Social integration by introducing digital children´s books in pre-schools and schools
| Reference number | |
| Coordinator | KIDSREAD AB - Kidsread, c/o Epicenter |
| Funding from Vinnova | SEK 300 000 |
| Project duration | May 2017 - December 2017 |
| Status | Completed |
| Venture | Social innovation - development and testing |
| Call | Social innovation - phase 1 |
Important results from the project
The project objective has been to examine how digital reading in practice can promote social integration in schools and pre-schools. Some feedback from participants: "Using an iPad and letting the students choose books has provided easy access. There are students who are not familiar with books from their home country, these can now be introduced in a natural and inclusive way." "...providing books in different languages and reading levels results in higher student satisfaction. Reading at a different level or in another language is a less sensitive activity in the anonymity of the app"
Expected long term effects
Results from in-depth interviews and questionnaires clearly show that use of the Kidsread app, with children´s books in Swedish and other languages, has contributed to increased reading in the group tested. The effects have been especially marked in pre-schools, where the use of a tablet rather than paper books has created more interest from children, and years 4-6, where reading skills have seen the clearest improvement.
Approach and implementation
During the fall semester of 2017, over 1,000 children and students in schools and pre-schools all around Sweden have used the children´s book app Kidsread, providing digital books in Swedish and other languages for children aged 0-12. The service has been universally been highly appreciated, although some schools have lacked staff with reading skills in the languages spoken by the children. To fully leverage the contents of the service, further development to address this issue is needed.