I've been getting ready to go to another conference and looking over my research again. I've been researching child development and ICT with Dr. John Cuthell of the MirandaNet Academy. In short, we have discovered developmental patterns in the way children interact with ICT. Here's a blog post from last year on our conceptual framework (now called Cybernetic Developmental Theory based upon Piaget) which we presented at the SITE conference in March '06. All in all, as both a teacher and a scholar I keep wresling with the question, 'Why call it digital literacy...when literacy is often left to the subjective interpretations of teachers?'
Furthermore, through our research, we surprisingly and unfortunately found the digital divide starts early (i.e . before age 6). Moreover, by age 6 students with early digital access have a preference to Mac or PC. With that, it is my contention that teachers can work together and help in the efforts to bridge the digital divide by understanding how children relate with technology from a developmental perspective much better, than from multiple definitions of digital literacy.
We've been having the students draw concept maps as a part of our research. Here is one of the concept maps one of my gifted students (age 6) drew:
The following is a summary from our paper pertaining to teachers, digital literacy, and the digital divide:
"It's similar to the way in which some children come to school already knowing how to read, whilst others need intensive step-by-step reading intervention (e.g. from phonics up before they can even think about fluency). There have been numerous studies that show that books in the home are correlated with reading abilities. So, the same is true for digital literacy. Children without a computer at home show a remarkable difference to those with a computer in their home in digital abilities. Consequently, just as there are intensive interventional reading courses for students, one day there may be classes set up to help bridge the digital divide at an early age. At present, the reading literacy goal (in the USA) is to intervene by 3rd grade (age 8). Eventually, the same may be true for schools related to digital literacy as well.
However, the term "digital literacy" is quite ethereal, ever-changing with technology upgrades.(*see below) Moreover, "literacy" in itself has become as ubiquitous as the term "postmodernism", leaving it to the subjective interpretation of teachers from one year to the next. Therefore, a consistent framework would be helpful to teachers.
The philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1798) believed that, "Childhood has its own way of seeing, thinking, and feeling, and there is nothing more foolish than the attempt to put ours in their place." The authors of this article agree, and contend that seeking how children see, think, and feel about technology is fundamentally important and a worthy endeavour in the efforts to help bridge the digital divide. The concept of Cybernetic Developmental Theory (De Craene & Cuthell, 2006) uses Piaget's Cognitive Developmental Theory to identify developmental differences in how children interact with technology. This provides a lens through which teachers can understand how children of all ages (including "clickerati") relate to ICT."
Please feel free to comment. In sum, why call it digital literacy...when literacy is often left to the subjective interpretations of teachers? I would love to get feedback from fellow educators. Thanks. : )
Image reference: (My Flicker Account...one of my former students age 6, gifted class) http://www.flickr.com/photos/45299717@N00/393684343/
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Comments
Very interesting Mechelle. I was especially interested in the difference of "Digital Literacy" of those children exposed to Macs rather than PC's from an early age. The terminology that was present on the spider diagram showed the level of understanding being picked up by the children.
The issue with digital literacy is being broached in some manner here in the UK by incorporating ICT into all subject areas form Key Stage 3 (11-14). My thoughts are that this is probably too late, as you say, children are being exposed to computers much earlier. One of the barriers we find in the UK, is that teachers who were never trained to use computers are now being told that they have to incorporate them into their lessons. Some take well to this proposal, but others struggle to get to grips with the new technology and see it as a barrier to their teaching.
Perhaps we need to address "digital literacy" with our teachers first, before we can broach it with our students?
Hi Jon,
Thank you so much for taking the time to give feedback and share your perspectives. Yes, I totally agree with your statement, "My thoughts are that this is probably too late, as you say, children are being exposed to computers much earlier."
It is my contention that educators need to consider having computers in preschools. They are in some schools and this makes a difference in skills and schemas observed when they reach primary school. I feel that computers in preschools can help to ready students for primary school and may help to level the playing ground of students who may not have computer access at home. Indeed, early classroom intervention and access may help to bridge the digital divide before the level of digital skills and abilities widen.
Thank you for sharing your perspective on schools in the UK. (I've studied in the UK and love the UK.) That is the same here in the US. Most teachers don't get around to talking about digital literacy until middle school.
I think you are "spot on" when you say, "Perhaps we need to address "digital literacy" with our teachers first, before we can broach it with our students?"
Thanks again for taking the time to comment. Have a great day!
Best Wishes,
Mechelle : )