Interaksjoner i digitale kontekster i barnehagen.

The purpose of this study is to contribute new knowledge about practices and interaction in relation to digital technology in educational contexts in Norwegian daycare centres (barnehagen). This is viewed from the perspective of the early childhood educators as well as of the children.

The overall conclusion of this dissertation is that problems may arise when digital technology becomes a goal in itself at daycare centres. Focus should therefore primarily be on the child's needs and learning and then on the use of technology or digital tools to support the child in pedagogical work. The study consists of three sub-studies. The study shows that introducing digital technology at daycare centres (barnehagen) has implications for several areas, and these implications are described in more detail through the results in the three sub-studies.

The first sub-study shows how early childhood educators consider that their work with digital tools is in a field of tension between the daycare centre's own choices and interests and the more overall Norwegian framework plan for the use of digital tools. The early childhood educators state that the framework plan does offer good guidelines, but they would like to be able to launch their own initiatives in this area. The early childhood educators are also faced with the issue of allowing the child freedom to follow its desire to explore the world on the one hand and supervising activities with digital technology on the other. The early childhood educators therefore have to choose between free use (the child is allowed to use technology whenever and for whatever he/she wants, however with the risk of being left alone) and supervision (technology is only used in the presence of an adult and for planned activities). With regard to acquiring skills, the early childhood educators believe that both children and adults should acquire digital skills. Since digital tools are a new phenomenon, some early childhood educators and children have no skills in using them.

The second sub-study shows how children's interaction with the other children at the computer is primarily used as another type of free play by the children. Interactions on digital tools have a social dimension in which the digital context can function as an arena for a learning community, but they can also be marked by fighting for control and thereby the issue of inclusion and exclusion. This raises the question of how much pedagogical support should be included in digital interactions, and this is described in the last sub-study.

The data material was collected from three Norwegian daycare centres (barnehager) selected on the basis of their daily use of digital tools. The data material was collected through field work from September 2008 to May 2009, broken down into 44 field visits to institutions. Furthermore, interviews were carried out with a total of 13 children and three early childhood educators from the three daycare centres.

The study has been divided into three sub-studies dealing with challenges and possibilities for early childhood educators when using digital tools in their pedagogical practice, the interaction between children and computers and the early childhood educators' perception hereof, as well as the children's acquisition of digital skills and their perception of interactions in which digital technology is included. The data material has been analysed on the basis of a phenomenological and hermeneutic approach, and the analysis is theoretically founded in a socio-cultural perspective.

Jernes, M. (2013). Interaksjoner i digitale kontekster i barnehagen. Ph.d.-afhandling. Universitetet i Stavanger.