (The Conversation)
- (The Conversation)
- (The Bookseller)
- (The Conversation)
- Personalised books: exciting but also risky times for children's stories (Huffington Post)
- (The Guardian)
Academic Publications
- Kucirkova, N., Ng, I. & Holtby, J. (2017). 香港六合彩 Institute of Education: London, UK.
- Kucirkova, Natalia; Littleton, Karen and Kyparissiadis, Antonios (2017). . British Journal of Educational Technology
- Kucirkova, N. (2016) , 17 (3), 1-16.
- Kucirkova, N., Messer, D., & Sheehy, K. (2014) Reading personalized books with preschool children enhances their word acquisition, First Language, 34, 3, 227-243.
- Kucirkova, N., Messer, D., & Sheehy, K. (2014) The effects of personalization on young children's spontaneous speech during shared book reading, Journal of Pragmatics, 71, 45-55.