This Global Day of Parents, All Children Reading: A Grand Challenge for Development spotlights four projects engaging families and communities in child literacy.
Best Practices for Developing Supplementary Reading Materials
Goal 1 of the USAID Education Strategy aims to improve the reading skills of 100 million children in the primary grades by 2015. This paper captures the highlights of existing research concerning best practices in certain areas of supplementary reading materials development for early grade students. It covers issues of font type and size, letter and word spacing, color and its cost implications, trim sizes and binding methods, paper, production methods and scale, and the potential possibilities of a digital platform of supplementary reading materials.
Quality Education Materials for Millions With Creative Commons and Open Licensing
The Global Book Alliance (GBA) and Global Reading Network (GRN) sponsored webinars in the Spring and Summer of 2019 to discuss with stakeholders in the book production chain basics of Creative Commons and details of Open Licensing business models. Attending the Creative Commons sessions in April were 56 ministry of education officials from the African and Asian regions of the globe. The Open Licensing sessions in June and July drew 40 content creators and publishers of children's literature who are exploring the benefits, possibilities, challenges, and limitations of an Open Licensing business model.
Textbook Requirements: Streamlining Data Sharing
The Returned Book Record/ Textbook Management Information System (RBR/TRIMS) project was envisioned by Paul Gibbings to help improve textbook provision an distribution by ministries and any support organisations to schools in developing countries by replacing a previously tested method of using physically delivered Excel spreadsheets.
Reading Is The Key To All Knowledge
Increasing Availability of the Books Children Love, Understand, and Can Use to Learn to Read
Despite the fact that research has shown that instruction in the language children use and understand is key to effective learning, many educational systems around the world exclusively instruct young learners in languages that are not familiar to them. One reason for this approach is the simple lack of appropriate books.
Responding to this challenge, Norad, USAID, and the Global Book Alliance have teamed up to develop the Global Digital Library (GDL).
Africa Union Continental Framework on Book and Reading Policies for Africa
The Association for the Development of African Education (ADEA), a Global Book Alliance steering committee member, recently concluded a workshop on National Book and Reading Policies for Africa in Westlands Nairobi, Kenya from 17th to 19th June 2019.
Good Stories Don’t Grow on Trees
With funding from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and as part of its work on the early literacy ecosystem and open licensing, Neil Butcher & Associates (NBA) is conducting research on costs associated with production of different kinds of storybooks. NBA’s goal is to contribute to enhancing the availability of children’s books in mother-tongue languages in Africa, supported by open licensing.
Creative Commons and Open Licensing
A key barrier to improving children's reading skills is limited or no access to textbooks and reading materials. An Open Education Resource (OER) policy could help forward Early Grade Reading (EGR) efforts and is now a policy requirement for all United States Government-funded projects. Indeed, an increasing number of governments and donors funding education programs are requiring open licenses for material being created for public use.
