An Innovative Platform for Growing Literacy
By Aimee Eddy, IMN Assistant Editor

An Innovative Platform for Growing Literacy

By Aimee Eddy, IMN Assistant Editor

Bruce Schwager is currently serving with International Media Services in Waxhaw, North Carolina, as well as serving remotely with the Education for Life team, based in Papua New Guinea (PNG). In 2009, you would have found Bruce beginning his SIL service in Ukarumpa, PNG. Shortly after Bruce began his first assignment with the computer help desk, the language software support worker in Ukarumpa went on furlough. Bruce stepped in as a substitute in that software support role and was introduced to a free, open-source program called Bloom. Bruce describes it as a simple-to-use program that allows users to create books—not only hardcopies but also books to be read on Android phones and tablets. Click on the video below to learn about the basic features of Bloom.

In 2016 Bruce became involved with Education for Life (EFL), an initiative of SIL-PNG. EFL pursued a vision for creating literacy books for children. The EFL team was able to partner with the PNG Department of Education and Save the Children. A grant to be used for increasing the literacy of elementary-age children was awarded to this partnership of organizations. Bloom was used as a vessel for making the national literacy curriculum widely and easily available to teachers around the country. This was a pivotal innovation for teachers in remote areas who previously had little to no access to literacy materials. Bruce points out that comparison studies were conducted “between students that had access to these Bloom books in the classroom and students that did not. There was a tremendous increase in literacy for the children that had access to the Bloom books.”

Now an award-winning program, the capabilities of Bloom have grown far beyond simply putting words and pictures on a page. From the beginning the goal has been to make the platform accessible even to someone who has never used a computer before. Bruce was part of a workshop for PNG teachers where teachers progressed from never having used a computer to making simple books for their students within one and a half days. With simple training videos on Vimeo and YouTube, Bloom can be used to create books with built-in reading comprehension activities, comic books, sign language books, and “talking” books which turn a book into an audio book with follow-along highlighted text on the digital page.A Bloom screenshot of a book in English being translated into Tok Pisin.When books from BloomLibrary.org are translated into another language, the language of wider communication is presented as a source for translation. In the case above, the English text is shown to help the user. 

There are multiple ways teachers and individuals can interact with the Bloom library. Bloom books can be easily read online at BloomLibrary.org or offline through the Bloom Reader app. A Bloom book can be shared with or without internet access. MyTalkingBooks.org is the website that Education for Life has set up as a gateway for Papua New Guinean teachers to get connected with Bloom. Through this site, solar projector kits can be purchased. The kits allow teachers to better utilize Bloom books in their classrooms. 

The Bloom creators do not just want to increase access to books. They want to promote authorship. During a week-long workshop for elementary teachers in PNG, Bruce saw that teachers’ “eyes lit up and they were amazed at how easy it was to create books for their students. Two teachers went above and beyond the assignments and started creating their own books.” Bruce was encouraged to know that once they completed that workshop those teachers continued using and creating Bloom books for their students.A translator for the Sos Kundi language group in the Sepik region of northern PNG is using Bloom to create Bible story books in Sos Kundi. Pictured above is “Elijah and the Widow of Zarephath.” https://bloomlibrary.org/language:sdk.Bruce Schwager worked with the Kanite language group to create a comic book version of Jonah to help teens engage with Scripture.
https://bloomlibrary.org/language:kmu/book/QeIIfebCye?lang=kmuLiteracy in children is not the only area of application for Bloom. Bruce shared an example from the Kanite language group in the Eastern Highlands of PNG. “This language has 9300 speakers. [In recent years], the leaders of the language group have realized how important their language is and how important literacy is. So they have been running literacy classes for children and adults where they use Bloom books as well as other literacy materials. I visited the recording studio where they were recording the New Testament in Kanite, and I was introduced to the speaker who was being recorded. He went through that Kanite literacy class. As a result, he was very fluent in reading his own language.”

In the future, Bruce hopes to see Bloom utilized more for creating Bible story books that increase comprehension via interactive activities as seen in books like Cat and Dog and the Yam. This goal reflects the overall vision for Bloom. It is hoped the capabilities of Bloom will continue to improve and expand while remaining user-friendly. The list of potential roles which could benefit from Bloom are vast. Explore the Bloom website at BloomLibrary.org. If there are any questions, Bruce Schwager can be reached via email at bruce_schwager@sil.org.Aimee joined Wycliffe Bible Translators in 2018 and began serving at JAARS in 2020. She joined the IMS-Waxhaw team as IMN Assistant Editor in 2021. You can contact her at aimee_eddy@sil.org.Book Release: God and Language"This book aims to establish the value of language as a theological and missiological category," writes Michel Kenmogne in his Foreword to God and Language: Exploring the Role of Language in the Mission of God. To read more of the press release or to download the book, please click here.