Understanding adult-child shared reading on the screen in a public preschool

Abstract

This research project aims to examine both the process and outcomes of preschool children’s reading on the screen. Research questions included: what features of multimedia storybooks potentially contribute to children’s reading, to what extent reading multimedia storybooks affects children’s story comprehension, and how children enjoy reading multimedia storybooks. Twenty-four children aged five and six years (including 6 boys and 18 girls) participated in this project. Preliminary findings suggested that not only did multimedia elements (e.g. animation and background sounds congruent with the storyline) support children’s comprehension, but they also contributed to children’s enjoyment while reading on the screen. The paper adds to the current literature that explores electronic books in relation to children’s learning outcomes by examining an affective dimension, i.e. enjoyment.