Literacy Online

Young children have access to a dizzying array of games, videos, and other digital media. Will they ever learn to read? A new nook says yes – as long as children are surrounded by adults who know how to help and are introduced to media designed to promote literacy.

Tap, Click, Read: Growing Readers in a World of Screens examines what it takes to ensure technology is not exacerbating inequality, but instead promoting literacy for all. Authors Lisa Guernsey and Michael H. Levine take us on a journey through homes, classrooms, libraries, the world of e-book publishing, futuristic laboratories, and the app marketplace to show how educators and parents can help children grow into strong, passionate readers using media of all kinds – print, digital, and everything in between. The authors call for major policy reforms to pave a path to 'Readialand,' a place where reading and media are joined in service of each other, and new literacy opportunities are easily accessible for families through the United States.

Join New America and Sesame Workshop, with moderator Annie Murphy Paul, for a deep dive into the state of literacy and technology for America's next generation. A cocktail reception and book signing will follow.

Copies of Tap, Click, Read: Growing Readers in a World of Screens will be available for purchase. Follow the discussion online using #TAPCLICKREAD.

PARTICIPANTS

Introduction:
Ellen Galinsky
President and Co-founder, Families and Work Institute
@EllenGalinsky

Participants:
Lisa Guernsey
Director, Learning Technologies Project, New America
Co-author, Tap, Click, Read: Growing Readers in a World of Screens
@LisaGuernsey

Michael H. Levine
Founding Director, The Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop
Co-author, Tap, Click, Read: Growing Readers in a World of Screens
@mlevine_jgcc

Annie Murphy Paul
Contributing writer, TIME
Future Tense Fellow, New America
@anniemurphypaul