Representing the state of the art in multimedia applications and their promise for enhancing early literacy development, this volume broadens the field of reading research by looking beyond print-only experiences to young readers' encounters with multimedia stories on the Internet and DVD. Multimedia storybooks include, in addition to static pictures and written text, features such as oral text, animations, sounds, zooms, and scaffolds designed to help convey meaning. These features are changing how young children read text, and also provide technology-based scaffolds for helping struggling readers.

Multimedia and Literacy Development reports experimental research and practices with multimedia stories indicating that new dimensions of media contribute to young children's ability to understand stories and to read texts independently. This is the first synthesis of evidence-based research in this field. Four key themes are highlighted:

Written in jargon-free language for an international audience of students in university courses on literacy and information technology, researchers, policymakers, program developers, and media specialists, this volume is essential reading for all professionals interested in early literacy and early interventions.

Representing the state of the art in multimedia applications and their promise for enhancing early literacy development, this volume broadens the field of reading research by looking beyond print-only experiences to young readers' encounters with multimedia stories on the Internet and DVD. Multimedia storybooks include, in addition to static pictures and written text, features such as oral text, animations, sounds, zooms, and scaffolds designed to help convey meaning. These features are changing how young children read text, and also provide technology-based scaffolds for helping struggling readers. Multimedia and Literacy Development reports experimental research and practices with multimedia stories indicating that new dimensions of media contribute to young children's ability to understand stories and to read texts independently. This is the first synthesis of evidence-based research in this field. Four key themes are highlighted: Understanding the multimedia environment for learning Designing multimedia applications for learning New approaches to storybook reading Multimedia applications in classroom instruction. Written in jargon-free language for an international audience of students in university courses on literacy and information technology, researchers, policymakers, program developers, and media specialists, this volume is essential reading for all professionals interested in early literacy and early interventions.

The field of early literacy has seen significant recent advances in theory, research, and practice. This volume brings together leading authorities to report on current findings, integrate insights from different disciplinary perspectives, and explore ways to provide children with the strongest possible literacy foundations in the first six years of life. The Handbook first addresses broad questions about the nature of emergent literacy, summarizing current knowledge on cognitive pathways, biological underpinnings, and the importance of cultural contexts. Chapters in subsequent sections examine various strands of knowledge and skills that emerge as children become literate, as well as the role played by experiences with peers and families. Particular attention is devoted to the challenges involved in making schools work for all children, including members of linguistic and ethnic minority groups and children living in poverty. Finally, approaches to instruction, assessment, and early intervention are described, and research on their effectiveness is presented.