Reading a Bedtime Story Together from Afar
By WARREN BUCKLEITNER
A screenshot of Kindoma Storytime, an app that combines books and video chatting.
Kindoma Storytime combines
e-books with video sharing features. So now you can share a bedtime
story with your child or grandchild from anywhere, if you both have
iPads, good Wi-Fi, and have downloaded the free app from iTunes.Originally a research initiative at Nokia, the project has been spun off as an independent company with the project leader, Tico Ballagas. According to Mr. Ballagas, the iPad was not around when the project was conceived, but has become the ideal device for delivering synchronous storytimes.
If the app is free, what’s the catch? Mr. Ballagas said that he hopes to build the user base with the current library of 26 books, and then sell additional titles.
The story-sharing requires both parties have the app started on the iPad and have previously sent a friend request to each other by e-mail. The book and webcam images of both people appear on the screen, and either one can turn the page (although the actual page-turning can be slow).
I was able to share a New Jersey kindergarten teacher’s reading of “Peter Rabbit” with a group of educators in Utah. Not only could we see each one anothers’ faces, we could easily converse. The best part was that we could see a ghost image of the teacher’s hand when he was pointing at a picture or getting ready to turn a page.
Read more (and see the video) ... http://gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/23/reading-a-bedtime-story-together-from-afar/