Reading highly interactive electronic storybooks vs. minimally interactive electronic books: Relative influence on time on task, narrative retell, and parental perceptions

Jose Humberto Carrasco, University of Texas at El Paso

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether there was a difference in percentage of book read and the complexity of the narrative retell when children read highly interactive electronic books (e-books) versus minimally interactive e-books. An area to study further was parent's perceptions of their children's preference of highly versus minimally interactive e-book. A single subject rapid-alternating treatment design was used on three children (4-6 years of age). The participants read and then provided a narrative retell of both e-books over a 12-week period. Children's percentage of book read, grammar elements, cohesion elements, and proposition use were analyzed. Additionally, a parental questionnaire to examine parental perceptions regarding their child's preference of both types of e-books was provided. Through visual inspection of the data and effect size it was concluded that percentage of book read did not vary from baseline for both highly interactive and minimally interactive e-books due to a probable ceiling effect. Research failed to provide a clear advantage for either e-book category (i.e. highly vs. minimally interactive). It was difficult to make a clear distinction due to participant variability, although, the data revealed some clues as to what e-book category resulted in more elaborated narrative retells. All parents reported a positive attitude toward e-books and two out of the three parents showed a preference towards the minimally interactive e-books as they concluded that the highly interactive could be somewhat distracting at times.

Subject Area

Multimedia Communications|Language|Mass communications

Recommended Citation

Carrasco, Jose Humberto, "Reading highly interactive electronic storybooks vs. minimally interactive electronic books: Relative influence on time on task, narrative retell, and parental perceptions" (2014). ETD Collection for University of Texas, El Paso. AAI1557748.
https://scholarworks.utep.edu/dissertations/AAI1557748

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