Actions to promote literary reading through Information and Communications Technologies

Actions to promote literary reading through Information and Communications Technologies

Acciones para promover la lectura literaria mediante las Tecnologías de la Información y las Comunicaciones

Ações de promoção da leitura literária através das Tecnologias de Informação e Comunicação

**Cite as**
González Vázquez, AR, Pérez Rosas, Y., Ramos García, CN, Silva Ramos, O. (2023). Actions to promote literary reading through Information and Communications Technologies. Mendive. Journal of Education, 21(4), e3665. https://mendive.upr.edu.cu/index.php/MendiveUPR/article/view/3665

This paper recognizes the use of information and communication technologies as a pedagogical alternative for the promotion of literary reading; however, careers such as the Bachelor's Degree in Sociocultural Management for Development, of the University of Pinar del Río Hermanos Saíz Montes de Oca, present deficiencies in the effective switching of the literary reading mode of their students towards digital environments, which is paradoxical when having in its curricular design subjects whose approach is made from literature and the consultation of the digital book is a valid proposal. In this sense, this article aims to design a set of actions for the promotion of literary reading through the use of information and communication technologies for these students. In the research, the dialectical materialist method was assumed as a philosophical basis and theoretical methods such as historical-logical, analysis-synthesis, induction-deduction and modeling and empirical methods such as document analysis, survey and SWOT matrix were applied to provide a clear diagnosis. It was concluded that the proposed actions favor the gradual and effective transition of literary reading to digital environments and favored the promotion of this appropriate to technological media.

Keywords: reading promotion; information and communication technologies (ICT); literary reading; digital environments and generation Z.

En este trabajo se reconoce el uso de las tecnologías de la información y la comunicación como una alternativa pedagógica para la promoción de la lectura literaria; sin embargo, carreras como la Licenciatura en Gestión Sociocultural para el desarrollo, de la Universidad de Pinar del Río Hermanos Saíz Montes de Oca, presentan carencias en la conmutación efectiva del modo de lectura literaria de sus estudiantes hacia los entornos digitales, lo cual resulta paradójico al tener en su diseño curricular asignaturas cuyo abordaje se realiza desde la literatura y la consulta del libro digital es una propuesta válida. En tal sentido, el presente artículo tiene como objetivo diseñar un conjunto de acciones para la promoción de la lectura literaria mediante el uso de las tecnologías de la información y la comunicación, para estos estudiantes. En la investigación, se asumió el método dialéctico materialista como base filosófica y se aplicaron métodos teóricos como el histórico-lógico, el análisis-síntesis, inducción-deducción y la modelación y métodos empíricos como el análisis de documentos, la encuesta y la matriz DAFO para ofrecer un claro diagnóstico. Se concluyó que las acciones propuestas favorecen la transición gradual y efectiva de la lectura literaria hacia ambientes digitales y propiciaron la promoción de esta adecuada a los medios tecnológicos.

Palabras claves: promoción de la lectura; tecnologías de la información y la comunicación (TIC); lectura literaria; entornos digitales y generación Z.

O presente artigo reconhece o uso das tecnologias da informação e comunicação como alternativa pedagógica para a promoção da leitura literária; no entanto, cursos como o Bacharelado em Gestão Sociocultural para o Desenvolvimento da Universidade de Pinar del Río Hermanos Saíz Montes de Oca, apresentam deficiências na mudança efetiva do modo de leitura literária de seus alunos para ambientes digitais, o que é paradoxal quando se tem em seu desenho curricular disciplinas cuja abordagem é feita a partir da literatura e a consulta ao livro digital é uma proposta válida. Nesse sentido, o objetivo deste artigo é conceber um conjunto de ações para a promoção da leitura literária por meio do uso das tecnologias de informação e comunicação para esses alunos. Na investigação, assumiu-se o método dialético-materialista como base filosófica e aplicaram-se métodos teóricos como o histórico-lógico, a análise-síntese, a indução-dedução e a modelação e métodos empíricos como a análise documental, o inquérito e a matriz SWOT, de modo a proporcionar um diagnóstico claro. Concluiu-se que as acções propostas favorecem a transição gradual e eficaz da leitura literária para os ambientes digitais e favorecem a promoção da leitura adequada aos suportes tecnológicos.

Palavras-chave: promoção da leitura; tecnologias de informação e comunicação (TIC); leitura literária; ambientes digitais e geração Z.

The Cuban State, in the Report on the results of the inspection and control of the operation of Public Libraries, the reading habit and the use of the mother tongue, discussed in Parliament and presented by the members of the Education and Culture Commission, Science, Technology and Environment of the National Assembly of People's Power (2016), recognized a decrease in the reading habit.

It is no less true that the crisis that reading, specifically literary reading, is going through is conditioned by the range of audiovisual products, of varying quality, that predominate in the media or are assimilated with the support of a multitude of technological tools; In this sense, the report revealed "(…) that watching television, listening to the radio and watching movies constitute the fundamental cultural practices of more than 60% of Cubans" (p. 26).

Likewise, it was admitted that the preference for printed books over digital books persists. However, the Global Digital Report that addresses digital trends and the use of social networks, prepared by the We Are Social agency and the Meltwater group, showed that in Cuba there were 7.97 million internet users at the beginning of 2023, when internet penetration was 71.1 percent. Of these, a total of 6.67 million cellular mobile connections were active, which is equivalent to 59.5 percent of the total population (Kemp, 2023).

This translates into greater use of digital platforms and greater permanence of Cubans in the diversity of social networks, which results in a greater increase in interaction with digital literature, fundamentally among students, which forces us to consider the incorporation of new reading practices in the young population, which must also be valued to undertake more updated promotion designs in Higher Education. Keep in mind that in the midst of a health emergency due to the Coronavirus, the resource of digital reading became an essential element to overcome difficulties and promote people's academic training (Navarrete Anchundia, 2021).

Reading is recognized as an active communication process where the reader, in relation to their context and from their experiences and knowledge, understands and interprets the meanings of a written text. Literary reading, then, is directed towards artistic literature or written literary text such as stories, novels, poems, essays, plays, among others.

In line with the above, the National Program for Reading (PNPL), coordinated by the Ministries of Culture and Education of Cuba, whose main coordinating entities are the José Martí National Library and the Cuban Book Institute, also recognizes that "Despite the initiatives to promote reading, some studies of cultural consumption and surveys in universities, book fairs, etc. show that, although Cubans consider reading a value, they do not always read with the necessary systematicity" (Cuban Book Institute, 2017, p. 47). Therefore, contemporary social dynamics itself have forced a constant updating of the PNPL in accordance with new challenges.

Today it is read differently, it includes chats, social networks and the internet; This leads us to foresee, for the rest of the 21st century, a decrease in the reading of literary texts in their printed format, which is why the need to take advantage of new spaces for the promotion of literary reading and, with it, an efficient way to raise the cultural level, sensitivity and formation of values.

Regarding the use of information and communication technologies (ICT), as a pedagogical alternative for the promotion of literary reading, it is recognized that young people from the so-called generation Z have an advantage. Identify and realize that this generational group currently inhabiting Cuban university campuses allows us to characterize it, know its interests and outline actions aimed at promoting literary reading in Higher Education students.

In 2016, more than 60% of university students read in digital format, and figures greater than 22% of the total books read by this sector of the university community were downloaded from the Internet, according to the Commission on Education, Culture, Science, Technology and Environment of the National Assembly of People's Power (2016).

It is deduced that, given the growing penetration of the Internet and the characteristics of Generation Z students, the number of book downloads continues to increase; However, programs such as the Bachelor's Degree in Sociocultural Management for Development, from the University of Pinar del Río Hermanos Saíz Montes de Oca (UPR), present deficiencies in the effective switching of their students' literary reading mode to digital environments, which It is paradoxical to have in its curricular design subjects such as Panorama of Literature and Universal Art, Cuban Literature and Theater, Latin American and Caribbean Culture and Cuban Culture whose approach is carried out from literature, where the consultation of the digital book is a proposal valid.

During the research process, it was found that the official website of the UPR does not have in its presentation a digital library of easily accessible literary texts that serve as support for this career or any other and allows promoting literary reading through ICT. (Computer and Communications Technologies. Nor was there any systematic activity to promote literary reading on any of its platforms; likewise, students' links to social networks were not used for these purposes and, therefore, Consequently, the links that they could establish with the official sites and work groups of the Department of the Degree in Sociocultural Management for development.

Given the insufficient planning of actions for the promotion of literary reading through ICT and the lack of updating of the methods of promoting literary reading in the digital context in the Bachelor's Degree in Sociocultural Management for development aimed at students, the training of future graduates from generational characteristics and interests, where reading is given that rank of habit:

It is necessary that the Bachelor's Degree in Sociocultural Management for Development takes ownership of the digital environments attended by its students, given the availability of connectivity and electronic devices, both of the institution and those of personal property, for the design of promotional actions. of literary reading through the use of ICT.

In seeking to respond to the problem raised, the objective was to design a set of actions to promote literary reading through ICT in students of the Bachelor's degree in Sociocultural Management for Development, at the UPR.

The research was based on the materialist dialectical method as a philosophical basis that made it possible to analyze the contradictions generated between the problem raised and the proposed solution. Consequently, theoretical methods such as historical-logical methods were applied to study the different stages through which the object of study and its categories went through, with the purpose of knowing its evolution and being able to determine its trends. In addition, it allowed establishing the generational characteristics of the students of the Bachelor's Degree in Sociocultural Management for Development, at the UPR.

The analysis-synthesis method allowed the integration of specific data, based on the results of the research around the object of study and its relationship with ICT. It also led to the decomposition of the various categories available to the phenomenon, and its direct incidences as a whole.

The application of the induction-deduction method made it possible to infer the need to promote literary reading through ICT, since the generational characteristics of the students of the Bachelor's Degree in Sociocultural Management for Development at the UPR were established, as well as the deficiencies that, for these purposes, this educational institution presents. Such logical conclusions were subjected to experimental verifications, which could provide true knowledge about reality.

Modeling was essential for the projection of the set of actions, from the structural references and components, when used to understand the behavior of the phenomenon, making predictions and simulating hypothetical scenarios to promote the promotion of literary reading through ICT in the students of the Bachelor's Degree in Sociocultural Management for Development, from the UPR.

The empirical methods used were the analysis of documents, with the objective of consulting a variety of information sources that allowed the examination of various theoretical references related to the study such as the National Reading Program; the Base Document for the design of the "E" Study Plans; the Study Plan "E" of the Sociocultural Management for Development Career; the statistical bulletin Final initial enrollment published by the Department of Information and Statistics of the UPR in March 2023, with the purpose of obtaining a contextualized characterization of the Sociocultural Management for Development career; the Report on the results of the inspection and control of the operation of Public Libraries, the reading habit and the use of the mother tongue; the Extension Strategy of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities of the UPR, to which the Sociocultural Management for Development degree belongs; the Informatization Strategy of the Ministry of Higher Education; and Decree Law 370 of 2019 on the computerization of society in Cuba.

The survey, applied to 16 of these students, was carried out with the purpose of knowing opinions regarding literary reading, its promotion and their possible preferences towards this type of reading in the digital environment to take into account in the design of future actions.

The research universe was made up of 62 students corresponding to the UPR day course, from the Bachelor's Degree in Sociocultural Management for Development. Through the simple random probabilistic sampling method, a highly representative sample of 55 students from the universe was taken, which constitutes approximately 88.7%.

For the analysis and integration of the results obtained in the diagnosis of the initial state of the promotion of literary reading through ICT, in students of the Bachelor's degree in Sociocultural Management for development, the SWOT matrix was used, focused on the aspects positive, negative, internal and external to be taken into account, as a diagnosis, for the adequate preparation of a set of actions for the promotion of literary reading through ICT, in students of the Bachelor's degree in Sociocultural Management for development, of the UPR.

Weber (2014) explains that "Action" must be understood as a human behavior (whether it consists of an external or internal act, or an omitting or allowing) whenever the subject or subjects of the action link a subjective meaning to it . " (p. 122). According to this author, the definition reaches another connotation for the field of sociology, by expressing itself as a social action to those acts carried out by a person or a group aimed at influencing the behavior of others, so as to contribute to their development.

Consequently, a set of actions was designed to promote literary reading through ICT, in students of the Bachelor's Degree in Sociocultural Management for Development, at the UPR:

Action 1. The update and expansion of the diagnosis referring to the promotion of literary reading through ICT to the entire population of students of the Day Course of the Bachelor's Degree in Sociocultural Management for Development, of the UPR.

Objective: Determine the main insufficiencies and interests of all students of the degree, to design actions to promote literary reading through ICT that encompass the entire student community of the UPR.

Action 2. The creation of a UPR Digital Library that has the literary texts of the subjects corresponding to the curricular design of the "E" Study Plan for the Bachelor's Degree in Sociocultural Management for Development; In addition, books recommended for the age group of Higher Education students, works of universal literature and a collection of fantastic literature that responds to the results of the initial diagnosis must be included.

Objective: Promote the approach to literary reading through ICT and respond to the diagnosed insufficiencies.

best -selling Digital and Digitized Reading Circle sellers, based on books contributed by the students of the degree.

Objective: Encourage literary reading through ICT and the exchange of reading experiences through debate about the books read.

Action 4. The gamification of literary reading through ICT, from the literature classes of the degree curriculum.

Gamification can be defined "as the use of game mechanics in non-gaming environments and applications in order to enhance motivation, concentration, effort, loyalty and other positive values common to all games" (Álvaro-Tordesillas et al., 2020, p. 379). This mechanics is made up of tools, techniques and programs that, used in a complementary way, allow you to achieve your goals precisely and completely.

Objective: Motivate students to acquire literary reading habits through the use of ICT and achieve the objectives. To do this, they are encouraged to participate, interact with the text and the group, and collaborate in the activities. Its transversal nature makes it a tool applicable to practically all types of routines, subjects and activities.

Action 5. Participation in the Digital and Digitized Reading Circle of writers who promote debate, talk, discussion, promotion and reading of their work, which is also shared, digitally, among students.

Objective: Exchange directly with authors and their works, both local and national literature.

Reading, in its most general degree, as a systematic activity in the actions of human beings, is not the main interest of this study, but rather the reading of the written text, specifically, the literary text.

For Cassany (2006) "(…) reading is understanding" (p. 21), and requires decoding messages and recovering the implicit ones, but also realizing the meaning that each community gives to a word. In a changing society and a culture that evolves, the meanings, the value of each word, of each text also change; This researcher suggests three levels of reading:

It is necessary to define reading as an active communication process where the reader, in relation to their context and from their experiences and knowledge, understands and interprets the meanings of a written text.

When approaching the literary text, it is noted that determining the literary nature of the texts is very complicated. This uniqueness can be possible thanks to the concept of literariness. understood as "the set of characteristics that give literary specificity to the work" (Maldonado, 2011, p. 12). For this author, a text can be considered literary if it adjusts to some social and cultural guidelines, rules or motivations that exist in a given society at a specific historical moment, and if there is a reader who, following those guidelines and rules, interprets in a literary way the linguistic and material structure of the text:

The accumulation of literary texts or literary works superficially make up the macro world called "literature." In the attempt to define literature, there are several approaches and too many risks are run. The focus on the artistic criterion, that of the aesthetic value of literature, is the priority that concerns this research; Therefore, literature has been considered as an artistic manifestation that makes a particular use of language, in a specific communicative context and with a marked aesthetic purpose. The connotative value of the word predominates, depending on the stylistic intentions of each author.

The means, actions, mechanisms and strategies of reading promotion, on many occasions, are aimed at promoting the reading of the literary text and, above all, the printed literary text, without there being a definition solely for the promotion. of literary reading. In the investigation carried out, no evidence or documents were found that contradict this statement. Therefore, reading promotion is conceived from a particular vision towards literary reading, unless expressly stated.

Helena (2017) understands reading promotion "(…) as a sociocultural intervention work that seeks (from the revaluation, transformation and construction of new meanings, ideas and reading practices), to generate changes in people, in their contexts. and in their interactions" (p. 100). It is thus accepted that community participation is essential in the reading promotion process, considered as a broader field that involves political, economic and administrative strategies and actions.

In the area of Cuba, the definition offered by Martínez et al stands out. (2015) as "(...) action that seeks the optimal correspondence between the participants in the reader-book-reading chain. This action fulfills an essentially modeling function" (p. 130), without failing to mention its contribution by including the digital book, in the promotion of reading, given the advance of ICT.

"Interactivity and multitasking are distinctive features of the reading mode promoted by ICT, so it is no longer just about reading, but about reading and browsing" (García et al., 2019, p. 73). Technological resources require adapting strategies to promote the love of reading from a perspective that empowers readers to understand what they read and share it with other readers so that they can be part of the information process.

Promoting reading in digital environments is not far from traditional reading promotion, except for new media tools and accessories to access the world. It must be understood that ICT requires changes in reading modes, since the screen is not the same as the printed book, although the skills to execute it are the same.

The migration of analog media to the digital environment has created new reading procedures that transform communication. (López and Jarvio, 2018). Coinciding with the criteria of the authors, the current goal is for information to reach the greatest number of people, a practice possible only through ICT.

The characteristics of digital texts allow the mutation, but not the migration, of analogue texts to digital texts and implies that the former "(...) has gone from a single, linear and immovable body, to being an interactive mosaic, which links multiple blocks of information, with another connotation of communicative practices and linguistic forms" (López and Jarvio, 2018, p. 4). The first characteristics of these expressions are hypertext and multimedia.

Hypertext is understood as non-linear, bifurcated readings that allow interconnection with other texts through links or hyperlinks; For its part, multimedia refers to forms of communication and means of presenting information: audios, videos, images, texts, etc. "Hypermedia is born from the joint application of both concepts, an Internet language that allows the reader to trace paths about what interests them" (López and Jarvio, 2018).

The need to promote literary reading through the use of ICT in Cuba is determined by the imperative to achieve levels of sustainable development in the various spheres of the country's social life.

The policy of Improving the Informatization of Society in Cuba is associated with compliance with Guideline 108 of the Economic and Social Policy of the Party and the Revolution and objective 52 of the I National Conference of the Communist Party of Cuba. On the other hand, the Economic and Social Development Plan until 2030 recognizes ICT as a strategic development sector, with a high impact on national security, the socioeconomic development of the country and the improvement of the quality of life of citizens (Presidency and Government of Cuba, 2020).

This policy proposes a group of principles concerning the coherent development and modernization of the spheres of society at the rate of growth of the economy; In addition, it finds legal protection in Decree Law 370 on the computerization of society, and decrees 359 and 360, as well as a group of complementary regulations that support the conception of a national industry of computer applications and services, with the state company socialist as a fundamental entity; the development of government and electronic commerce, the production of digital content, cybersecurity and human capital development, among other elements that constitute fundamental priorities of the Cuban informatization program (Presidency and Government of Cuba, 2020).

According to data presented by Kemp (2023), a total of 6.67 million cellular mobile connections were active in Cuba at the beginning of 2023, a figure that is equivalent to 59.5 percent of the total population. There were 7.97 million internet users when penetration was 71.1 percent; Additionally, Cuba was home to 6.69 million social media users in January 2023, equivalent to 59.7 percent of the total population.

Consequently, the design of actions to promote literary reading through ICT in students of the Bachelor's Degree in Sociocultural Management for Development at the UPR is considered a necessity.

To do this, we start from knowing the fundamental characteristics of the population to which the actions are directed. In this case, the efforts are focused on university students of the UPR Day Course, of the Bachelor's Degree in Sociocultural Management for Development, whose ages fall between 17 and 24 years of age. This is considered a determining aspect, since they respond to a generational group known as generation Z.

Generational time periods may vary slightly depending on the source consulted. In this case, the periods published by the Pew Research Center are used. According to this criterion, Generation Z includes those born between 1997 and 2012 (Dimock, 2019).

For those born in this generation, technology, particularly the rapid evolution of the way people communicates and interact, is another factor that strongly influences their way of life. For generation Z, phenomena such as television, computer evolution and Internet connectivity have been part of their lives from the beginning. It should only be noted that the iPhone was launched in 2007, when the eldest of Generation Z were around ten years old (Dimock, 2019, para. 12).

During adolescence, the main means by which these young people connected to the Internet was through mobile devices, WiFi, and cellular services. Social networks, constant connectivity and on-demand entertainment and communication are innovations, to a large extent, assumed by those born after 1996.

The students of this generation conceive reality in a different way than teachers, which implies making changes, from educational institutions, that adapt to their needs.

In university education, the "E" Study Plan is currently applied, a readjustment of Cuban Higher Education, recognizing that with previous Study Plans, traditional didactic approaches prevailed where methodologies, methods and structures do not encourage students to actively participate in the training process (Ministry of Higher Education, 2016, p. 6). In this Study Plan, it is recognized that the dizzying pace of technological development and the computerization of society itself, forces a constant update in educational procedures:

The actions to promote literary reading through the use of ICT were designed in accordance with this Study Plan; Furthermore, they were oriented from the perspective of comprehensive training that "Contributes to enriching the student's socialization process, which refines their sensitivity through the development of their artistic faculties, contributes to their moral development and opens their spirit to critical thinking" (Ortiz et al., 2019, p. 75).

From this perspective, a comprehensive training cannot be conceived separate from literary reading, since literature covers a wide range of topics and involves all forms of art. On the other hand, the conceptual bases of the "E" Study Plan also pursue a broad and widespread use of ICT, as well as prioritizing the correct use of the mother tongue.

The promotion of literary reading is a complex process that involves various scientific categories. In man's attempt to understand it, he has been able to reach more or less important consensuses, but never conclusive. From the delimitation of the theoretical references analyzed, it was possible to reach a higher level of understanding of a phenomenon that is still in progress, as the development of culture and society itself imposes a new reality.

The national conditions around the use of ICT are seen as a future-present of interaction between students; In this context, the actions to promote literary reading through the use of ICT in the students of the Bachelor's Degree in Sociocultural Management for Development, at the UPR, favored the gradual and effective transition of literary reading towards digital environments. , and even the promotion of this, appropriate to technological means, was encouraged.

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The authors participated in the design, analysis of the documents and writing of the work.