Digital Play – using pedagogical approaches to teach 21st century skills through play

Being able to find, evaluate and apply information for personal benefit is a key attribute in today’s knowledge economy. Termed information literacy, this process goes beyond developing functional skills to creating attributes that enable lifelong learning (Bruce, 2008). However, simply having access to digital technologies and online resources does not always equate to developing these attributes (Zammit & Callow, 2013). Findings from our 2016/2017 Education Horizon project showed significant knowledge gaps relating to how best to support young children’s information literacy.

This project expands on a pedagogical model developed in our 2016/2017 Horizon study by investigating approaches that embed information literacy through play in order to promote children’s evaluative, creative and critical thinking skills. Through a focus on information literacy, this research embeds 21st century skills into the curriculum via digital play. Digital play provides a contemporary perspective on children’s everyday experiences in a digital culture (Edwards, 2011; Marklund & Dunkels, 2013).

Team

• Dr Amanda McFadden
• Professor Joanne Lunn
• Professor Susan Danby
• Associate Professor Maryanne Theobald
• Kathleen Smeaton