This paper contributes to the discussion of digital literacies in early literacy education. We focus on the nature of screen-based literacy practices in relation to print-based, paper-pen practices in the early years of schooling when pupils learn to read and write (aged 7-8). Our results show that pupils engage in several diverse screen-based practices, although they are conventional in nature. However, aspects of blogging and tweeting do approach the characteristics of "new literacies" as defined in previous research.
Education is in the process of transforming traditional print-based instruction into digital formats. This multi-case study sheds light on the challenge of coping with the old and new in literacy teaching in the context of technology-mediated instruction in the early years of schooling (7-8 years old children). By investigating the relation between literacy and digital technology in diverse pedagogical contexts we capture the complexity in the educational transformation that needs to be acknowledged. Each of the cases demonstrates a distinct knowledge focus and goal for early literacy instruction, organisation and access around technology and what is made visible in instruction. All these factors had consequences for the teaching that occurred. Depending on epistemological beliefs, digital competencies were taught separately from literacy and considered as a goal on its own or integrated with literacy considered as a means and a goal for literacy teaching and learning. Implicit pedagogy with weaker classification and framing enabled conditions for infused approaches making use of digital technology in multimodal, functional and learner centred literacy practices. Furthermore, initial guidance and the weaving of invisible and visible pedagogy highlight a possible way to both exploit the potential of digital technology and support children from various backgrounds. The balance of teacher and student control was further affected in regard to the organisation of technology and choices of pedagogical methods. This research hereby expands the current discussion on the relation between technology and literacy with an understanding that the epistemological focus and context of practices are necessary tools to problematize, rather than measure or value, emerging practices in early literacy instruction. We conclude that in addition to the necessary heavy investments in digital technology in schools there is a need to provide
Digital technologies are increasingly implemented in Swedish schools, which impact on education in the contemporary classroom. Screen-based practice opens up for new forms and multiplicity of representations, taking into account that language in a globalized society is more than reading and writing skills.This paper presents a case study of technology-mediated instruction at the primary-school level including an analysis of the designed task and how the teacher orchestrated the digital resources during three introductory classes. The aim was also to explore the pupils' redesigning of advertising films based on teacher's instructions and available digital resources. Sequences of a learning trajectory were video recorded and analysed from a multimodal perspective with a focus on the designed task and the processes of how pupils orchestrate meaning through their selection and configuration of available designs.The findings show a distinction between the selection of design elements in the teacher's orchestration of the laptop resources during instruction and the pupils' redesigning of the task. Pupils' work developed from the linguistic design provided by the teacher towards visual design and the use of images as the central mode of expression in the process of creating advertising films. The findings also indicate a lack of orientation towards subject content due to the teacher's primary focus on introducing the software.
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