Resources Archive

Appropriating educational new media: ventriloquism in Virtual Puppeteers and parody in Tableaux

The proliferation of digital technologies in recent years has changed the conventional notion of what 'literacy' means, and led to much speculation on an educational future in which children grow up 'multiliterate'. This draft paper examines two Futurelab prototypes and asks what literacy practices were mobilised by the young people who used them.

• pdf version   (pdf, 165KB)

Screenplay: Children and computing in the home

Current school-age children are seen as the first 'net generation' with the resources of the world at their fingertips. This book, based on one of the most in-depth research projects ever carried out on the use of children's technologies in the home, questions this assumption. Published by Routledge (2003).

More than 'just a game': the implications for schools of children's computer games communities

At the present time there is significant interest in the application of games technology within educational settings. Much of this attention, however, is focused on the games interface. This paper argues that formal education settings might also benefit from understanding the social practices that develop around computer games play outside school. Published in Education, Communication and Information, Vol 4, pp 253-268.

• pdf version   (pdf, 187KB)

Bridging or broadening the digital divide: interfacing the experience of learning for the next decade

This paper looks at the barriers to learning that children may encounter in an online environment and discusses how interface design aesthetics can promote inclusivity and accessibility. A research paper for the Becta website.