Accra, March 26, GNA – As part of Worldreader, a non-profit organisation’s “Keep Children Reading” initiative, many children are being supported across the globe with digital reading programmes while schools are closed.
With 850 million students out of school, Worldreader addresses learning loss with free digital reading solutions for students in Accra, San Francisco, California, Amman, Delhi, Lima, and Nairobi, Kenya.
These were contained in a release issued by the NGO and copied the Ghana News Agency.
Worldreader offers two free solutions for students available on mobile phones that is for young and primary-aged children; BookSmart gives parents, caregivers, and primary students themselves access to a library, so they can continue learning while physical schools are out of session.
BookSmart starts with a free base collection – 75+ great local and international books suitable for young readers and their parents available via the Google Play Store or web browser. The light app, optimized for all connection speeds, keeps data costs low.
And, books can be saved for offline reading for those with limited data, it said.
For older students and young adults, Worldreader offers the free Worldreader reading app, available via the Google Play Store or web browser. It features hundreds of books for learning and pleasure, in categories including Learn, Health, and Career.
“As with BookSmart, books can be saved for later, limiting data use and saving costs.
Over 100,000 people already read from it each month, with new readers joining each day.”
Digital solutions are key to keeping children reading while schools are out of session. With BookSmart and the Worldreader app, parents, primary students, and youth can maintain reading skills, learn new subjects, and alleviate stress during this pandemic.
“According to UNESCO, as of 23 March 2020, 1.2 billion learners across 124 countries have been affected by school disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s nearly 73 per cent of all enrolled learners worldwide,” it said.
The statement said school closures can result in significant learning loss for students thus in response to this global health crisis, UNESCO is supporting the implementation of large-scale distance learning programmes and recommending open educational applications and platforms that schools and teachers can use to reach learners remotely.
“When considering how to mitigate learning loss in a pandemic, it should be a top priority to address supporting reading skills and engagement with books, bridging the gap until schools are in session again,” said Rebecca Chandler Leege, Worldreader’s Chief Impact Officer.
“For pre-primary learners, continuity in literacy acquisition is especially important and for primary students, the availability of books is essential as reading is a foundational skill that supports the acquisition of knowledge across all other subject areas,” it added.
Reading with children can also help address psychosocial stress during times of crisis, saying that digital reading is an important tool for parents and caregivers.
“When schools are closed, routines are disrupted, and friends and family may be ill – children will inevitably feel stressed. For young children, reading stories together can provide a chance for bonding with parents or caregivers.”
It said the right books can also provide context for what children were feeling, providing opportunities to process stressful circumstances whilst older children will appreciate the opportunity to visit worlds beyond their own while their own worlds are limited by social distancing.
For youth, it said, reading can also support literacy skills, 21st Century skills, work preparedness, self-help, and health education and even in low-resourced communities, basic phones can provide access to books.
Of the approximately seven billion people on Earth, more than six billion have access to mobile phones, explaining that by reading on phones Worldreader believes that readers can build a better world.
As an international NGO, Worldreader works with partners globally to support vulnerable and underserved communities with digital reading solutions that help improve learning outcomes, workforce readiness, and gender equity.
Combining 21st-century technology, a library of culturally-relevant digital books in 52 languages, and integrated support – Worldreader helps millions of children and youth across the Global South to read.
Over the past 10 years, Worldreader has reached more than 13 million people in communities where paper books, including storybooks and textbooks, are scarce.
Worldreader supports programs in five regions (East and West Africa; Latin America; Middle East-North Africa; and South Asia) while readers across 47 countries benefit from our digital library. Since 2010, Worldreader has distributed over 40 million digital books to readers around the world.
GNA