Category: Ebooks

Benefits of Interactive Ebooks for Homeschool Reading Activities

12/7/2018

by Phoenix Desertsong, Parent of Three

Ebooks can really help young children get involved with the literary world. Sometimes, it can be hard to get children to sit down long enough to actually read to them. Fortunately, there are many interactive ebooks available today to catch young readers with short attention spans. Learn about some of the benefits of interactive ebooks for homeschool reading activities.

Interactive Ebooks Give Homeschool Students Multimedia Reading Experiences

If you try to sit your five-year old homeschool student down and read him or her a classic book like Treasure Island, it’s likely you’ll encounter some resistance. Even if you are trying to read your child an adaptation made for kids, some children simply do not want to sit long enough to successfully read very much of it.

But, if you get Treasure Island as an interactive ebook, you get a multimedia experience that include cool pirate-themed music and animated pictures. The more of your child’s senses you can get involved in a story, the better. There are even interactive ebooks that can read the story aloud page by page. My own children enjoy the Dr. Seuss interactive ebooks available on mobile devices. Interactive ebooks will often highlight the words as they are read, allowing children to learn the phonics and tone of many words.

Interactive Ebooks Get Homeschool Children with ADD Involved in Reading and Learning

Interactive ebooks have become particularly popular for parents with children who suffer from Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). It’s been found that many children with ADD can benefit from interactive ebooks that would never pay attention to a standard book. In these cases, having ebooks available on a computer or other multimedia device such as a tablet get children who wouldn’t touch regular books a chance to read and learn.

With homeschool, you can have reading activities exclusively using interactive ebooks. Some kids that have been diagnosed with ADD or just have issues with paying attention may struggle with focusing during reading time in a traditional school setting. But, with homeschool reading activities, you can choose whatever will get your children reading. After all, as long as they read something they enjoy, it does the job.

Interactive Ebooks Involve Kids Who Need More Activity

Reading standard books may be too much of a passive activity to interest highly active children for long. But, with interactive ebooks, tapping a screen or clicking a mouse to make pictures move or change pictures will capture the attention of many otherwise hyper children. Children don’t even have to sit still to read a book if they are reading it on a mobile device like an Android tablet or iPad. The children still receive the benefits of being read a regular book and it keeps them busy.

So, if you're having trouble getting your homeschool kids to pay attention during reading time, interactive ebooks on either computer, tablet, or other mobile device is something you should definitely try.

Interactive Ebooks Are Great Educational Tools

Some people may think that interactive ebooks are too much like video games. But, the educational value of interactive ebooks can’t be overlooked, especially when it comes to kids seeing the words as they are read. The animations can keep a better hold on your child’s senses, something that still pictures in regular books can’t always do.

Interactive ebooks can help beginning readers learn vocabulary, phonics, context clues, and more. They can even help older readers improve their skills. In any case, interactive ebooks are fun and can teach children even more than just what’s said in the story. Interactive ebooks can be used by parents, daycares, and teachers alike

So, if you have a child who resists story time and wants nothing to do with letting you read him or her a book, try out interactive ebooks. You may just find that interactive ebooks are the key to getting your child to love reading. Who knows. After reading interactive ebooks for awhile, he or she may even pick up a regular book! Interactive ebooks are definitely worth a try, especially for homeschool reading!

Have you ever used interactive ebooks for your own homeschool reading activities?

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Interactive Ebooks For Students and Kids - The Old and the New

12/6/2018

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by Phoenix Desertsong, Published Author

While harder to find than regular ebooks, interactive ebooks, also known as multimedia ebooks, can be lots of fun for children of all ages. Many of these ebooks are interactive books for preschoolers, but they exist for older children, as well. These interactive multimedia ebooks have audio and video features that can add lots of educational and entertainment value beyond the original book itself. While not all are educational ebooks, the interactivity makes them perfect for reading time or homeschool

“Old School” Interactive Ebooks for Kids

Interactive ebooks for kids have actually existed long before ebooks became even a thought on the internet. Some regular kids books actually came with a CD with an interactive version of the book or activities related to the book. They used to be only available at larger bookstores and by special order. Today, you can still buy them online, but some places allow you to download them.

What’s great about interactive ebooks is that your child not only can interact with the book, but can even sometimes alter events within the story itself. No longer are you passively reading the story, but actively being involved with it. Also, by being interactive, there are lots of opportunities for the story to reinforce other reading skills, such as vocabulary or phonics. This makes even older interactive ebooks good learning tools for students.

“Old school” multimedia ebooks either ran directly off of a CD or comes as an executable (EXE) file that you can download. This is because it’s not a document, but instead a program. Some of them even have the ability to have multiple users and allow the child to enter his or her name to personalize the experience. Some even allow you to put the child’s picture into the story, with adult assistance, of course.

Modern Interactive Ebooks

Today, there are still plenty of multimedia ebooks, but they are available today on Amazon KIndle or as apps from the Windows Store, the Google Play store, iTunes, and other similar software download platforms. They offer the same interactivity as the older multimedia ebooks, but often with a small download size and no need for a disc. These newer ebooks are much easier to find and much less expensive than the “old school” multimedia ebooks on CD.

It’s still possible to find some multimedia ebooks in the computer software aisle of big box stores or office supply stores. The ones you can find in these sorts of places tend to be very inexpensive.

Finding Older Interactive Ebooks For Download or Sale

Not every “old school” multimedia ebook has made its way into modern app stores. Some older ebooks may also not be compatible with newer computers. However, if you happen to come across them and you can get them to work, they are still a lot of fun, although they are limited to being run on a personal computer.

If you’re looking for multimedia ebooks not available in your local retail stores, you’ll have to turn to eBay, Amazon, and other online retail websites. This is where they can become expensive. But, it’s also possible to find them at thrift stores or even yard sales. Some of them are even highly collectible if the disc is in top condition.

Whether they’re old or new, multimedia and interactive ebooks can greatly encourage young readers by allowing them to be more actively involved with their favorite stories. Hopefully, by playing along with these interactive books, their interest in regular books will increase dramatically. They were effective back in the 1990’s and early 2000’s, and interactive ebooks for students and kids definitely aren’t going anywhere.

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Benefits of Interactive Ebooks for Homeschool Reading Activities

Interactive Ebooks For Students and Kids - The Old and the New

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