Technology and literacy in early childhood educational settings: A review of research

Abstract

This literature review provides an overview of research into technology and literacy for children aged 0-8 in educational settings from [2003][2004][2005][2006][2007][2008][2009]. The paper begins by exploring the different assumptions about the role of digital texts that underpin the studies considered, identifying three loose categories of studies which position technology as: deliverer of literacy; site for interaction around texts; and medium for meaning-making. Following this, actor-network theory (Latour, 2005) is used to consider other ways that technology and children may be "acting upon" literacy in educational settings through recontexualising meanings from other domains. The paper concludes by arguing that there is a need for more extensive exploratory research in this field, which considers how digital practices within educational settings relate to other dimensions of children"s literacy learning, in order to better understand how new technologies are and could be contributing to children"s literacy within educational settings. It also suggests that actor-network theory may offer a way of destabilising the assumptions that frame research into young children"s engagement with new technologies in order to conceptualise this in new ways. Key words: literacy, technology, digital literacy, new technologies, young children, actor-network theory IntroductionDescribing the "textual landscape" in which young children grow up, Carrington (2005) lists varied ways that children may be active in multimodal global spaces, as they play and interact with and within environments created through digital technologies such as computer games and virtual worlds. Whilst the last decade has seen increasing calls for educational settings to reflect and build upon young children"s experience of this landscape in their literacy provision, debates about the role of new technologies in early years settings continue. Some have argued that new technologies are a distraction from more "natural", "healthy" and "developmentally appropriate" activities, or raised concerns that young children may access inappropriate content, risk personal safety through developing online relationships or engage uncritically with information (Miller, 2005). At the same time, studies have highlighted a lack of confidence and competence amongst early childhood educators in relation to new technologies (Chen and Chang, 2006;Plowman and Stephen, 2005), national policies relating to early literacy have implied conflicting messages about the relationship between technology and literacy, and there is still variance in children"s access to and use of technology within and outside school. There would seem therefore to be an urgent need for those involved in educational policy and practice to understand better the possibilities for integrating new technologies within early literacy provision and gain informed insights about children"s experience and response to such opportunities. This review focuses on how recent research is contributing to this unders...

The (im)materiality of literacy: the significance of subjectivity to new literacies research

“…In illustrating these, we focus on a brief vignette of a single literacy event, noted during an investigation of the use of networked technologies in classroom contexts (Burnett, 2010).…”

Attitudes towards and Effects of the Use of Video Games in Classroom Learning with Specific Reference to Literacy Attainment

“…During game play, the learning of and exposure to words and symbols take place while experiencing the actual reality of these words (Burnett, 2010). Furthermore, video game players research sites and information about the game, read and create game cheats and data about particular levels or tasks in the game and participate in discussion forums (Shaffer et al, 2005).…”

Εκπαιδευτικό Υλικό Και Εφαρμογές Για Μαθητές Με Αναπηρία

“…Με την αξιοποίηση των ΤΠΕ οι μαθητές αποκτούν ίσες ευκαιρίες στην εκπαίδευση, αυτονομία και καλύτερη κατανόηση του εκπαιδευτικού υλικού. Ανάλογα με το είδος την αναπηρίας η αξιοποίηση των ΤΠΕ ως τεχνολογική λύση συχνά είναι μονόδρομος για να κάνουν γνωστές τις γνώσεις, τις ανάγκες, τις απόψεις και τις πεποιθήσεις τους (Burnett, 2010• Kourbetis, 2013• IITE, 2006. Οι ΤΠΕ εξυπηρετούν την εφαρμογή ενταξιακών εκπαιδευτικών πρακτικών, τη διαφοροποίηση της διδασκαλίας και τον καθολικό σχεδιασμό για τη μάθηση (UDL) (Blamires, M. 1999•CAST 2011•Σφυρόερα, Μ.…”

“…Επιστημονικές μελέτες προσδίδουν στην τεχνολογία το ρόλο του «διακομιστή του γραμματισμού». Η συμβολή των ΤΠΕ είναι πολλαπλή καθώς υποστηρίζει μαθητές, εκπαιδευτικούς και γενικότερα όσους εμπλέκονται στην εκπαιδευτική διαδικασία ( Καπραβέλου & Λέμα, 2008• Alberta Education, 2010• Burnett, 2010• Davies & Merchant, 2009• NAEYC, 1996• Stansbury, 2009· Smith & Throne, 2007. Στο πλαίσιο αυτό, για την υλοποίηση του έργου «Σχεδιασμός και Ανάπτυξη προσβάσιμου εκπαιδευτικού & εποπτικού υλικού για μαθητές με αναπηρίες» η αξιοποίηση των ΤΠΕ αποτέλεσε πρωταρχικό μέλημα.…”