Unsworth L., Thomas, A., Simpson, A. & Asha, J. (2005). Children's Literature and Computer Based Teaching.

Thwaite, Anne

* Unsworth L., Thomas, A., Simpson, A. & Asha, J. (2005). Children's Literature and Computer Based Teaching. Maidenhead, Berkshire: Open University Press. [book + CD-ROM for PC]

* Unsworth L. (2006). E-literature for Children: Enhancing Digital Literacy Learning. London & New York: Routledge.

Not being much of a geek girl myself, I approached these books as a novice user of palaces and e-literature in general. Both books would arguably be more effective in the form of CD-ROMs. However, I did find that they opened up a whole new world for someone who is unfamiliar with this developing field. A such, I feel that they would be very useful for teachers, particularly those lacking in experience with e-literature.

Mode of presentation

There is no doubt that Information and Communication Technologies represent a new mode for accessing literature and, as Unsworth points out, are changing the very nature of literature itself. For this reason, the use of print mode as the basis for discussion of these technologies is not the optimal choice. (The CD-ROM accompanying the first volume is simply to provide easy access to palaces.) In both books, although they are illustrated with screen dumps, it is sometimes difficult to understand the point the writer is making without access to the e-text. In the case of e-literature I presume that copyright issues would be a problem. Nevertheless, I wonder if there is a way around this, perhaps by the use of sketches rather than the actual text, so that the points made can be effectively demonstrated. Another disadvantage of print is that it quickly becomes out of date, a real disadvantage in a rapidly-developing field such as this.

An example of where the print medium can be cumbersome occurs in Unsworth 2006, p. 59, where the author is describing the CD-ROM version of George Shrinks. He writes: five images from the book have been deleted from the CD-ROM. The first of these is the second image of George making his bed. The next is the immediately subsequent image in the book of the miniature George standing next to the skirting board with the cat's back legs visible as s/he walks past (this image has no accompanying text).

Clearly, use of a visual mode of representation would have been invaluable in discussions like this. However, it is recognised that there are limitations in what it is possible to publish. Throughout both of these books, especially the second one (Unsworth, 2006), we can imagine how beneficial it would be to be sitting in a lecture by Unsworth, looking at the CDs or picture books he is referring to, and listening to his analysis of them.

Theoretical background and practical applications

The second of the two books is the more theoretical. At times I feel there is more detailed information than teachers would really want to know about, although I found it useful in describing the dimensions of the field and what it is possible to do in this medium. For example, it is fascinating to learn about the characters in a CD-ROM story who get lost because of skipping a chapter, when they visit the chapter on rainforests to get water for their spacecraft (p. 152). The section on e-comics (p. 116) is particularly useful for exploring the possibilities of the ICT mode. And some of the examples, such as the discussion of The Little Prince (p. 60), are good illustrations of what students can learn from a grammatical and visual analysis of such texts.

The chapter on practical programs (Unsworth 2006, p. 137) presents two sample series of lessons, one for eight to nine year-olds, and one for ten to eleven year olds. The detail in these lessons would make this chapter quite useful for beginning teachers who wanted to see examples of how theory and practice can be related. Unsworth et al. (2005) also contains a useful chapter describing classroom practices in this area, illustrating the work of three different teachers.

Another way in which these books would be useful for teachers is as a resource for finding and choosing different e-texts. There is also a reference to an anthology of sites offering resources for children's literature for the primary grades: Newman, M. (2004). Cyberlit. Lanham, MD & Oxford: Scarecrow. As well, Unsworth offers suggestions for how to find such resources on the web.

Fun and entertainment

A point well-made by Unsworth is that children may be willing to engage with e-literature and associated games even though they are reluctant readers, and also that this type of involvement often co-occurs with involvement with books and may encourage children to interact with books. Both the books under review here demonstrate the educational use of ICT resources, even those that might primarily be seen as for fun rather than learning.

Two examples of phenomena with high entertainment value are 'book raps' (Unsworth et al., 2005, Chapter 3) and visiting palaces (Unsworth et al. 2005, Chapter 4). While the concept of a book rap does not differ greatly from that of a traditional book review, it is more involving for students in that the pool of interactants is much wider and it is more student-controlled. To be most effective a book rap would need to be run at a systemic level such as those organised by the New South Wales Department of Education. The potential for international contact is exciting, although one would hope that students having such discussions would be learning about each other's cultures and locations as well as discussing fiction.

The ease with which one can interact with users from all over the world was illustrated to me when I entered the 'Middle Earth' palace for the first time. It was fun to enter the Tolkien-like ambiance complete with spoken Elvish. I took on a jolly persona and wandered around rather aimlessly. Soon I was very excited to be greeted by a cat from Valencia who started to engage me in conversation. But in the midst of my ungrammatical burblings about my family who live nearby, s/he suddenly vanished!

Such experiences can be quite devastating to the novice palace-goer, but I do encourage readers to take the plunge and access some of the wonderful opportunities made accessible in these books.

Anne Thwaite

EDITH COWAN UNIVERSITY, WA