Ways to View the Relationship Between Technology and Learning
There are two main ways to frame the relationship between literacy learning and technology:
1. Children learn from a computer. The computer has a passive role. Research from this perspective tends to be atheoretical and focuses on behaviorist notions of learning.
2. Children learn with a computer. The computer has an active role. Research from this perspective acknowledges the broader cognitive and social components of learning using technology and is guided by social theories of learning.
1. Children learn from a computer. The computer has a passive role. Research from this perspective tends to be atheoretical and focuses on behaviorist notions of learning.
2. Children learn with a computer. The computer has an active role. Research from this perspective acknowledges the broader cognitive and social components of learning using technology and is guided by social theories of learning.
Ways to View the Role of Technology Within Literacy Research
Technology as a deliverer of literacy, The focus is on reporting learner outcomes while ignoring teacher and context.
Adapted from “Technology and Literacy in Early Childhood Educational Settings: A review of research,” by C. Burnett, 2010, Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 10, p. 256. Copyright 2010 by Sage Journals. |
Technology as an interaction around texts. The focus is on the exchanges between and among children as they interact with technology.
Adapted from “Technology and Literacy in Early Childhood Educational Settings: A review of research,” by C. Burnett, 2010, Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 10, p. 257. Copyright 2010 by Sage Journals. |
Technology as a medium for meaning making. The focus is on meaning making and the collaborative/social aspects of using technology in an educational setting.
Adapted from “Technology and Literacy in Early Childhood Educational Settings: A review of research,” by C. Burnett, 2010, Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 10, p. 260. Copyright 2010 by Sage Journals. |
References
Burnett, C. (2010). Technology and literacy in early childhood educational settings: A review of research. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 10, 247-270.