Digital Media in Storytime

On October 6-7, 2014, I attended the Digital Media in Storytime workshop presented by Dr. Betsy Diamant-Cohen and Cen Campbell.  Both days focused on integrating new media in storytime, as well as the idea of transforming storytime by repeating one book in different ways over a six week period so that children learn the book by heart.  As someone not comfortable with new media, I looked forward to two days of learning and trying new (to me) technology.

Since I was already familiar with the idea of transforming storytime, that was more of a review.  However, I learned lots of new information in regards to technology.  I learned about different sources for reviewing apps, such as http://littleelit.com/ (Cen Campbell's website), Common Sense Media, Children's Technology Review.  Kirkus, School Library Journal, and other typical book review sources also review book apps.  I also learned about various ways to include apps in storytime, such as projecting a book app to read a small board book (such as Moo Baa La La La by Sandra Boynton), showing a new flannelboard (using the Feltboard app), and playing a guessing game with an animal sounds app.  My other big take-away from the workshop isn't necessarily learning something new, but receiving confirmation that digital is not always the best replacement for a favorite book or flannelboard and that the entire storytime does not need to be digital.  I definitely gained confidence in starting to experiment with new media in ways that still feel comfortable to me.  It was nice to see it put into action by practicing during the workshop.

I am responsible for the infant and toddler storytimes and share responsibility for pre-school storytime.  While I would most likely not use technology in the younger storytimes based on the recommendation for no screen time under age two, I would like to experiment with technology in pre-school storytime.  New media is becoming a trend in libraries nationwide, so I appreciated the chance to learn and experiment over the course of the workshop.  Overall, this workshop was well worth attending.