Trees of Tales: motivating Omani children to read for pleasure
Creators: name: Al Aamri, Fatma
Publisher: name: RMIT University
Year: 2024
Subjects: classificationCode: 330310
subject: Interaction and experience design
classificationCode: 330316
subject: Visual communication design (incl. graphic design)
classificationCode: 360502
subject: Computer gaming and animation

description: It is commonly believed that reading extends the childhood experience and deepens their understanding of life, people and the culture around them. It opens doors for them – helps them to imagine, dream and visualise themselves in different situations. Fairytales, for example, can expand their imagination by providing opportunities to experience the fantasy lives of different characters.<br><br>From an all-age perspective, for a society to be successful its individuals need to be educated and informed. Reading is a key information resource that can leverage open-minded and successful communities. Existing research indicates that specifically reading for pleasure increases general knowledge, understanding of other cultures, and community participation, and fosters greater insight into human nature and decision-making. For these reasons and more, it is important to plant the habit of reading from early childhood.<br><br>Despite these insights, UNESCO statistics show that most Arab children are not reading enough. In Oman, factors that influence the low rate of reading among children include the non-existence of children’s books in public libraries, limited access to suitable reading materials, uninspiring school libraries, and a low level of reading motivation within Omani families. Therefore, in order to potentially improve reading habits among Omani and other Arab children, a thorough investigation of what motivates most children to read for pleasure and how it can be applied for Omani and Arab children was deemed necessary.<br><br>Existing research has suggested that reading rates among children may be improved by providing access to enjoyable, interesting and culturally relevant reading materials. The involvement of family and friends is also highly important to increase the perceived value and awareness of children’s reading abilities. Family members need to provide children with the freedom to choose what they want to read to elevate their interest. Access and family involvement have often been found to influence children’s reading habits and Subsequent academic achievements.<br><br>The aim of this research project was to provide Omani children with an experience that establishes reading for pleasure as a sustained practice. The proposal was to provide Omani children with a motivating, accessible and enculturated reading experience. The design of this reading experience was informed by current literature, to better understand the motivational factors that cultivate regular reading habits among children, as well as the most impactful structure of interactive storytelling applications and games. Based on this literature review and the author’s own knowledge of Omani society, a set of five guiding principles were established to guide the iterative design process, which resulted in the iPad app Trees of Tales that is now available at the Apple AppStore. Trees of Tales is an interactive, playful reading application that is inspired by Omani traditional folktales.<br><br>Trees of Tales was tested on 18 Al Waha Primary School children in the capital city of Oman, Muscat. The testing protocol used a ‘within-subject design’ method to collect both qualitative and quantitave data, comparing the impact of the interactive reading application against other existing reading interventions including traditional printed storybooks and e-books with limited interactivity. It measured the impact of these three interventions on reading behaviour, user experiences and intrinsic motivation for reading.<br><br>The quantitative results indicated that the interactive Trees of Tales is generally more enjoyable for children to read than the other two interventions. It improved their reading experiences, providing more interesting content than the limited interactive e-book and the printed storybooks. These measures also showed that Trees of Tales is significantly more effective in increasing the intrinsic motivation of female children, who engaged more with it in the study. However, the male children were less affected by the format of the reading interventions, as their observed engagement level was similar during Trees of Tales and the other sessions. Thus, one of the main conclusions from this study is that most children are keen to read irrespective of the intervention, as long as their interest is maintained.<br><br>These research findings are highly relevant for families, schools and the government of Oman, as well as the Arabic world in general. They highlight how essential it is for children in Oman and other Arab countries to be given access to a variety of reading resources including printed storybooks, e-books and interactive reading applications. Although they also indicate that playful and interactive reading applications, particularly involving culturally relevant stories, are most likely to motivate children to read more. Electronic devices such as tablets are already widely used by Omani children, but for other non-reading purposes.<br><br>In Oman, the Ministry of Education should consider incorporating digital reading devices into school libraries to provide broader access to reading methods and materials including interactive reading applications. Furthermore, school children need to be given free reading time and more reading options by allowing them to select what to read. The Omani parents also need to be familiar with the digital devices their children use and download e-books and apps that engage their children with more reading material. In particular, parents should be highly involved in their children’s reading activities at home. In addition, designers of Arabic reading applications for children should consider creative, culturally relevant content, story related interactivities and games to provide children with reading experiences that are fun and engaging.<br><br>In summary, if governments, communities, schools and parents take on board and action this study’s results and recommendations in relation to engaging reading material and content, reading rates among Arabic children, including Omani primary school students, will remarkably improve.