Bringing back the book through digital experiences: e-Books and digital media as platforms for reading among school children

Abstract

Children from birth to six spend an average of two hours per day using digital media such as television, videos, DVD, computers video games. For this reason, literacy can no longer be separated from technology, for technology has changed the format of books and reading platforms from print to ereaders. This study examined the attitude of school children in a selected primary school in Lagos State. A total of 21 school children and 5 teachers formed the population of the study. Three research questions were developed to guide the study. The study revealed that 95% of school children very much like reading on digital devices and prefer reading eBooks on the android, which has a mean score of 3.05, although they are not completely disregarding the print. Findings further showed that there is no significant difference in the attitude of boys and girls towards e books as well as in digital media preference among the age group. Based on these findings, it is recommended that the dwindling reading habit among school children can readily be arrested by promoting e- reading programmes and digital/ereading clubs in schools.

Key words: books, e-books, digital media, reading, school children