http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qU97IXT8MIs

Open Day 2012:Careers in Education

A digital explosion: Young children birth to three years

Digital Literacies in Early Childhood  at the Unley Town Hall July 3 2013, Susan Hill

Susan.hill@unisa.edu.au

Babies and books- research questions

• What is the impact of a range of family literacy programs on the reading and language practices of families of young children aged birth to two years?

• What are the changing reading practices (digital and non-digital) of diverse families with children from birth to five years?

• What may contribute to the sustainability of family literacy programs for families of children birth to five years?

Theoretical frameworks

• Socio-cultural (Vygotsky 1978; Heath 1983; Hill & Launder 2011).

• Cognition, brain and oral language development (Hart & Risley 2003; Dickenson et.al 2010).

• Semiotics-creating meaning from texts (Kress 2003).

METHODOLOGY: ‘Babies and books'

Babies and books’ longitudinal surveysSurvey 1 (pre-birth – 6 months) approx 350 families – closed Aug, ’12Survey 2 (6 – 12 months) approx 380 families – closed May, ‘13Survey 3 (18 – 24 months) approx 175 families - closed May, ’13Survey 4 (2 – 5 years) more than 50 families – still open

Case studies of diverse families’ reading practices over time (young mothers, parents where both read to children, high and low SES according to Australian Early Development Index)

http://maps.aedi.org.au/IA/2011/region/45/atlas.html

RecruitmentLBBC web-site

Participants from regions

Adelaide Hills

Eastern Adelaide

Northern Adelaide

Southern Adelaide

Western Adelaide Country

5%

16%

19%

21%

31%

9%

Your highest level of education?

Completed primary school Completed secondary school

Completed a degree/diploma

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

2.4%

18.6%

79.0%

What age to read to your baby?

Pre-birth Birth -3 weeks 3 -6 weeks After 6 weeks0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

31.5%

38.5%

13.9%16.1%

Why read to your baby?

build

rel

atio

nshi

p, b

ond 

com

fort

, cal

m

ente

rtai

nmen

t, p

lay 

lear

ning

, dev

elop

men

t 

love

of b

ooks

 

othe

r 0

50

100

150

200

250

127

32

71

229

65

17

Yes No0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

10.1%

89.9%

Do you and your baby use e-books or e-book apps?

Use of ebooks or ebook apps by children aged birth – 6 months- not popular

Why not use e-books or apps

But, if your baby uses mobile devices Birth – 6 months- which ones?

Findings: Survey 1: Pre-birth to 6 months Bubs family language and reading practices: on-line survey

Most parents (99%) read to their babies from pre-birth to six months of age and this was across all socio-economic areas. Singing and talking with babies was also seen to be very important.

Parents commented about the importance of reading to babies for their future academic learning.

Parents read to their babies from a large range of books including board books and in some cases, adult fiction.

Families were aware of the importance of reading to young babies and by the time babies were six months of age 70% of families had collected the Little Big Book Club (LBBC) book pack.

‘Findings: Survey 2: 6 months to 12 months Tots family language and reading practices: on-line survey.

1. An increase in reading as a routine for ‘entertainment and play’ rather than for future academic learning.

2. Increased participation from grandparents, some fathers, friends and child care educators.

3. Gender is an issue because the surveys (98%) were completed by mothers. Further exploration is required due to the limited participation of fathers in the survey.

4. Parents did not generally use forms of digital technology with their baby.

5. Sessions for families of young children, held at local libraries, were generally not well attended by respondents. Parents commented on the time of sessions, their work commitments, their inability to travel to the library, and many saw the sessions as catering for older children.

6. Survey 3 suggests there is an explosion in children’s use of electronic devices by eighteen months.

Sudden use of mobile devices by toddlers (18 months – 24 months)

What are parents’ beliefs about the use of traditional or digital books with toddlers 18 – 24

months

Mobile devices used by toddlers

Time spent playing with mobile devices by toddlers

Use of e-books or e-book apps by children aged 18 months – 24 months

“The first thing my son says when I come into his room in the morning is “iPad.” He’s not quite 2 years old. He can’t dress himself yet, except for his shoes, a pair of Crocs, which are easiest for toddlers to put on themselves. He’s a wiz with the iPad. At first, I was impressed when he could simply unlock the screen. Now he can navigate to his favorite apps, open the photo album, and even manage some pinch-to-zoom gestures when he wants to see faces up close. He can’t yet peddle a tricycle, but he can already catapult an angry bird, though he hasn’t yet killed any pigs. Any day now, those pigs will pay.

Philip Berne, Blog - Dec 24th 2010 http://www.slashgear.com/tags/philip-berne/page/6

Toddlers’ behaviours when using mobile devices

12-24 month old children’s use of ebook or ebook apps alone or with others

on his or her own? with an older child? with you or another adult?0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

120%

0.0%

9.1%

95.5%

Does your toddler use e-books or e-book apps alone or with others?

E-book What’s that noise?

How do children from birth to three years use and engage with apps and other electronic devices for learning and play?

•We videotaped parent child dyads with ebook and app as a method of data collection

•Categories for analysing children’s learning with electronic devices (Plowman, 2010 )

Operational skills-touch screen, mouse, keyboards, settings, app design

Knowledge of the world-living things, places, vocabulary and language development

Dispositions to learn- self esteem, persistence, sharing, managing emotions

Role of electronic literacy in everyday life-use communication devices: phone, Skype, email, Facebook, with family and fiends; entertainment, ipad, ipod television, dvd; employment and study, email, internet, software programs for creating texts.

Reading (semiotic view) is creating meaning from texts

LBBC HIPPY Let’s Read Learning Together

LAPSIT Better Beginnings

Shared book reading-reading packs, storytelling sessions

Web based support

Transition to school support

Face to face program with support and involvement of parents

In libraries story time sessions

Govt. funding / partnerships with govt. agencies

Singing, dancing, nursery rhymes

Family literacy programs

Case studies

12 families with interrupted schooling

Case studies of twelve young unemployed mothers with interrupted schooling

High aspirations and were completing schoolingTransport difficultiesLiteracy levels Few or no books in homeViewed education as the key to providing a better future for their baby or toddler. Staff: high educational expectations no ‘victim mentality’ from the studentsMost worked part time to improve their weekly income Clear goals for the future as well as solid financial objectives

Reading practicesRead a few times a week Chose to read traditional books rather than e-books

‘My case worker gave me lots of books. They’re up on the top cupboard until he’s older and can appreciate them.’

Strong views on the amount of television and particular videos that were suitable or not for their children. Rarely allowed their children to use their mobile phones

Case studies

I have the DVD “Your baby can read” and that’s all Tex is allowed to watch. He enjoys that. I don’t like Playschool or other children’s TV shows. Teletubbies is silly – they don’t even talk – how can you learn anything from that? I will start to allow him to watch Disney movies like “the Lion King” when he is older. For now, I want to teach him everything.’

Findings

1. Gender-Mothers completed surveys, however fathers and other family members engage in home reading activities ..particularly digital reading

2. Diversity in homes-there is no generic one-size-fits-all approach to family literacy. A diversity of approaches is required.

3. Concept of reading and writing- needs to broaden to a semiotic view where all forms of text can be used to make meaning

Reading now…. In a digital world

7 myths about young children and technology (Plowman &

McPake (2013)

1. Childhood and technology shouldn’t mix-no need a balance

2. Young children are ‘digital natives’ –no, parents, educators and siblings teach them

3. Technology hinders social interaction-no, it can enhance social interaction

4. Technology dominates children’s lives, no, parents report that family activities are varied

5. Play =learning ..no, technology can extend play possibilities

6. If it’s interactive it must be educational-no, educators, adults are central to learning.

7. Children need to get tech savvy for the future, no, knowledge and skills are important.

ReferencesAustralian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). 2006b. 2039.0-Information Paper: An Introduction to Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA), Retrieved from http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/2039.0Main%20Features12006?opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=2039.0&issue=2006&num=&view=

Dickinson, D, Golinkoff, R & Hirsh-Pasek, K 2010, ‘Speaking out for language: Why language is central to reading development’, Educational Researcher, 39 (4), pp. 305–310. Hart, B & Risley, T 2003, ‘The early catastrophe: The 30 million word gap by age3’, [electronic version] The American Educator, vol. 27, no. 1. Heath, S. B. 1983. Ways with words: Language, life, and work in communities and classrooms. New York and Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Kress, G. 2003, Literacy in the new media age. London: Routledge.

Hill, S & Diamond, A 2013, Family literacy in response to local contexts, Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, vol 36, no 1, 48-55.

Hill, S Ward, C & Forster J. 2013 Babies and books longitudinal study: Interim report. University of South Australia.

Hill, S & Launder, N 2010, Oral language and beginning to read, Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, vol. 33, no. 3, 240-254.

Plowman, L., & McPake, J. 2013, Seven myths about young children and technology, Childhood Education, 89(1), 27–33.

Vygotsky L 1978, Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes, Harvard University Press, Cambridge.

Dr Susan Nicholshttp://www.unisanet.unisa.edu.au/staff/Homepage.asp?Name=sue.nichols

Research publications

RECENT AND FORTHCOMING PUBLICATIONSHill, S & Nichols S 2013, Early literacy: towards a semiotic approach. In Handbook of research on the education of young children (147-156), B Spodek & O Saracho (eds), Routledge, London.Nichols, S., Rowsell, J., Rainbird, S. & Nixon, H. (2012 in press) Resourcing Early Learners: New networks, new players. London: Routledge.Nichols, S. (2012) Young children and sustainable consumption: An early childhood education agenda. In S. Lehmann & R. Crocker (Eds) Consumption, Zero Waste and Sustainable Design. Earthscan Publishers.Nichols, S. & Nixon, H. (2012 in press) Space, place and early childhood literacy. In J. Marsh & N. Hall (Eds) Handbook of Early Childhood Literacy. London: Sage.Nichols, S. & Rainbird, S. (2012 in press) The mall, the library and the church: Inquiring into the resourcing of early learning through new spaces and networks. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, accepted 4/08/2011.Nichols, S. (2011) Young children’s literacy in the activity space of the library: A geo-semiotic investigation. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy 11(2) 164 - 189.Bullen, E. & Nichols, S. (2011) Picture books, pedagogy and the dual audience. Children's Literature in Education.42(2) Online first, 26 May 2011Connellan, K. & Nichols, S. (2011) Personal objects in institutional spaces. Studies in Material Thinking Vol. 5 (Dec) 1 – 13 http://www.materialthinking.org/sites/default/files/papers/Personal%20objects.pdfNichols, S. (2011) Girls and boys, work and play: Gendered meanings and participation in early childhood education. In B. Irby (Ed) Gender and Early Learning Environments. Information Age Publishing.Nichols, S. (2010)Perspectives on inclusivity and support in organised and informal activities for parents of preschool children. New Zealand Research in Early Childhood Education. Vol 13 pp 29-41