Apps, Technology and Younger Learners

This book provides an in-depth analysis of the challenges, potential and theoretical possibilities of apps and considers the processes of change for education and home learning environments. Drawing together a diverse team of international contributors, it addresses the specific features, context of use and content of apps to uncover the importance of these tools for young children's learning. Apps, Technology and Younger Learners focuses on ways that apps support early years and primary school learning, connect various learning spaces and engage children in a range of edutainment and knowledge-building activities. In each chapter, the current state of knowledge and key research questions in the field for future study are identified, with clear messages provided at the end of each chapter. Focusing on empirical studies and strong theoretical frameworks, this book covers four key parts: - Understanding the learning potential of children's apps; - Key app challenges; - Empirical evidence; - Future avenues. This book is an essential guide for educators, post-graduate students, researchers and all those interested in the advantages or challenges that may result from integrating apps into early education.

Natalia Kucirkova is Senior Lecturer in Childhood, Youth and Education Studies at Manchester Metropolitan University, UK. Garry Falloon is Associate Professor in the School of Curriculum and Pedagogy at the University of Waikato, New Zealand.

Part 1: Understanding the learning potential of children's apps 1. Apps and learning: A sociocultural perspective Roger Säljö 2. Learning from apps in the home: Parents and play Jenny Radesky & Barry Zuckerman 3. First principles of teaching reading with e-Books in the primary grades Kathleeen Roskos Part 2: Key app challenges 4. Reading between the lines: Market scan and analysis of language and literacy-focused children's apps Sarah E. Vaala 5 Teaching and learning with tablets: A case study of 21st century skills and new learning Nicola Yelland 6. App Maps: Evaluating children's iPad software for 21st century literacy learning Karen E. Wohlwend and Jennifer Rowsell 7. Touch design and narrative interpretation: A social semiotic approach to picture book apps Sumin Zhao and Len Unsworth 8. Put their learning in their hands: Apps supporting self-regulated learning Julie Mueller, Karin Archer, Eileen Wood and Domenica De Pasquale Part 3: Empirical evidence 9. The use of tablet technology to support development of early mathematical skills: A cross-cultural comparison Nicola J Pitchford and Laura Outhwaite 10. "Makes learning easier - they're active": Using apps in early years mathematics Nigel Calder 11. Adults and children make meaning together with E-books Kathrin Rees, Susan Rvachew and Aparna Nadig 12. Literacy teaching with tablets in bilingual primary classrooms: The Malta Tablet study Charles l. Mifsud and Louisa Grech 13. iPad-supported learning and development for a child with mild cerebral palsy Elaine Khoo 14. Enhancing science learning with BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) in a primary school in Hong Kong Yanjie Song and Wai Ying Ku 15. Bringing Pudsey to Life: Young children's use of augmented reality apps Jackie Marsh and Dylan Yamada-Rice 16. Young Children in an Education Context: Apps, cultural agency and expanding communicative repertoires Karen Daniels Part 4: Future Avenues 17. Digital play: Conceptualising the relation between real, augmented and virtual realities Marilyn Fleer 18. iPads, apps and student thinking skill development Garry Falloon 19. Trans- and intra- apps: innovating the app market and use Natalia Kucirkova 20. A model of mobile knowledge building with apps for pre-service teacher education Kevin Burden