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Digital Futures:
Learning and
Teaching Literacy
in the Digital Age
Jackie Marsh
University of Sheffield
Sunday, 18 August 13

EU High Level Group of Experts on
Literacy: Final Report (2012)
鈥� Young Children: Children will be exposed to books and other printed and
digital reading materials from their earliest days. (p90)
鈥� Primary School Years: To meet the demands of the future, literacy
provision will be reinvented in Europe. Literacy teaching in primary
schools will be expanded to include the implications of digital literacy,
including critical engagement with texts and their sources. This will
provide a firm basis for developing 21st- century competences in an
information society. (p91)
鈥� Adolescents: Our vision is a Europe in which reading reconnects to
adolescents鈥� lives. The digital environment will be designed to engage
teenagers in reading. (p92)

Structure of Talk
鈥� Digital literacy - the theory
鈥� The characteristics of children鈥檚 digital literacy
practices in homes and communities
鈥� Embedding these characteristics into classroom
practice

DIGITAL LITERACY

Theoretical background
鈥� New Literacy Studies (Street, 1995) - literacy as a social
practice.
鈥� Multimodality - written word only one element of
complex texts, accessed across a range of media
(Kress, 2010)
鈥� New Literacies - both new practices/ skills (Leu et al.,
2004) and new mindsets (Lankshear and Knobel, 2011)

Digital Literacy
鈥� Reading and writing that takes place through/ with/ in digital media (on
screens - computers, tablets, iPads, smartphones, mobile phones,
console games, handheld computers, electronic readers, projected texts
on a range of environments)
鈥� 鈥楻eading鈥� as a term includes decoding/ understanding/ analysing
multimodal texts
鈥� 鈥榃riting鈥�/ 鈥楢uthoring鈥�/ 鈥楧esign鈥�/ 鈥楶roduction鈥� all variously used to
describe creating texts using a range of modes
鈥� 鈥楾ext鈥� is an inclusive term - 鈥榓ny instance of communication in any mode
or any combination of modes鈥� (Kress 2003: 48)

Key lines of enquiry
鈥楢ssimilation鈥� (Labbo & McKenna, 2008)
Digital literacy
in classrooms
Digital literacy
in homes
and communities
鈥楢ccommodation鈥� - (Labbo & McKenna, 2008)
(e.g.Bearne and Marsh, 2009; c.f. reviews
by Abrams and Merchant, 2013;BECTA,
2010; Burnett, 2009; Labbo and Reinking,
2003)
(e.g. Alvermann, 2006; Burnett, 2012;
Davies & Merchant, 2009; Dwyer, 2013;
Korkeamaki, 2010; Leu et al., 2004; Pahl
and Rowsell, 2011; Walsh, 2010)
(e.g. Hull and Schultz, 2002;
Marsh et al., 2005; Moje, 2008;
Davidson, 2012)
(e.g. Leander and Sheehy, 2004;
Bulfin, 2009)

Research questions
鈥� What are the key characteristics of
children鈥檚 digital literacy practices in homes
and communities?
鈥� How can the characteristics of home uses
of digital literacy be embedded effectively
in classroom curriculum and pedagogy?

Projects
鈥� Family Digital Literacy [4 case studies; parental videos and diaries; semi-structured
interviews]
鈥� Children鈥檚 use of Virtual Worlds [surveys of 175 children; 8 hours of video observations of
4 children over 1 month each; 26 group and individual semi-structured interviews]
鈥� Children鈥檚 Games and Songs in the New Media Age [2 year ethnographic study of play
in 2 primary playgrounds (over 600 children); field notes and video observations;
reflections on videos; survey of media use with 353 children; semi-structured interviews;
diaries]
鈥� Childhoods and Play [semi-structured interviews with 28 adults]
鈥� Digital Futures in Teacher Education [over 250 children in 10 schools involved]

Embedded
in the
everyday Passion-driven
Intergenerational
Trans-modes/
media
Glocal
Online/ offline
blurred
Mobile -
crossing time/
space
Shaped by
popular culture
Networked
Digital literacy practices
in the home
Playful

Trans-modes/ media
Modes: writing, signs and symbols, sound,
moving image, still image
Media: television, DVD,
computer (PC and laptop),
handheld computer, mobile
phone, smartphone, tablet,
iPad, screens
on artefacts such as
electronic toys, washing
machines and other
domestic items

Mobile Devices
52% of 0-8 year-olds
in US had access to
mobile device such
as smartphone/
ipod or ipad; 38%
of 0-8 year olds
used them
(Common Sense
Media, 2011)

App Gap? (Common Sense Media,
2011)
47% v 14%

Media ecologies (Ito et al., 2006)

1928
1930s...

New Media Assemblages
While an ecological framing looks to find a
contributory role for all components, an assemblage
has room for tension, mismatch and ongoing
reconfiguration. There is not sense of creating and
then maintaining a balanced symbiosis of parts. As a
result of this heterogeneity and independence,
assemblages dismantle and reassemble in different
combinations as context and requirements shift.
(Carrington, in press)

Trans-mode and media
practices in homes
鈥� Children engage with and create multimodal texts
across a wide range of media
鈥� Children participate in social networking in relation to
new media assemblages
鈥� Multimodal practices informed by other key
characteristics e.g. playful, shaped by popular culture,
networked

Embedded
in the
Intergenerational
Trans-modes/
media
Glocal
Online/ offline
blurred
Mobile -
crossing time/
space
Shaped by
popular culture
Networked
Digital literacy
practices
in the home
Playful

Online/ offline
blurred

Virtual worlds for children
鈥� Persistent space that offers a range of
environments that are navigable through
maps
鈥� Customisable avatar
鈥� Home for avatar
鈥� Free chat and safe-chat servers
鈥� Games which earn in-world currency,
generally played individually
鈥� In-world goods that can be purchased
鈥� Moderators
鈥� Information for parents on website

Reading postcards
Writing and reading
public chat
Reading game
instructions
Writing submissions
to the in-world
newspaper
Reading in-world
texts e.g. newspapers/
books/ catalogues
Reading in-world text
e.g. signs,
challenges posed by
producers

Class 2 Of铿俰ne
J (B)
Online
L (G)
C (B)
G (G)
B (B)
L (G)
K (B)
J (B)
R (B)
A (B)
J (B)
B (B)
A (G)
J (B)
K (B)
B (B)
C (B)
G (G)
H (B)
T (B)
T (B)
M (B)B (G)
L (B)
I (G)
O (G)
N (G)

Apptivity - Hot Wheels
Augmented reality

Disney Dream Play

Online/ offline practices
in homes
鈥� Purposes for reading similar across online and offline
spaces
鈥� Children engage in literacy practices online that relate
to offline practices e.g. social networking with friends
鈥� Offline public spaces increasingly related to online e.g.
use of QR codes in toy shops, cinemas

Intergenerational

Intergenerational Digital Literacy
Practices in Homes
鈥� Communicating via email, texting, Facebook
etc.
鈥� Accessing the internet together on PCs,
smartphones and tablets
鈥� Sharing e-books
鈥� Playing online/ tablet games together, or using
Console games (e.g. Wii)

Embedded
in the
Intergenerational
Trans-modes/
media
Glocal
Online/ offline
blurred
Mobile -
crossing time/
space
Shaped by
popular culture
Networked
Digital literacy practices
in the home
Playful
Digital literacy
in engaged classrooms

Aims of project: To involve pre- and in-service
teachers, teacher educators and pupils in:
鈥� Exploring and sharing the potential of digital
technologies
鈥� Understanding more about what it means to be
digitally literate
鈥� Sharing and developing good practice in teaching
through development of open educational resources
(OERs)

Research question
鈥� How can the characteristics of home uses
of digital literacy be embedded effectively
in classroom curriculum and pedagogy?

1 nursery, 4 primary schools,
4 secondary schools, 1 special school
Pre-service teachers
University researchers
Industry partners
Local authority
Research Tools
Photographs
Videos
Interviews
Critical reflections
Blogs
Twitter

Embedded
in the
Intergenerational
Trans-modes/
media
Glocal
Online/ of铿俰ne
blurred
Mobile -
crossing time/
space
Shaped by
popular cultureNetworked
Digital literacy
in
engaged classrooms
Playful

Trans-mode/media
Sharrow Nursery

MONTENEY PRIMARY SCHOOL

My monster likes to eat chicken nuggets
On Sundays my monster is very dirty, but some days he is very clean
Never tell my monster he is dirty, or he will bite you
Sometimes my monster is very naughty, but sometimes he鈥檚 very well behaved
Today is my monster鈥檚 birthday, so he鈥檚 having a zombie duck party
Everyone wants to come to my monster鈥檚 party because he鈥檚 very cool
Rob the zombie duck can鈥檛 decide what type of cake to have for his birthday
party, but I think he will have chocolate cake this time

TRANS-MODE/ MEDIA:
KEY PRINCIPLES
鈥� Reading and writing of alphabetic texts embedded
in the digital practices - seamless interface
鈥� Children engaged in a wide range of multimodal
design activities that enable them to understand and
reflect on the affordances of modes
鈥� Skills involved learning coding - important for
developing agency in relation to digital texts

Embedded
in the
Intergenerational
Trans-modes/
media
Glocal
Online/ of铿俰ne
blurred
Mobile -
crossing time/
space
Shaped by
popular culture
Digital literacy
in
engaged classrooms
PlayfulNetworked

MUNDELLA PRIMARY SCHOOL

DAVID HOCKNEY - A BIGGER SPLASH

The children were shown how to use
the Brushes app

The children showed their parents
how to use the iPads

INTERGENERATIONAL PRACTICES:
KEY PRINCIPLES
鈥� Children engaging with older (and younger)
generations outside of the classroom in
鈥榓uthentic鈥� digital literacy practices (through the
exhibition, blog, Twitter stream)
鈥� Children in role as experts (when teaching
parents)

Embedded
in the
Intergenerational
Trans-modes/
media
Glocal
Online/ of铿俰ne
blurred
Mobile -
crossing time/
space
Shaped by
Digital literacy
in engaged classrooms
Playful

Online/ of铿俰ne blurred:
Halfway Primary School

Winterhill Comprehensive School

ONLINE/ OFFLINE PRACTICES:
KEY PRINCIPLES
鈥� Online texts related seamlessly to offline in ways that
replicate out-of-school life
鈥� Meaningful engagement with communities outside the
classroom - local parks and museums (Jim - pupils were,
鈥淟earning to write for a real audience rather than for an
invented one鈥�)
鈥� Literacy learning embedded in interdisciplinary learning
across the arts and sciences
鈥� Learning as distributed and participatory (Lankshear and
Knobel, 2011)

Embedded
in the
Intergenerational
Trans-modes/
media
Glocal
Online/ of铿俰ne
blurred
Mobile -
crossing time/
space
Shaped by
Digital literacy
in homes/communities
AND
engaged classrooms
Playful

FINAL THOUGHTS
鈥� Engaged pedagogies do not have to replicate exactly home
experiences, but should draw on some of the main characteristics in the
classroom in ways that are meaningful and authentic.
鈥� We should recognise that children鈥檚 home experiences will be very
different and not assume knowledge of all digital literacy texts/
practices.
鈥� Children鈥檚 skills and knowledge should be built upon and extended, not
left as they are in home contexts.
鈥� Critical digital literacy practices should be embedded across the
projects.
鈥� This should be only one pedagogical strategy of many - children need a
variety of approaches to literacy learning in the 21st century.

http://www.digitalfutures.org/

http://www.digitalfutures.org/
Thank you!

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