- Author:
Eleonora Acerra
- E-mail:
eleonora.acerra@umontpellier.fr
- Institution:
University of Montpellier
- Year of publication:
2017
- Source:
Show
- Pages:
11-28
- DOI Address:
https://doi.org/10.15804/IW.2017.08.01
- PDF:
iw/08_1/iw8101.pdf
Children’s Literature in the World of Apps: Hypermedia Adaptations of Classic and Contemporary Picturebooks
This analysis aims to describe the main features of hypermedia literary apps for children by considering a corpus of adaptations of classic and contemporary picturebooks. In particular, it highlights the multimodal nature that defines hypermedia texts and their meanings, as well as the interactivity that programs different degrees of readers’ involvement and the various ways of using and exploring the virtual space of touchscreens. By describing some hypermedia features deployed in a selection of classic texts, I focus on the hypermedia adaptations of three contemporary Italian picturebooks: Iole, la balena mangiaparole by Gioia Marchegiani, Amico ragnolo by Gloria Francella, and Love, the App by Alberto Vanni. These were chosen to illustrate the significant literary use of several textual materials, the implementation of different types of interactivity, and the recreation of the material characteristics of the print edition through the virtual page. Founded on the appropriation and re-interpretation of the source, the adaptations considered here show a mix of literary intents and digital technologies, while highlighting the substantial homogeneity of the hypermedia strategies used in adapting classic and contemporary texts.
- Author:
Simone Fornara
- E-mail:
simone.fornara@supsi.ch
- Institution:
University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland
- Year of publication:
2017
- Source:
Show
- Pages:
65-83
- DOI Address:
https://doi.org/10.15804/IW.2017.08.04
- PDF:
iw/08_1/iw8104.pdf
Journeys of Pictures and Words: Teaching the Italian Language in Primary School with Picturebooks and Silent Books
Picturebooks (and silent books, with images only and without words) are children’s books commonly considered suitable only for young children of pre-school age or in the earliest years of schooling. For this reason, picturebooks are mostly neglected in teaching in higher educational stages. Nevertheless, the educational potential of picturebooks is considerable, especially in the later years of primary school. For example, in Italian language teaching, they can be extraordinary tools for planning didactic projects that allow instructors to integrate the teaching/learning of all linguistic skills and of metalinguistic reflection, which are the main elements in the curricula related to Italian language teaching in Italian-speaking countries and contexts.
The article aims to show the validity of the above claim by establishing a possible classification of picturebooks into six distinct types and by describing some didactic projects and activities developed in primary schools in Canton Ticino (Italian Switzerland). Focusing on the pleasure of reading engaging stories and on motivation, picturebooks enable teachers to pursue ambitious and challenging goals, such as creating one or more new picturebooks inspired by the one read initially or transposing a picturebook into a theatre script. At the same time, picturebooks enable students to develop their speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills.