![\"e-reader](\"http:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/files\/2014\/07\/e-reader-image.jpg\")
<\/a>When I imagine my ideal setting for reading a good book, I think of a comfy chair, a cup of coffee and some soft background music. Your perfect reading situation might be different, but it is likely that what you imagine is solitary.<\/p>\nWe are used to reading alone, but this is a relatively recent phenomenon which only became possible because of historical developments in print technology. Now digital technology is creating possibilities for reading to become social again.<\/p>\n
The Digital Reading Network symposium<\/a> held at Bournemouth University on 19th June 2014 covered a wide range of topics related to reading digital texts, but two strong themes were \u2018social reading\u2019 and the different affordances of devices.<\/p>\n The keynote speaker, Bob Stein, (Director of the Institute for the Future of the Book<\/a>) took the audience through some of the history of the internet and its relationship with the book, coming up-to-date with a demonstration of Socialbook<\/a>, his \u2018platform based on the idea that “a book is a place” where readers can congregate\u2019. In Socialbook, users can upload texts (in .pub format) then make comments in the margins that are shared with others they invite to read with them. An example was shown of a US college text where students had filled the margins with lively interaction.<\/p>\n Out of copyright texts offer immense potential for sharing, annotating and even modifying in creative ways. One example is The Open Utopia<\/a> which opens up Thomas More\u2019s Utopia so that users can read it, listen to it, make and share annotations, modify the text, view or create and\/or share their own Utopia-themed images. You can find many more online texts to explore via the Open Library<\/a>.<\/p>\n The sorts of interactions already possible on platforms such as Socialbook suggest great potential for students to learn critical reading skills in this sort of environment and one day we may be able to look for evidence of students\u2019 learning in the engagement they have with each other around and within digital texts.<\/p>\n It is tempting to talk about \u2018digital reading\u2019 as if it is a homogenous experience, but the extent to which your digital reading can be sociable will depend on the device(s) you are using and whether it is connected to the internet.<\/p>\n The way that you interact with a text may also be influenced by the type of device, be it desktop, laptop or handheld. Each will have different abilities and limitations – some screens are larger but others are easier to curl up with. One will easily allow you to annotate a book you are reading where another won\u2019t, but will pop in your pocket while you are travelling.<\/p>\n As teachers and learners, digital reading is already becoming an increasingly important part of the way that we do things. If we explore the potential of mobile devices and digital reading technologies available now and in the future we can expect to add the online book as a new social learning space with limitless possibilities for connecting, collaborating and creating.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Image: creative commons licensed (BY-NC) flickr photo by nikkorsnapper: http:\/\/flickr.com\/photos\/pitmanra\/4486630439<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Image:\u00a0creative commons licensed (BY-SA) flickr photo by tribehut: http:\/\/flickr.com\/photos\/tribehut\/8091234505<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\nSocial reading<\/h3>\n
Social reading for teaching and learning?<\/h3>\n
Not all digital reading screens are the same<\/h3>\n
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