Digital Storytimes

A digital group storytime is a story presentation using a book in a digitized format (from a database or other online or computer resource), which is then projected onto a screen, an interactive whiteboard, or a wall. The pages of the digitized book are "turned" using a wireless digital mouse. The audience and story reader sit together facing the screen or wall.

You can conduct a digital storytime anywhere you have an Internet connection, a computer, a projector, and some surface on which to project the story.

Why would you use a digital book for a storytime rather than a traditional, hardcopy book? Well there are many reasons for this, not the least of which is the fact that projecting the images from a story onto a screen - where the images can be very large - means that EVERYONE can see the pictures!

Read the research on using digitized books for group storytimes:

The Digital and Traditional Storytimes Research Project

Read Sarah Long's article, "Children's Story Hour Moves to Digital World":

http://www.librarybeat.org/read/show/325

Listen to Sarah Long's interview with Lauren about using digitized books for storytimes:

http://www.librarybeat.com/longshots/play/62

Click below for the International Children's Digital Library - a resource of over 2,000 children's books from around the world-all full text and available free to anyone, anywhere!

http://www.icdlbooks.org/

There are many ways you can use digitized children's books in the library or classroom. Click below for Lauren' Creative Ways to Use Digital Group Storytimes in the Classroom or Library:

Creative Digital Storytimes

Are you a school librarian or teacher? You can conduct a simple, 20-minute in-service for teachers or staff on how to use the ICDL in the classroom. Click the link below for a brochure:

What is the International Children's Digital Library