A multimedia literacy series: the cognition and technology group at Vanderbilt.
The Little Planet Literacy Series is a multimedia language and literacy program for beginning readers. Its no-floor, no-ceiling design is learner-centered, based on five years of research with a range of students, including those at risk of school failure and those well on the road to learning to read. The research and prototypes for the series were developed at Vanderbilt University, then licensed to Little Planet Publishing in Nashville, Tenn. for development and distribution.The Little Planet Series evolved from several earlier research programs, including the Jasper Woodbury Problem Solving Series (also developed at Vanderbilt) and Schools For Thought (developed at Vanderbilt, the University of California at Berkeley, and the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education). The program is structured around video stories that anchor a series of activities targeting deep comprehension, composition, and oral language, along with traditional print-based skills.
The series consists of two video anchor stories, each setting the stage for a semester's worth of activities and each beginning the semester's work by challenging children to write a book. In the first story, the animal characters on the little planet are visited by a stranger named Wongo, who convinces the animals they need to buy his magic hats if they want to use their imaginations and tell good stories. All the animals are taken in by the pitch, except for Ribbit. As the story progresses, Ribbit learns to use components of the scientific method to test whether the hats really are magic. Through these tests, the animals discover they've been duped. They get their money back from Wongo, but they learn that he plans to take his hats to other parts of the planet. The animals are left with a challenge: How to prevent other animals from being tricked by Wongo. The solution is to write a book, and the animals enlist the aid of children in the classroom.
In the second anchor story, Glowbird disappears after the other animals unthinkingly destroy her habitat. As she searches for a new home, she travels to a desert, an arctic region, a wetland, and a tropical swamp. In each place, she finds animals that have adapted to life there but also discovers that she is not suited for living there. Meanwhile, Glowbird's friends work diligently to learn from books how to restore the environment, just in time for Glowbird's weary return. The story ends as Glowbird challenges the children to make books telling her story as well as the stories of animals with similar problems. The stage is set for early research activities about real, endangered animals, leading to making books.
Although each anchor video is accompanied by a book of these stories in print form, the videos are integral to the program in several ways:
* Community building. Children who may differ greatly in their background knowledge can use the visual support in the videos to quickly develop shared understanding and vocabulary, enabling them to participate in collaborative activities. Teachers can easily share the curriculum with children's families from all literacy backgrounds by distributing the anchor stories on videotape.
* Conceptual richness. Each anchor story is more narratively complex and dense with information than print-based stories intended for children of the same age. The key to the stories is that they can be explored and re-explored so children develop deep understanding over time. By placing the video stories on laser disc, CD-ROM, and computer, we allow nonreaders and early readers to control the exploration - something they cannot do with the print medium alone.
* Extended knowledge-building. A curriculum that fosters deep expertise depends on a context that maintains interest over time. Properly designed video stories are inherently motivating to young children, providing a critical springboard for long-term engagement.
Anchor Activities
The following activities in the program use computer and laser-disc tools to support rich discussions and enable children to share their readings and written work with other people:
Story sequencing:
* Children discuss and order pictures from the anchor story that represent important story events.
* Software allows the children to place the pictures in any order they wish and receive audio or visual help as needed. If children can't remember the events a picture represents, they can click to revisit a video scene or receive an audio hint.
* Children can also sequence laminated cards with audio and visual support provided by barcodes and the laser-disc player.
Multimedia storybook maker [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]:
* Pictures from the sequencing activity help construct a book in a child's own words.
* The Movie button turns the still picture into a dynamic clip from the story, providing a powerful retrieval cue.
* The Record button enables children to orally narrate the story.
* The Words button helps students sound out words and turn their recordings into print.
* The Music button allows children to select from a variety of musical clips to best fit the emotional tone of each page.
* The Play button lets children see and hear the pictures, their recorded voices, printed words, and selected music.
* When all pages are completed, the book is printed in a traditional format. A videotape of the multimedia book can also be made. However, children especially love the books and take them home to share with their families.
Composition software provides tools for creating original stories. For example, story starters use familiar characters and themes from the anchor to begin a story that children complete; children can also write their own stories on any topic from scratch. A clip-art library and drawing tools allow children to create their own pictures.
Skill building centers on read-along books. Short, decodable words are combined with rhythm and rhyme patterns to foster sound-letter skills. Computer or laser-disc support pronounces sentences and words when needed. Children practice until they become fluent at reading; then they record the stories in their own voices.
Extensions to literature include related stories that challenge students to make comparisons with the anchor story. Video stories include "The Emperor's New Clothes" and "The Lion and The Mouse." Lists of related trade books are provided, along with recorded models of story discussions, accessible from a laser-disc or audio-CD player.
More Research
We are expanding this program with new activities linking literacy, science, and math. The integrated curriculum promises to reveal even more ways technology-supported materials can accelerate learning.
Acknowledgments
The Young Children's Literacy Project has been supported by the National Institute of Child Health and Development (at the National Institutes of Health), the Office of Special Education (at the Department of Education), and the James S. McDonnell Foundation.
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| Title Annotation: | Understanding from Multiple Views; Little Planet Literacy Series |
|---|---|
| Publication: | Communications of the ACM |
| Date: | Aug 1, 1996 |
| Words: | 1082 |
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