We will use 10 Lenovo tablets in our literacy work in schools and libraries.

Last year we introduced 50 ipod nanos preloaded with audio books, as part of our The Big Book Brains Quiz. This aimed to encourage reluctant readers, and those with reading issues, to lay side their difficulties with text and focus on the story. Teachers fedback positive observations and tablets can add a further dimension by offering children the chance to use eBooks to read alongside the audio on one device.

Tablets allow us to develop the experience of children taking part in literacy projects like The Big Book Brains Quiz and the Primary 7 Book Awards. We can show them how to download eBook and eAudio versions of the stories onto their own devices at home. It will also allow children to record their own reviews, thoughts and opinions as well as creating book trailers with classmates.

In all of our projects we hand pick books to match the interests and ability levels of the children in each group. Tablets will provide access to a greater range of titles available through new eBook and eAudio services.

Classes will be involved in Reading Competitions and Award Selections, giving more of an incentive to read. Tablets make these projects even more interesting and attractive.

We plan to use the tablets in the community, offering Comic Life software. The FCT Young People’s Team will hook kids into reading by creating comic book stories at after-school sessions in libraries, linking to our new Chatterbooks Service.

Children can explore our new eBook and eAudio services with one to one support. We will demonstrate how to access services from home, how to download the app. onto tablets, computers or phones and show how easy this new free service is to use.

We will meet parents and children together, working with Dyslexia Scotland to help dyslexic children find enjoyment in books and stories and support their efforts in developing their reading skills by using eBooks. Children can read at their own pace and level without feeling judged by their peers. Tablets offer a level of privacy and anonymity a physical book does not, so they can remove feelings of embarrassment or stigmatisation which makes children reluctant to read. The core group to benefit will be primary age children mainly in the age range 7 – 12. Young teenagers at our Reading Cafes can use the tablets to tweet about their reading choices, create blogs and book trailers to share their reading experiences and encourage others to join.

This project lets us explore the variety of ways technology can help children gain greater enjoyment from books and stories. We will develop ideas and learn how to use the devices, applications and software to their full potential. We’ll have gathered evidence on how tablets help encourage and support children with reading difficulties and we’ll have robust data to support bids to buy more tablets, to extend our work even further in the future.