Abstract:

The overall aim of the EU Erasmus+/KA2 project The Living Book – Augmenting Reading for Life project is to address the under-achievement of European students aged 9-15 in reading skills, by developing an innovative approach and related resources to increase the motivation of young students to reading. The project seeks to practically contribute to meeting the 2020 EU target of reducing number of underachievers to below 15%, while at the same time also boosting a cluster of other key and transversal competencies in students (e.g. digital skills, learning to learn, critical thinking, co-operative skills). Living Book will achieve this through offering a novel didactical approach that will combine offline activities promoting reading literacy with online experiences of “virtual augmentation” of a book and with social dynamics leading to the creation of European communities of young “augmented” readers.

With a combination of Open Educational Resources (OER) and involvement in professional learning activities and pilot experimentation, Living Book will contribute towards strengthening the profile and competences of European teachers from upper primary and lower secondary schools (ages 9-15) in adopting standards-based practices and dealing with diversified groups of learners, and particularly with pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. The project activities will, in parallel, also entail the development and pilot-testing of a training course for teachers on how to involve parents, and particularly those from disadvantaged and/or migrant backgrounds, in pro-reading activities to back the overall strategy at home. A Living Library will support the project activities by offering students, parents, and teachers with online tools to augment the reading experience with rich media content. A series of OER toolkits (downloadable guides, videos, links to tools) will be integrated in this multilingual platform, and will be used by students and teachers to curate and create content. The developed content will be added to the Living Libary, thus bringing books in the platform to life. The Living Library will also host a social community of “augmented readers” across Europe.

The proposed paper will outline the theoretical premises of Living Book and provide an overview of the pedagogical framework underlying the design of the “Augmented Teacher” professional development course. It will also describe the content and structure of the course, and report on the main experiences gained from its pilot delivery currently taking place in the project partner countries (Cyprus, Estonia, Italy, Portugal, Romania).

Keywords:

Augmented Reading, Augmented Reality, Teacher Professional Development, Augmented Reader, Living Library.