The ability to read and write is the basis for functioning in modern society. There are many methods and tools for learning to read and recognize letters which can be suitable even for children as young as a few years old.
In the diploma thesis Digital letter illustrations for early literacy learning, we defined the concept of literacy and investigated the process of children's early literacy during lessons in a Slovenian nine-year primary school programme. We reviewed the spontaneous literacy developement and the milestones of a child's early approach to literacy. We investigated the importance of children's motivation and the influence of a positive attitude and self-confidence towards reading. We reviewed the effects of visual learning, which helps in better memorization of material in school and helps in the development of visual thinking. We defined the importance of illustration for children and investigated its influence on children's perception of content. We focused in more detail on alphabet picture books for children, and after a brief overview of history, we also reviewed some Slovenian and English alphabet books. We presented different forms of books and analyzed them. We also touched upon the influence of animation and animated content on children, which have become an important source of receiving information and a source of learning in modern times.
In the experimental part of the thesis, we applied this knowledge to the creation of our experiment, intended to serve as a tool for learning in the process of early literacy learning for children. With the help of a 3D design program, we created digital illustrations of the letters. We have shown the process with photo material and descriptions. We defined the color schemes and artistic style of the illustrations and produced them with the help of various design tools in three-dimensional space. Since we were researching the positive effects of animation, we also animated the letters and thereby added additional visual element and dynamic interest to them. At the end, we presented the post-production process and visualization for application and in the form of physical flash cards. We concluded the diploma thesis by presenting the results and plans for further upgrading of the illustrations.
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