New Year, New Media

Thanks to the P.T.A., I spent part of my Christmas vacation investigating Iphones and Ipads.

Though my own children are grown, as a school librarian I belong to the P.T.A. and sometimes attend their meetings. One of the things I’ve noticed is that the toddlers sitting in their parents' laps during meetings are playing with one of two things: key rings or mobile phones.

Apps are being developed like crazy for smart phones. Some of these apps designed for children are meant to be educational. Some are touted as a new format for stories and reading with young children.

Then there are e-books. Picture book publishers have been waiting – and in increasing numbers, preparing -- for the sophistication of the Ipad and the color Nook so that they, too, might enter into the brave new world of digital book publishing.

My initial reaction to the idea of young children being introduced to the world of stories and literature – to literacy itself -- through apps on a smart phone was something akin to horror. But I kept coming back to those two-year-olds playing with their parents’ phones. If that’s the new fall-back for pacifying restless kiddos, we’d better start creating some good content.

In the next posts I’ll let you know what I found.