Digital Childhoods

C&S SIGN Seminar

Date & time: 10th january, 12-1.30pm

Location: Middlesex University – Williams Building, W153

Is Digital Squiggle Different: Participation frameworks and affect flows in collaborative drawing on paper vs. the iPad

Dr Mona Sakr (Middlesex University)

In Squiggle, a game popularised by the psychotherapist D. W. Winnicott, one person begins a drawing with an abstract squiggle and another person completes the drawing. Squiggle has been used by play therapists as a way of building closeness and connection (Cohen, 2001). Is the effect on shared affect the same however when digital tools are used to play the game – when participants draw with a finger on the iPad screen rather than using a pencil on paper? I present findings from a study that compared the participation frameworks (Goffman, 1974) affect flows (Goodwin, 2006) that arise when 5-8 year old children play Squiggle with each other on paper or on the iPad.

References:

  • Cohen, L. J. (2001) Playful Parenting. New York: Ballantine Books.
  • Goffman, E. (1974). Frame Analysis: An Essay on the Organization of Experience. New York: Harper and Row.
  • Goodwin, M. H. (2006). Participation, affect, and trajectory in family directive/response sequences. Text & Talk-An Interdisciplinary Journal of Language, Discourse Communication Studies, 26(4-5), 515-543.
Young Children in a Digital Age: Supporting learning and development with technology in early years

Lorraine Kaye (Middlesex University)

Young children today are living in a world in which they constantly encounter digital technologies; at home, in the environment, in preschool and beyond.   It is widely accepted that we are in the midst of a digital revolution; an ongoing process of social, political, and economic change brought about by digital technology, such as computers and the internet.  Increased global connectivity and the use of the internet in the UK and beyond has greatly influenced the world in which young children live. Children’s experiences with technology will therefore have significant implications for their future lives. The developments in technology, particularly mobile and touch screen technology, and how they impact on children’s lives and the implications for teaching and learning in early years are considered with particular reference to how technology supports constructivist learning theory.

Kaye, L (Ed) (2016) Young Children in a Digital Age: Supporting learning and development with technology in early years, London, Routledge

This event is free to attend and open to all, please sign up here: