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Free Play or Tight Spaces? Mapping Participatory Literacies in Apps
Author(s) -
Rowsell Jennifer,
Wohlwend Karen
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
the reading teacher
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.642
H-Index - 50
eISSN - 1936-2714
pISSN - 0034-0561
DOI - 10.1002/trtr.1490
Subject(s) - rubric , citizen journalism , reading (process) , literacy , psychology , mathematics education , pedagogy , ideology , computer science , sociology , multimedia , world wide web , linguistics , philosophy , politics , political science , law
Building on existing research applying app maps (Israelson, [Israelson, M.H., 2015]), the authors take an ideological orientation to broaden app evaluations and consider participatory literacies, social and communicational practices relevant to children's everyday digitally mediated lives. Drawing from their North American elementary classroom studies on children's technology play with iP ads, the authors compare four typical literacy practices with apps: practicing a skill, reading an e‐book, animating a film, and designing an interactive world. A rubric and radar charts are introduced to help teachers assess and visualize educational apps’ potential to develop six dimensions of participatory literacies: multiplayer, productive, multimodal, multilinear, pleasurable, and connected. The authors conclude with a push for broadened definitions and looser frameworks.