1st Edition

Enhancing Digital Literacy and Creativity Makerspaces in the Early Years

    222 Pages 41 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    222 Pages 41 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    Enhancing Digital Literacy and Creativity is an exploration of how young children gain digital literacies in ‘makerspaces.’ The international authors investigate how hands-on experimentation with a variety of materials - from traditional arts and crafts to contemporary digital tools like 3D printers and laser cutters - can aid children in their development of play, creativity and storytelling. From museums to libraries, nursery schools to community centres, this research shows how ‘making’ supports the development of creative skills and introduces concepts to be explored in a variety of environments and contexts.

    Drawing on examples from around the globe, described by a range of international academics, Enhancing Digital Literacy and Creativity includes chapters on:

    • Virtual reality
    • Museum and library makerspaces
    • Intergenerational making in families
    • Making in schools and nursery settings
    • Assessing learning in makerspaces
    • Links to previous theories
    • Social imagination

    This book will be a valuable resource for students and researchers in the fields of education and digital literacies; early childhood teacher educators and practitioners; librarians; museum educators; and makerspace staff.

    Acknowledgements

    Contributors

    Chapter 1: The MakEY Project: An Introduction

    Alicia Blum-Ross, Kristiina Kumpulainen and Jackie Marsh

    Chapter 2: Researching Young Children’s Engagement and Learning in Makerspaces: Insights from Post-Vygotskian and Post-Human Perspectives

    Michalis Kontopodis and Kristiina Kumpulainen

    Chapter 3: Makeative Makerspaces: When the Pedagogy is Makeative

    Klaus Thestrup and Louisa Haugaard Pedersen

    Chapter 4: Makerspaces, Multiliteracies and Early Science Education: The Finnish Approach

    Jenni Vartiainen and Kristiina Kumpulainen

    Chapter 5: Makerspaces and Virtual Reality

    Dylan Yamada-Rice, Deborah Rodrigues and Justyna Zubrycka

    Chapter 6: Makerspaces in Formal and Non-Formal Learning Contexts in Iceland

    Kristín Dýrfjörð, Torfi Hjartarson, Anna E. Hreiðarsdóttir, Sólveig Jakobsdóttir, Svanborg R. Jónsdóttir, Skúlína H. Kjartansdóttir, Margrét E. Ólafsdóttir, Svava Pétursdóttir, Gísli Thorsteinsson

    Chapter 7: Makerspaces in the Making: Reconfiguring Cultures of Facilitation across the Kindergarten and the Science Museum

    Alfredo Jornet, Hans Christian Arnseth and Ole Smørdal

    Chapter 8: Types of Engagement in Makerspaces

    Anca Velicu and Monica Mitarcă

    Chapter 9: Assessment of Learning in STEAM-Focused Makerspaces

    Louise Kay, Jackie Marsh, David Hyatt, Liz Chesworth, Bobby Nisha, Beth Nutbrown and Bryony Olney

    Chapter 10: Connecting learning: Parents and young children in museum makerspaces

    Alicia Blum-Ross and Sonia Livingstone

    Chapter 11: Teaching for social imagination: Creativity in an early learning makerspace

    Anne Burke and Abigail Crocker

    Chapter 12: Conclusion

    Jackie Marsh, Alicia Blum-Ross and Kristiina Kumpulainen

    Afterword: Reflecting on Process

    Kylie Peppler

    Biography

    Alicia Blum-Ross is Public Policy Lead for Kids and Families at Google.

    Kristiina Kumpulainen is Professor of Education at the Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of Helsinki.

    Jackie Marsh is Professor of Education at the University of Sheffield.