New directions for early literacy in a digital age: The iPad
Summary (6 min read)
Introduction
- The literacy practices of young children and their families are currently characterised by the everyday use of an array of digital technologies, which over the past decade have become increasingly portable, affordable and efficient (author, 2012; Lynch and Redpath, 2012) .
- Yet research evidence has consistently shown that there is ambivalence and resistance to the incorporation of new technologies in early literacy education.
- In the meantime, technological invention has continued apace, with a step change in functionality following the development and widespread use of mobile touch-screen devices such as the Apple iPad.
RUNNING HEAD: IPADS AND EARLY LITERACY
- The authors therefore devised this study with the aim of enabling early years practitioners in preschool and primary settings, and teachers of children with complex learning and physical needs, to explore the educational potential of digital technologies with touchsensitive screens.
- The authors focussed specifically on classroom-based uses of the iPad, and were interested in exploring how the affordances of these portable devices (with full operating systems, touch screen sensitivity and a multiplicity of apps) might open up new possibilities for learning and teaching early literacy.
Early literacy and digital devices: the literature
- Research has begun to evidence how diverse digital devices are becoming integral to young children's early experiences of literacy in their homes and communities (Plowman, Stephen and McPake, 2010; Wohlwend, 2010; co-author and author 1, 2010; author 1, 2012) .
- Much of the emerging research in this field is founded on sociocultural conceptualisations of learning (Vygotsky, 1978; Wertsch, 2007) , where mental processes are viewed as social in origin and mediated through interaction using symbolic representations such as language and with cultural artefacts that have evolved over time.
- Recently in England, this focus has narrowed even further with an insistence on the teaching and testing of synthetic phonics, which is currently portrayed in policy documentation as the key to early reading and writing (author, 2013) .
- Research into iPad use has found that their user-friendly design presents very few technical challenges for young children, who quickly become enthusiastic and competent users (Lynch and Redpath, 2012) although with some apps, children may encounter difficulties such as unintentionally deleting their work (Hutchison, Beschorner and Coffey, 2012) .
The present study
- In their study the authors therefore aimed to explore the potential benefits of a specific touchscreen device, the iPad, for early literacy in three different educational settings.
- In line with sociocultural conceptualisations of learning processes (Vygotsky, [1934 (Vygotsky, [ ] 1978) ) the authors regard literacy learning as social in origin and mediated through action and interaction using cultural artefacts.
- Particularly when using digital devices, meanings can be expressed through multiple modes of symbolic representation, such as combinations of spoken and written language, images, icons, sounds, layout and animation.
- Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the educational use and potential of iPads, with a particular focus on finding out how learners and practitioners leverage the potential of iPads for classroom-based early literacy education/learning.
Introducing iPads to three different settings
- The authors trialled and evaluated the use of iPads in three different educational settings in central England: a city suburb Sure Start nursery for 3-4 year-olds; a primary school reception class for 4-5 year-olds on the outskirts of a city; and a primary class for children aged 7-13 in a special school on the outskirts of a town.
- At the outset of the study, none of the settings had an iPad dedicated for classroom use, but they all regularly used digital cameras and computers.
- Each device was pre-loaded with a research-based, multi-media app (reference withheld, referred to as OS hereafter) which was developed by us and colleagues at the (reference withheld University), to give staff a starting point for understanding the potential of this tool.
- The interview data were transcribed, and after multiple viewings of the video observations and data discussions, the research team agreed on common themes and conceptual categories, working within an interpretive analytic framework.
- The questionnaires and interviews increased their understandings of the children's experiences with new technologies in their home and school lives, and their own observations of classroom practice gave us an insight into the actual use of iPads by the practitioners and the children.
Children's technology use and literacy at home
- The parent questionnaires offered fixed choice responses ('often', 'sometimes' or 'rarely') about how frequently children played with 'traditional' and 'new' toys and technologies.
- The responses revealed a trend for children from all settings to engage more frequently in traditional activities such as building with bricks, pretend play and sharing books than activities involving 'new technologies'.
- Watching TV, videos or DVDs featured amongst some of the most frequent activities for nursery aged children and older children who attended the special school.
- For the Nursery and Reception-aged children, activities with the computer and Internet were mostly rated between 'rarely' and 'sometimes', suggesting that many children only occasionally used interactive digital technologies when at home.
- Children with learning impairments were reported by parents as being the most frequent users of computers, internet and handheld game devices.
Practitioners' views on new technologies before using iPads in the classroom
- At the beginning of the study, practitioners in all three educational settings reported that children had less frequent access to new technologies in the setting than they did at home.
- Before using the iPads, practitioners said they valued the potential of new technologies to offer stimulating learning opportunities, yet they also voiced concerns about their potential harm.
- Some felt children were being denied early language learning opportunities due to the ubiquitous use of mobile devices: '… a lot of people nowadays run their lives via their mobile phone…they're walking along with the pram and they're talking on their phone and not to the baby'.
- Practitioners also worried about the potentially addictive and 'over-stimulating' nature of many digital games, particularly for children with behavioural difficulties who could become 'a bit obsessive'.
- The cost of digital equipment was a further issue for staff in all settings, along with concerns about technical problems, a lack of confidence in RUNNING HEAD: IPADS AND EARLY LITERACY their ability to overcome these and a lack of easily accessible technical support.
Practitioners' views on iPads during the study
- In these instances, the iPad assumed the place of a precious and venerated object which could only be entrusted to children for a limited time period.
- Thus, whilst practitioners had initially been reserved about the role of digital media in the literacy classroom, their enthusiasm grew once they had had time to familiarise themselves with the OS app, and also to identify further apps which they deemed suitable for classroom use.
- Towards the end of the study, many spoke of the 'endless possibilities' the iPad offered to extend and vary classroom-based activities.
- Once the study had been completed, the practitioners also spoke retrospectively about how easily iPad-based activities slotted into their delivery of the national curriculum guidelines, providing new and different ways to present core literacy concepts and knowledge.
Experts and novices in the classroom
- Through the interviews and observations the authors were able to identify a progression of shifts in practitioners' attitudes towards using the iPad in the classroom, and these were common across the three settings.
- In each class, one self-defined 'confident' adult technology user was assigned or assumed the role of iPad expert.
- In each classroom, the adult experts were, perhaps not wholly by chance, the most senior member of staff.
- Practitioners in each setting reported that some children had already used touch-screen devices at home, particularly smartphones, and were highly confident in their use.
- 'Novice' children were keen to learn how to use them and 'picked it up really well'.
'Open' and 'closed' apps
- Throughout the study, the authors heard how the adult technology experts had dedicated many hours of personal time outside the classroom searching for suitable apps to include in their planning.
- The authors observed how these games were sometimes used effectively to support learners' independent practice of, for example, learning the alphabet or the names of animals, yet they positioned children as recipients of narrowly defined literacy knowledge, rather than as independent or collaborative and creative producers of original materials.
- Furthermore, during their observations many children soon tired of the repetitive nature of these games.
- Using more 'open content' apps (such as OS) engaged children more deeply in their own learning.
- With the OS app, children were able collaboratively to create their own stories, initially by selecting a sequence of photographs which they or their teacher had taken, then developed this by adding, for example, voice recordings and/or typed text and also, as seen in the special setting, extending the story creatively through reenactments and staged performance.
Motivation and positive learning dispositions
- Teachers commented on 'the magical athe authors and wonder' engendered by iPad activities which motivated children to learn.
- Unpicking this enthusiasm, staff noted how children particularly enjoyed the facility to undo and review stages of their work, which reduced the consequences for them of making mistakes and appeared to be conducive to positive and confident learning dispositions.
- As Underatuin (2011) discusses with regard to online literacy practices, the authors saw how the flexibility and responsiveness of digital literacy activities constituted new hybridised literate activities that combined characteristics of traditional literacy resources with the speed and feedback of oral literacy.
- This combination of immediate feedback, along with tangible and satisfying end products, motivated children to engage deeply with iPad-based literacy activities, which as one practitioner commented, attracted their attention like 'bees to a honeypot'.
Independent learning with the iPad
- A key contributory factor to children's motivation appeared to be the possibilities offered by the iPad for independent work.
- The authors observed one simple example of such independence being appreciated by staff as well as children in the Reception class, where the teacher had identified a series of 'closed' content apps that encouraged children to spell words more accurately, and to use appropriate punctuation, such as 'Doodlefind'.
- In the special setting, in addition to the iPad's touch-screen sensitivity and responsivity, the device's mobility further facilitated children's independent learning.
- In the initial two frames, the teacher helps Matthew to make a pointing gesture, and then gently supports the weight of Matthew's hand as he taps the screen.
- -Figure2 to be inserted about here-In some cases independent learning necessitated purpose-made devices to secure the iPad to the arm of a wheelchair.
iPad and concentration
- Linked to children's motivation and independence, staff in all settings commented on how iPads heightened children's concentration levels, describing iPads as 'a good way of engaging the children in the work you're trying to get them to concentrate on'.
- In the special school, staff noted how some children with complex learning and physical disabilities and very short attention spans persisted for extended periods with the iPad ('all afternoon'), encouraged by the interactive nature of certain apps, which focused their attention and led to engaged learning.
- Without the support of more experienced others, rich learning outcomes were not always assured, and the potential benefits of increased concentration were not harnessed.
- In the nursery setting in particular, the authors observed children becoming frustrated as they did not know how to complete some more complex activities, and/or staff sometimes lacked the time or skill to support them.
- In situations, where children were unsupervised and vied for possession of the iPad, the tool caused considerable frictions among the children who each demanded access to a precious resource.
Enriching communication and collaboration with the iPad
- The authors observed how more experienced children frequently supported their peers.
- Nursery staff noted how children with children started talking more: '…even the quiet ones were gaining an awful lot out of it … it was making the noisier ones be quiet because they were concentrating and the quiet ones use more language'.
- The Reception teacher encouraged children to find more images to put in pictures they were making on an app, leading to the naming and finding of items which extended their vocabulary.
- Staff in the special setting welcomed the touch-responsive screen for children who did not have the motor skills to write with a pen or pencil, and they valued the RUNNING HEAD: IPADS AND EARLY LITERACY opportunities this offered to diversify their support for children's communication.
Creative use and integration with the national curriculum
- In line with Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 objectives to use new technology for creative and independent work (OFSTED, 2008) , children worked creatively across modes and media.
- Teachers found the iPad dovetailed with existing technologies in the classrooms, and provided another source of stimulation, so staff felt they could offer children 'as many different ways as the authors can to do the (same) thing over and over again but to engage them as well as … get more work out of them'.
- The Reception teacher used a jigsaw app to make a jigsaw from a digital photo, uploading this to the classroom IWB, where they completed the puzzle as a class, promoting topic-focused learning whilst also providing a rich platform for language and communication, collaborative problemsolving, negotiating meanings and sharing experiences.
- Often, despite their best intentions, the iPad or the software did not perform as they wished and there was a lack of support in the school for this kind of work.
- Nevertheless, the practitioners were hopeful this would improve as they became more familiar with the device and gained more confidence in its use.
Discussion
- The authors findings suggest that incorporating touch-screen technology in the repertoire of young children's everyday literacy experiences offers new opportunities for early literacy education.
- Unless 'new' digital devices are woven innovatively into the fabric of classroom practice, then their potential could all too easily, and understandably given the lack of support and training for teachers, be reduced to being no more than a device for delivering potentially repetitive curriculum content , albeit with added interactive multimedia appeal.
- For learning/teaching episodes to be rewarding, careful planning and sensitive support was needed by confident practitioners, with clear learning goals.
- With just a little support from their team and a lot of teacher dedicated time -spurred on by the children's enthusiasm -the practitioners discovered creative uses for the iPad in their classrooms.
- Through activity, individuals engage in collective imaginings of figured worlds (e.g. in a school context, of ability, learning disposition, gender etc.), which are enmeshed with local systems of power and privilege.
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Citations
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Cites methods from "New directions for early literacy i..."
...Similarly, Flewitt et al. (2014) showed that there was considerable variability in the ways iPads were used across three settings (Children’s Centre nursery, a primary school Reception class and a Special School) but that well-planned, iPad-based literacy activities stimulated a number of positive…...
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Cites background from "New directions for early literacy i..."
...As a result, most apps marketed as being educational often lack basic pedagogical design features required to support learning (Flewitt et al., 2014; Goodwin and Highfield, 2012)....
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...…pre-school setting, tablets are viewed as a tool for play, communication and expression (Geist, 2014) that stimulates positive social interaction, meaningful talk and motivation to learn (Flewitt et al., 2014; Hatherly and Chapman, 2013) and promotes ownership of learning (Conn, 2012; Lee, 2015)....
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...In the pre-school setting, tablets are viewed as a tool for play, communication and expression (Geist, 2014) that stimulates positive social interaction, meaningful talk and motivation to learn (Flewitt et al., 2014; Hatherly and Chapman, 2013) and promotes ownership of learning (Conn, 2012; Lee, 2015)....
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References
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"New directions for early literacy i..." refers background in this paper
...New terms have been coined, such as ‘Digital Natives’ (Prensky, 2001) and ‘the Net Generation’ (Tapscott, 1998) to describe the first generation of children growing up in Westernised societies surrounded by increasingly ubiquitous and powerful digital media....
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"New directions for early literacy i..." refers background in this paper
...Overarching conceptual themes emerged through a process of inductive and deductive coding and theme development, constantly comparing across the data sets (Fereday and Muir-Cochrane, 2008)....
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Frequently Asked Questions (14)
Q2. What were the frequent activities for children in the nursery?
watching TV, videos or DVDs featured amongst some of the most frequent activities for nursery aged children and older children who attended the special school.
Q3. What were the frequent users of computers, internet and handheld game devices?
Children with9learning impairments were reported by parents as being the most frequent users of computers, internet and handheld game devices.
Q4. What did the researchers say about the iPad activities?
They also spoke of the ways the iPad activities stimulated children’s motivation and concentration, enriched the communicative environment and facilitated collaborative and independent learning in playful and creative ways.
Q5. What did staff say about the iPad?
As one teacher commented, iPads afforded more possibilities than conventional computers through their easy access to combinations of audio and visual modes ‘adding another level to the work they produce’.
Q6. What is the main topic of Burnett’s article?
As Burnett (2009) discusses, there is a growing call from education research for educational curricula to incorporate digital technologies into literacy teaching programmes.
Q7. What were the benefits of the iPads for children?
These were of benefit for children’s self-esteem, their engagement with a range of literacy-related activities and also corresponded to the standards and outcome-based teaching and learning agendas to which all staff were accountable.
Q8. What was the effect of the iPads on the children?
25Beyond these considerations, the authors observed in this study how the iPads were valued as highly desirable artefacts by young learners, who recognised them as powerful arbiters of communication, information and entertainment in contemporary society.
Q9. What is the meaning of figured worlds?
Figured worlds are part of Holland et al.’s (1998) larger theory of self and identity, which draws on the work of Vygotsky and Bakhtin to illustrate how identities are formed through the day-to-day processes of social activity and practice.
Q10. What were the main concerns of the practitioners?
Despite their concerns, there was a strong consensus amongst staff that in order to help prepare children for their lives in a digital world, education settings should ‘make sure they’re ready for all the other things that are happening so quickly’, ‘keeping a balance’ between learning activities with traditional and new media, and making the most of new technology ‘to enhance teaching’, as encapsulated in the thoughts of one early years practitioner:‘… one of the things we’re supposed to teach them in the new EYFS is about the world as a whole and how those children are going to be able to move into that world and technology that is there for them in the future and it’s forever evolving … so therefore introducing it to them is one of those key skills we’re teaching them’Practitioners’ views on iPads during the study
Q11. How did the children in this setting use iPads?
Almost all the children in this setting were able to use iPads more easily than other ‘new technologies’, such as computers with keyboards, which require very precise touch with considerable control of pressure on each key, or interactive whiteboards, where their fixed position often rendered them inaccessible for children reliant on wheelchairs and other physical supports.
Q12. How did staff respond to the iPad?
staff in all settings commented on the collaborative nature of interaction around the iPad: most children shared activities, took turns, supported each other’s learning and rejoiced in each other’s successes.
Q13. What was the example of a story creation activity?
As a further example, children in the Reception class used the iPad and ‘OS’ app to take photographs of their outdoor activities, and then used these as the basis for story creation - just moments after the photographs had been taken.
Q14. What was the effect of the iPad on children?
Too many fingers on the screen made some applications not function as intended, and meant that content was lost which caused considerable frustration for the children who had produced it.