Digital Publishers on the Changing Tide of Storytelling

Posted on October 13, 2011 by gridsinteractive

A new generation of storytellers is emerging.  Storytellers with a lot of creativity and an entrepreneurial attitude no longer need established publishing empires to bring a product to market; they are moving into the realm of digital publishing.  Here, a great idea can turn into a published work that can be marketed and sold to millions by a single individual or a small group with very little cost compared to traditional publishing.  Digital publishing provides accessibility, availability, and lower pricing than printed literature, which make it an appealing industry for those passionate about books.

Our company, Grids Interactive, is a publisher of interactive storybook apps.  Like many of our counterparts, we are a very small company with great ideas and big goals for our future.  Digital publishing is growing and evolving and many developers are trying their hand at it.  Like all emerging industries, however, the weakest contenders will eventually fall by the wayside, while the best will be left standing.

To be successful, digital publishers need to position themselves as content providers and not just suppliers of multiple media on multiple platforms, despite the fact that they may gain customers who are not frequent book buyers but who find the multimedia content appealing.  Developers have such a wide array of features to add to their e-book, things like games, videos, and online chat that may increase their intrinsic value.  However, they shouldn’t lose sight of the importance of providing good content to readers.

We asked some fellow digital publishers and authors to weigh in on the change that has come about in storytelling.  Our interview was conducted with the professionals in the digital publishing world named below and the interviews follow in their entirety.

 

Special thanks to the following for their input:

Sam Berman, CEO, Grids Interactive

Michel Kripalani, President, Oceanhouse Media

Annie & David Fox, Co-founders, Electric Eggplant

Melissa Northway, Author, Penelope the Purple Pirate

Despite the opinions of these e-book developers, it will be interesting to see how the evolution of books really does progress.  We would love to hear your opinion on this topic.  Please visit us on Facebook with your inputs.  And be sure to get your copy of Grids Interactive’s first storybook app for the iPad, ‘The Truly Great Noodle’.

 

What is your opinion on the changing face of storytelling and the capabilities we now have for combining books with new media to make them more exciting?

Sam:  The new mobile technologies are allowing storytellers like Grids Interactive to go to levels never before possible. We can now make stories with a depth and richness that we could not before. Readers can now become absorbed in the story by engaging with characters and environments that respond to them. If you ever watch a child reading an interactive book application, you will see a deep level of engagement that a printed storybook generally doesn’t elicit.  You get involvement, focus and concentration from the reader, because this medium allows for real involvement that takes it from just the “telling” of a story to what is now an “experience” of the story.

Annie:  We’ve been game designers for decades and we know how to make the Player a part of the narrative. So, obviously we’re all about creating an immersive experience. We love how book app technology allows us to combine a narrative with interactivity. That’s what happened when Alice fell down the rabbit hole, isn’t it? She was no longer hearing her sister droning on from some “boring” book… Alice was IN her own story! Interacting with objects and people and changing in all kinds of ways as a result of her choices. Just to be clear though, we’re not fans of piling on a bunch of tech bells and whistles just because the software and hardware support it. For us, first and foremost, the story has to stand strong on its own. While we admire book apps that push the envelope and use built-in physics, great animation, etc., we aren’t thrilled when we see kids ignoring a story because they’re totally distracted by things that move on the screen. Or worse, when the developers don’t even bother to create a great story and only focus on the interactivity.

David:  So far, we’ve created one book app (Be Confident in Who You Are: A Middle School Confidential™ Graphic Novel) and one iBook (Are You My Friend?). Neither one has a lot of added interactivity. Our goal was to use sound, voice, and movement to enhance the story, but we don’t want you to notice these enhancements too much. They’re there to serve the story, to help immerse you in it. If you start focusing too much on the capabilities, you’re pulled out of the story.

Melissa:  This is a very exciting time for the industry!  With the arrival of the iPad, iPhone and iTouch, we are able to bring storytelling to another level.  We are seeing such wonderful and interactive stories for children of all ages.  An unexpected benefit of the iPad has been seen in the special needs communities.  One person I spoke to talked about how his special needs son can get around the iPad like there is no tomorrow, but if he puts a piece of paper and pen in front of him, he doesn’t know what to do with it.  Our children are learning music, languages, math and reading at the touch of their fingers.  Quite amazing really if you think about the information that is available to them as opposed to what we had as children!

 

Where do you think publishing is headed given the e-book trend?  What do you think is going to happen to authors as a profession given this change?

Sam:  Clearly, these new technologies are going to open the floodgates for independent authors to get their work out to a broader audience. Whereas in the past the publishing industry was really controlled by a handful of large companies acting as “gatekeepers”, we are now seeing platforms that allow the smaller players to engage in the marketplace. I think this is a real positive. We are going to see the emergence of stories and other applications that we would have missed out on before. This open platform is a very powerful tool to help spread ideas, information and products that in the past we would not have access to. I often wonder how many great books or stories the world has missed out on because it didn’t pass some publisher’s litmus test. If one believes in their story, they can now publish, and more importantly market and distribute it, themselves. That is fantastic!

David:  Digital books (both ebooks and book apps) provide an opportunity for some great authors to publish their content without having to get a traditional print publisher to give their manuscript a thumbs up, and without the huge expense of carrying an inventory of self-published books. Now we’re seeing some very easy-to-use ebook and book app creation tools appearing. Some are totally accessible to non-technical authors and illustrators, like the new Book Creator for iPad app that lets you lay out an iBook directly on your iPad. Or the new Demibooks Composer app that lets you create an interactive book app on your iPad. I especially like Kwik which lets you create an interactive book app on your Mac using Photoshop, and then you publish it yourself (you still need to be an iOS developer, and need a license for the Corona SDK). There are a lot more that will do the work for you, or let you assemble your book app via a web interface. We talk a lot about this in our weekly Twitter #storyappchat – more at http://storyappchat.wordpress.com/

Melissa:  This is an exciting time for first-time authors!  Never before in the history of publishing has it become fairly easy to self-publish with minimal costs.   However, people want quality work, so it is important as a writer to provide this quality to your customers.

 

Why do you think people want to read e-books versus print books?

Sam:  There are a number of practical reasons, including the convenience in buying, instantly downloading and storing of your books on a single portable device. You can have an entire library of books on a single device that is easy to manage and organize. I also think there is a strong appeal to the experience itself. You get so much more…

Michel:  A digital book app brings a story to life with interactive features that cannot be captured in a traditional print version. Book apps have the advantage of being easily accessible and allow you to take your entire library with you wherever you go. This is perfect if you’re on a roadtrip, in the classroom or simply reading at bedtime with your child. Book apps are also priced far below their print counterparts. A book app can typically sell for $1.99 to $3.99, whereas the print version can be $8.99 and upwards for the same title.

Annie:  Ebooks have a lot of obvious pluses: convenience of accessing new content, low cost, convenience of storage and portability. If you’re a parent going on a car trip, you could bring your entire library of book apps and iBooks along on your iPad rather than a big box full of paper books. Those are the obvious answers. For some people, there’s probably still a ‘cool’ factor in reading an e-book. Don’t know how long that will last.

Melissa:  With the interactivity of the apps, it can make a reluctant reader that much more engaged.  There are many benefits of eBooks and storybook apps such as the animation and interactivity of the stories, but there will always be a desire and need for print books. One article I read recently, wrote about how books will become a novelty if you will.  Sort of a thing someone collects as a hobby.  I don’t necessarily agree with that – but I can see the convenience of being able to download any book you want at anytime from the convenience of your home or office!

 

What is the most important factor you consider when creating an e-book?

Sam:  When Grids Interactive produces our book apps we consider the entertainment and education value equally. We think about the demographic of the child and try to deliver a product that is compelling for them to want to read and play with over and over. Our first product, The Truly Great Noodle, is an example of a fully interactive book with game elements to engage boys ages 3–7 years old. We thought hard and consulted an educational expert with children’s toys to come up with the right balance for the tone of humor that the book has and the combined educational reading element, along with the interactive embedded game elements to have them coming back multiple times. Our second and third books that are slated to be out by December 1 are positioned to little girls aged 3–7 and 5–11 with their beautiful majestic illustrations and angelical feel. I think both Surf Angel and Flip will be a hit with that demographic – having a beautiful living storybook with a beautiful and inspirational message.

Michel:  For us, promoting reading and education is the most important criteria we consider when developing our children’s book apps. Our team continually evaluates the level of interactivity for each app so that the features we do choose to include do not interfere with our overall objective of teaching kids how to read.

Annie & David:  A great story that engages a kids imagination and helps them understand themselves and other people better.

Melissa:  For me, it is always the illustrations or graphics.  I think that some readers prefer the old-feel of an illustrated book vs. computer graphics.  Whereas others prefer the more animated computer feel.  It is nice that the market is full of both choices!  With over 40,000 iTunes books, there are a lot to choose from for readers of all ages.  I also enjoy a good story – people want to read a good story to their children.  I know the mom sites make recommendations based on what their children enjoy.

 

Do you think print books will become obsolete in the future?  If not, what level of change do you expect we will see and when?

Sam:  We think there will be a steady decline in print books over time. One only need look at the closing of traditional bookstores like Borders to see the impact of these new platforms. This is how new technologies work – they displace other older technologies over time. Stories, for example, were initially spread verbally, then on stone tablets, and later it was scrolls and finally bound books.  Now we are on the frontier of a new model for books and it is getting rapid adoption. We think that print books will exist for some time into the future, but as more and more people come on board with the mobile platforms the economics of the printed book will start to make them less desirable.

Annie:  The “future” is a very long time! And, as Kahlil Gibran said, “… we can’t even visit it in our dreams.” So who knows what will become obsolete and what will be the next innovation? We can say without question that we love stories as do most people (kids and adults). Our brain is wired to suspend disbelief and “lose ourselves” in a story. It doesn’t matter if the tale is read on papyrus or an iPhone. That’s just a platform, a delivery mechanism. The substance of great stories… conflict, character, plot, theme, etc. … that will never be obsolete. You can quote me on that.

David:  I don’t think that paper books will go away, at least not in my lifetime. You can read them without electricity, there’s something special about sitting with your child on your lap and both of you turning the pages together. And you can read them on an airplane, even during take off and landing, when you have to turn off your iPad. On the other hand, I gave away my old record collection and replaced them all with CDs years ago (at least the ones I still liked). CDs provided a much better version of the same experience, but now my CDs are sitting in the garage because I’ve already ripped them all and they’re sitting in my pocket on my iPhone. So who knows?

Melissa:  No, I don’t think books will become obsolete, but with this new technology I do know it has cut into book sales.  Amazon announced this past January that eBooks outsold their printed books.  I think we will be seeing more of this as the quality improves in the book category – consumers will demand a quality product and will be willing to pay companies who offer this.

 

Author:  Ande Anderson, Grids Interactive

 

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Tips for Building a Children’s e-Library

Posted on September 18, 2011 by gridsinteractive

When you’re browsing the bookstore or shopping the App Store for a great book, how do you decide what to buy?  Do you stay with the tried and true titles that you know and love?  Do you branch out and take a chance on something new?

When I started a family a decade ago, I built the children’s library and initially stocked it with print books that I grew up with as a child.  Dr. Seuss is a favorite, of course, along with books of nursery rhymes and poetry.  Then came Disney books because I have this “trust factor” that anything Disney puts out is going to be kid-appropriate and automatically loved by my children.   (This generally works out to be true.)  Then I looked to the “what’s hot” lists and talked to my friends to see what everyone else was buying.  If others like it, it must be good, right?  Well, not necessarily.  And it definitely doesn’t mean that my children are going to like it.

How times have changed.  More often than not I like to purchase e-books because they generally cost less than print books and the ‘cool factor’ of e-reading makes it especially fun for our family.  I also look for “unknown” books online.  I love the idea that by choosing something new, I could discover something great; the next hot thing that everyone must read.  I want to see my children’s faces light up when they hear a fantastic story for the first time and get lost in the beautiful illustrations or fun interactivity of an e-book. I snuggle with my children in the dark and read a few great bedtime stories on the iPad to prepare them for a good night’s sleep.  Print books still have a place in our home, too.  We just like to mix it up a little.

What do you think makes a great children’s story?  Is it a book that teaches a lesson or has a moral to the story?  Is it a book with silly rhymes or alliteration?  Do you like zany characters in made-up places?  Our library contains a little of everything.

My children typically choose fun, fiction books and I love to hear their commentary and opinions as we read through the stories.  Their creativity astounds me!  I love sharing books of all kind with my children.  I love inspiring their creativity and reinforcing integrity and good character in them.  How have you built your library?

 

Author:  Ande Anderson, Grids Interactive

 

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Striving to Make a Difference in Children’s Digital Content

Posted on September 10, 2011 by gridsinteractive

SPOTLIGHT:  Digital-Storytime.com

Launching a new business led us to an unexpected discovery and has opened our eyes to the influential world of social media.  As we thought of various ways to market our e-books, we came across some women who make it their business to be informed about products for their children – mom bloggers.  We got to know some of the women who left careers to run websites or write blogs full time and we quickly realized how influential the parents of our target market could be.  We want to introduce you to one of these moms, in particular, who gave a good portion of her time to get to know us while we came to understand how she started her website and why she continues to do what she does.

Carisa Kluver is a working mom, who made her website she began as a hobby into her full-time job.  Digital-storytime.com launched in December 2010 and is an e-book/app review site.  Carisa started the site after trying to find helpful reviews from other sites for the large collection of e-books she kept on her iPad.  She quickly realized that the sites that she discovered did not necessarily provide the information that she, as a parent, was looking for.   Carisa decided that she could provide that information for other parents and began to create her website with her husband.

Carisa received a Bachelor’s Degree in Cultural Anthropology from UC Berkeley and finished a Master’s Degree in Social Work from the University of Washington.  She then began a career working in schools as a counselor and community health educator teaching sex-ed.  It may sound like a stretch to go from teaching sex-ed to being an app reviewer, but it seemed a logical transition for Carisa.  Because of her education and interaction with educators, Carisa understood the correlation between books in the home and the social effects that has on children.  She was already a big reader and spent a lot of time at the library.  Carisa also has a five-year-old son who was the inspiration behind her site because she wanted to find reviews for e-books to share with her child.

Carisa is an expert in her career field, having been published in educational journals.  However, she is quick to explain that she does not consider herself an expert in app reviews, but considers the task a public service, instead.  Despite its relative newness, digital-storytime.com is a very influential review site.  Shortly after starting her site, Carisa was interviewed by The Washington Post.  Armchair BEA asked her to write a guest post within a week of starting her blog, The Digital Media Diet.  She was also highlighted in the School Library Journal blog.  Carisa states that the highest praise she receives, however, is when educators find her website useful or when a parent says, “Thank you – I just found this great book.”

Like Grids, many small developers contact Carisa and request reviews for their apps. She reviews most of what she gets requests for, but doesn’t hesitate to let a developer know if their app does not meet her standards for at least a three-star rating on her site.  She will always provide feedback as to where she feels the app may be lacking if it falls short on her scale and will give the developer the option to rework the app and resubmit it before she publishes a review.  “I’m a teacher.  I want everyone to improve and graduate,” Carisa says.  E-books are assessed on narration, animation, interactivity, and extras, among other things.  Books by large developers that typically land in the top-10 are fair game for Carisa to review and a good or bad rating will stand.

Carisa has approximately 40 books in her queue at any given time and has not had a day off in nine months.  She makes it a goal to review at least one book a day.  This is no simple task when you understand the work that goes into each review.  First, Carisa screens the app she receives.  If she thinks it is worthy of at least a three-star rating on her site, she shares it with her son at least four to five times before she composes the review.  The review itself takes time to write.  Then the information must be posted on the website.  An actual review can take anywhere from three to four hours to complete.

Although her website began as a hobby for Carisa, it has turned into well more than that.  Carisa is no longer working in her former field, but instead works full time on her site, as well as marketing for other app projects with her husband.  Digital-storytime.com now has sufficient traffic to attract advertisers of family-friendly products.  Carisa also plans to offer ad space to developers in the fall.

The intention behind digital-storytime.com was to provide information that Carisa, herself, had difficulty finding.  She wanted to fill that void for others.  Carisa did not expect that communicating with developers, writing reviews, and maintaining the site would be as time-consuming as it has turned out to be, but she seems to genuinely love the new career path she began for herself.  We admire Carisa greatly for her perseverance in providing much-needed information about e-books and apps and for helping to promote small publishers like Grids.  We sincerely thank her for her time and dedication!

 

Author: Ande Anderson, Grids Interactive

 

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Mommy Blogs Fueling the Ebook Revolution

Posted on September 6, 2011 by gridsinteractive

As a new business launching our first product, we considered countless ways to market our company and our product.  The Truly Great Noodle, a children’s app for the iPad, was an original story by an unknown author.  Grids Interactive had not yet made a name for itself as a publisher of premier interactive children’s books.  Fortunately, we received some help through an unexpected source:  mom bloggers.  Who better to discuss our interactive e-book than knowledgeable moms who make it their business to know what is good for their children?

A few moms in particular helped publicize our efforts to foster a love of reading in children.  In fact, they read, “The Truly Great Noodle” with their own children and wrote reviews for their websites.  Carisa Kluver of Digital-Storytime.com began her website when she saw a need for an e-book review site.  After searching for meaningful reviews from other sites, she realized, “They were missing what was important about what I, as a parent, wanted to know about the book.”  Felicia of gograhamgo.com began her site after researching baby products on the internet while she was pregnant.  Felicia could not find the information she wanted in one place, so she decided after her son was born that she would compile her information into one site and share it with other moms.

Bloggers have various reasons for joining the social media family.  Like Carisa and Felicia, they may discover that they have a need for something and decide they can meet that need for others.  Perhaps they have a hobby like crafting or couponing and want to share their knowledge with others.  Maybe they feel passionate about something and a blog is their way to express that.  Yet others could use it as a way to reach out to people in similar situations or lifestyles, whether it be about pregnancy, raising children, or living healthy, to name a few.

No matter how or why someone begins their blog, the rewards can sometimes be unexpected.  Felicia with Go Graham Go discovered that, “Being a mom blogger has…created a community of great friends!”  Sometimes blogging turns into a profitable venture.  Some bloggers, after gaining notoriety and followers, generate income by selling advertising space on their websites.  Others receive free products to sample because they are willing to write reviews on them.  Carisa with Digital-Storytime told us that receiving an e-book for free that others purchase for $1.99 is not the reason she spends 3-4 hours on each published review she writes.  She does it because she wants to provide information to others that will help them make informed choices.

The relatively new phenomenon of social media is bound to change dramatically in the next several years, but one thing is for certain:  businesses are utilizing social media to benefit their sales and marketing.  Because of the influence social media writers have on business today, we are going to feature someone in the near future who has impacted Grids in a positive way.  Look for our spotlight article on Digital-Storytime soon!

 

Author: Ande Anderson, Grids Interactive

 

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E-books and Autism

Posted on August 15, 2011 by gridsinteractive

A stay-at-home mom with a ten year old autistic son contacted us recently about our newly released app for the iPad, The Truly Great Noodle.  She wished to remain anonymous, so we will call her Tess.  Tess told us about a group on Facebook called A4cwsn (Apps for Children with Special Needs) who use apps for their autistic and special needs children and help raise money to purchase iPads for those who cannot afford it.  Tess’s comments prompted us to look into the benefits of e-books and tablet computing for children with autism.  Although the information is relatively limited at this point, we quickly realized that this has become a hot topic.

Just last week, the San Jose Mercury News published an article about the uses for tablet computing and apps to treat autism.  Brandon Bailey wrote, “Parents and educators say the ease of use, visual impact and intuitive nature of a touch screen, combined with the portability and ‘cool factor’ of a tablet computer, have led to near-miraculous breakthroughs for children with a variety of disabilities.” 1

Tess concurred that, like many children with autism, her son is a visual learner.  Much of what he has learned has come from technology-based activities.  He uses the computer, plays educational games (Jumpstart), watches videos (Sesame Street), and enjoys internet-based activities.  Tess’s son learned his ABC’s from a website called Starfall (www.Starfall.com).  We asked Tess how her son utilizes e-books and the iPad for learning.  “What is so fantastic about books for the iPad is that they are very visual and interactive.  It is so motivating for him that he WANTS to listen over and over.  He enjoys all the interactivity so very much.”  Tess explained that the most important features for e-books on the iPad are the interactivity and the highlighted words to go along with the narration.  She went on to say that, “I think he’s finally excited to be able to share in story time like other children, but in a way that’s tailor made for him.”

If you are looking for specific apps for your autistic child, Padgadget.com has featured apps for children with autism and other special needs.  Tag “autism” and you will find several related apps.  One example is a free customizable picture card learning system called See.Touch.Learn. by Brain Parade.  Tracy is mom to an autistic son who blogs about book reviews.  She published her list of best iPad apps for Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome in August, 2010, as well as a Youtube video on the subject.

Because the iPad is a relatively new learning tool, there are no clear statistics to support its educational use for autistic children.  However, the consensus seems to be that it is highly effective in gaining a child’s attention and that it does seem to make a difference in learning.  Tess perfectly summed up our feelings on the matter:  “I am so excited that there is finally a medium for these special little ones.  They’ve waited long enough.”

Sources:

1Bailey, Brandon. “Using touch screens and apps to treat autism.” Silicon Valley Mercury News. 18 Jul. 2011. http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_18478215 25 Jul. 2011.

For More Information About Autism:

Autism Teaching Tools:

  • AutismPro provides a database of resources, lessons, and intervention strategies for teachers of students with autism.  www.autismpro.com
  • Autism Internet Modules (AIM) provides parents and professionals with a series of free online learning modules.  www.autisminternetmodules.org

 

Author: Ande Anderson, Grids Interactive

 

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Grids Interactive Partners with Charity for 1st Read4Need Launch

Posted on June 23, 2011 by gridsinteractive

Grids Interactive started publishing interactive e-books because reading builds a strong foundation for learning.  We are now launching a global “Social Mediathon” to help make a difference in the world by doing more than promoting reading.  Here’s how our new Read4Need™ program works:

We will announce on Twitter and Facebook that 20% of the gross sales from that day will go to benefit a particular charity.  Please pass on that information to your followers to raise awareness that we can all help others while helping ourselves.

We already partnered with Kids Against Hunger, Inc. for our first e-book app for the iPad, “The Truly Great Noodle”. We are committed to giving a portion of the net proceeds to this amazing organization.  They strive to provide nutritional meals to starving children worldwide.  We also chose Kids Against Hunger as our partner for our first-ever Read4Need™ promotion. We constantly are tweeting and posting about it today, Thursday June 23, 2011.  20% of the sales of “The Truly Great Noodle” on 6/23/11 will be donated to Kids Against Hunger.

As a small, independent publisher, our reach is limited.  But with far-reaching social media at our fingertips, the potential to enlist the help of people worldwide to promote charity is limitless.  We hope you will join our efforts by sharing this information.  Thanks for your support!

You can find “The Truly Great Noodle” for iPad at this link:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-truly-great-noodle/id443985800?mt=8

 

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E-book Evolution

Posted on June 17, 2011 by gridsinteractive

Last month my husband threw away a set of books from the ‘70s that had seen more use than any book I’ve ever owned.  Though he was a child of the ‘70s, these were not typical children’s books, but instead were associated with children’s education, or education in general.  It was the Encyclopedia Britannica.  Every volume in his set was worn and dirty.  One volume was missing altogether.  My husband remembers using these encyclopedias to write countless research papers for school, as did his five siblings.  They were cumbersome to store and, quite frankly, hadn’t been opened in years.  The information was out of date.  It was time to let them go.

Buying a 2010 replacement set of Encyclopedia Britannica at over $1000 was out of the question for us.  Fortunately, technology has enabled a much more compact solution and at a fraction of the cost.  The set, like many books today, is available in digital form!

The evolution of the printed book to e-books has taken place within the past few decades.  E-books proliferated in the ‘90s.  Kids books were not a focus of these early digital books.  They were primarily professional or technical in nature and were read electronically instead of downloaded.  E-books later incorporated material from novels, poetry, magazines, and historic documents that were no longer covered by copyright and could be downloaded for free.

Many publishers and authors were hesitant to endorse the concept of electronic publishing because of piracy issues.  However, the demand for downloadable digital copyrighted fiction and non-fiction became evident as consumers sought out entertaining materials in this format.  As a result, companies began to utilize special reader software that protected copyrighted material that could be downloaded.  One example of this is the Apple built-in app called iBooks that is available on the iPad.

The change in the publishing world helped inspire Grids Interactive (www.gridsinteractive.com), which was founded in 2010 to make both educational and entertaining e-books.  In about a week, we are going to launch the first of our original book apps for children.  The Truly Great Noodle© is a children’s e-book that is not only captivating with colorful interactive illustrations and original music, but uses highlighted word narration to help improve children’s reading skills.  This children’s app will be available exclusively for the iPad.

Author: Ande Anderson, Grids Interactive

 

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Posted in Blog, Future of Books, interactive children's books, ipad books, ipad books for children, Technology and Education | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 93 Comments

iPad as Education

Posted on May 8, 2011 by gridsinteractive

Reading has been an important part of my family’s life since my children were very young. Now six and nine years old, there are a lot of other activities in their lives that compete with books for attention. In order to further instill a love of books in my kids, I decided to use all of the tools at my disposal, embraced technology and discovered the power of interactive books. iPad came to my rescue. It has the cool factor that my kids love and a vast amount of educational possibilities, which I love. Of course I want them to have fun while reading, but if they can also learn something on top of it, then it’s a win for everyone. Features such as hyperlinks, interactive dictionaries and instant search are great so my daughter can explore her curious side and find more information instantly while she reads.  My son has explored other educational features of the iPad and discovered a love of learning other languages with language games and an interest in geography using interactive maps.

Beyond the home, there are a growing number of schools embracing the iPad as a teaching tool, according to the The New York Times. Aside from just the educational possibilities, technology is also clearly changing the way they do business in the classroom by enabling students to correspond with teachers and turn in papers and homework assignments while preserving a digital record of student work.

Some people are clearly reluctant to embrace the iPad as an educational tool. They think it’s just a passing fad, or worse, another technological distraction for their children.  No doubt, I don’t want my kids playing games on the iPad from dawn until dusk, but there are so many options for children of all ages that go way beyond simple games. There are currently over 5,400 educational applications available for the iPad, of which nearly 1,000 can be downloaded free. With this much content, there is something useful for everyone at every stage of development. eBooks and tablet apps can help to expand the imagination, help with learning foreign languages, teach early reading, teach moral issues, geography, astronomy, history, and the list goes on. The creativity of some of these programs in combining learning and gaming is sometimes astounding. There is an endless amount of knowledge in a portable, fun, kid friendly tablet. I see technology as a big motivator for my kids who are growing up in the digital age, and I think there are huge advantages compared to how I grew up. This is just the beginning of the positive impact technology, and particularly the iPad, will have on learning and education.

I agree with a PC Magazine quote of Scholastic chief academic officer, Francie Alexander, regarding a report from 2010 suggesting that eBooks will spur children to read more:

“If we can meet kids where they are and get a third of all kids, many of them struggling readers, to spend more time reading for fun on e-books, that additional time spent building fluency and vocabulary will not only help them become more proficient at reading, but will help prepare them to tackle more complex texts that they will encounter in high school and college.”

It might be a while before tablets replace all textbooks but it’s fun to think about a place where students and teachers can learn beyond the classroom.

If you are looking for fun and educational eBooks, here are a few that we have enjoyed that you might like, too:

A Moving Tales™ has a fabulous interactive story: The Pedlar Lady of Gushing Cross. The 3D animation is captivating and the story leads you to reflect on your own life.

Nighty Night, by Minds & Moving Images, beautifully illustrates a bedtime book for young children.

Jack and the Beanstalk is not how you remember it, in this children’s interactive storybook, by Ayars Animation Inc.

Let us know of any fun, educational interactive books you have discovered!

Author: Ande Anderson, Grids Interactive

 

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Posted in Blog, Future of Books, interactive children's books, ipad books, ipad books for children, Technology and Education, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 45 Comments

Technology and Education

Posted on May 5, 2011 by gridsinteractive

The idea of “change” scares most of us because we understand the implication of that word.  To change means to adapt to something new.  Change means we are going to be forced out of our comfort zone.  We will likely have to learn something new or do things differently.  We certainly will have to think differently.  We may not like the consequences that change brings.  And we are probably worrying about the worst-case scenario when initially confronted with change, rather than focusing on the positive facets change could bring.  Change is inevitable, so why not try to embrace the concept instead of going against the tide?

Technological innovations bring some of the greatest controversies of our time.  In the science world, we consider our position today on such topics as cloning, choosing the sex of a baby, and stem cell research.  We don’t think of these profound topics often because we have not necessarily been confronted with making decisions in these areas.

More likely concerns we may have about technology is whether or not we should purchase a tablet or smart phone, or should we use the GPS feature on our child’s phone to track their whereabouts?  One topic that seems to bring a lot of debate is to what extent our children use technology in school.

A recent article published by The Associated Press presented the controversy of a Maine elementary school providing iPads to all incoming Kindergarten students for the 2011/12 school year (see the article). Some of the arguments for the implementation of the iPad in schools are that it is an engaging tool for learning and there are hundreds of educational apps available on the iPad.  Let’s face it, there is a “cool factor” to the iPad that is most certainly appealing to children.  They want to pick it up and play with it.  And with the option to load learning apps and eBooks instead of games, the iPad can be considered an educational tool.

I view technology as an enhancement to educational activities rather than a replacement for them.  I still want my children to paint with paintbrushes, write with pencils, and build with clay.  If they spend a small percentage of each day engaged with a device that can reinforce the skills they’ve learned, I accept that as beneficial, too.  My children use the iPad and I am certain that the extra practice they get with reading apps and interactive story books has accelerated their reading ability.

The Associated Press article also published comments by people who were concerned that the kindergarten children are too young to appreciate the iPad.  I disagree.  The iPad is a much more intuitive device than a computer.  That, combined with the fact that there is no keyboard, makes the iPad an easy choice for young children to use.  On YouTube, one family documented their two-year-old son using the iPad showing how easy it really is.

Harris Interactive predicts that 20% of US consumers will own tablets by 2014.  Based on an infographic published at discountcoder.com, the majority of iPad users are 35-54 years old and an average user spends 5-20+ hours per week using the iPad.  56% of people buy it for entertainment purposes.  Could the majority of iPad users shift to younger age categories in years to come?  Could the shift turn more educational than entertainment-oriented?  It will be interesting to watch what happens with this innovative tool in the next few years.

Technological innovations are going to define our future.  We may feel the natural fear of change resulting in a resistance to technology, but we will likely come around to the inevitable acceptance of it.  Were you one of those people who thought there could be no greater innovation to music than the compact disc, only to be proven wrong years later with the inception of MP3 players?  Were you like my mother, who tried valiantly to get along without a cell phone for years, but finally gave in and was thankful to have had it with her when her car broke down on the side of the road?  I was shocked when my third-grade son started typing lessons in school.  I didn’t take a typing class until I was sixteen and it was an elective class!  Not to mention that my intent was to use it for typing on an electric typewriter – not a computer!

Technology is not a replacement for other forms of learning but merely another way to help us learn.  Why hold children back from what is most certainly a change we can’t avoid?  I for one intend to acquaint my children with the new technological devices that enhance their leaning and prepare them for more change to come.

Author: Ande Anderson, Grids Interactive

 

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Posted in Blog, Future of Books, interactive children's books, ipad books, ipad books for children, Technology and Education, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 76 Comments

iPad is the Perfect Traveling Companion for Kids

Posted on April 22, 2011 by gridsinteractive

Have you contemplated the idea of getting a new iPad but you haven’t heard that final, compelling argument to push you over the edge?  Well, I’ve got three words for you:  traveling with children.

There are enumerable times I’ve been thankful for my iPad, but I must confess that I appreciate it most when I’ve had to pack up the family for a road trip.  In my pre-iPad days, I planned for a trip and spent a good deal of time in negotiations with my children as to the number of toys, books, and movies they would be allowed to bring on the trip.  I typically told each of them to pack a backpack with their favorite items, stating, “If it fits in the bag, you can bring it.”

You can’t even imagine the things my children attempted to stuff into their backpacks!  It reminded me of those sales at the grocery store where they tell you that anything you can fit in the bag will be 15% off at checkout.  People can get awfully creative about how they pack that “sale” bag!  And then there are the problems with those backpacks once we are on the road.  “Favorite things” becomes a relative term after two hours in the car.  The kids get bored.  They’ve read those books, played those games, and want new things to do altogether.  Did I mention the clutter?  Every time we would make a stop toys would fall out of the car the moment we opened the doors.  We once lost a DS and several hundred dollars in game cartridges because of this!

These days, my children don’t even pack one backpack between the two of them when we take a trip.  What necessity, above all else, do my six- and nine-year-old want to bring?  The iPad!

Technology has certainly changed the way we do a lot of things, travel included.  I love the fact that because of the iPad, we now have fewer items floating about the car during our trip.  Not only is there less to pack and unpack, but the back seat stays reasonably clutter-free our entire trip because of that small, special, and now necessary traveling companion.

I also don’t have to respond to repeated questions about, “When are we going to be there?”  Instead, my biggest problem is scheduling because everyone wants to know, “When is it my turn to use the iPad?”  And I’m not just referring to my children…my husband and I have to negotiate our terms of use, as well, depending on who is driving.

The best part about the iPad is that this one device suits all of our needs.  The kids love the games, of course.  And I like the fact that they use various educational apps because they are fun.  eBooks are a favorite in our family because we all have our own personal selections at our fingertips.  We also download movies that keep us entertained for hours.  We don’t even have to leave the car to shop for more movies, books, and games because the app store is at our fingertips.

For parents who are concerned about the lack of interaction with their children because of electronics, the iPad has solutions for that, as well.  We play companion games like tic-tac-toe and hangman to pass the time.  We compose funny songs together.  My children even read aloud to share their eBooks with everyone.  The iPad is the perfect traveling companion to help pass the time, help our family interact, and keep each of us busy when others are in need of quiet time.

Needless to say, our trips now pass quickly.  Because of the iPad, my children are happily engaged with activities the entire time.  It makes our drive more enjoyable and educational.  It also makes preparing for a trip a lot less daunting.  Like the cell phone, I wonder how we ever did without the iPad!

Author:  Ande Anderson, Grids Interactive

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Posted in Blog, Future of Books, interactive children's books, ipad books, ipad books for children, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 92 Comments