Main Article Content

Abstract

Children are immersed in a world that is characterized by the continuous interplay of physical and digital dimensions, material objects and virtual realities. This article is centered on an experience with a group of 9-11 year old children where they worked on a shared project that they created together from the beginning, based on the constant flow of ideas and cooperation between individuals, small groups and the larger group, in dialogue with time, between real and virtual dimensions. The role of the adult as an attentive, participatory observer, resource and co-researcher with the children created an inclusive, child-centered atmosphere which kept the children’s relationships and collaboration with each other at the heart of the experience. The digital realm was a resource and a material that enhanced the children’s play, their ideas and allowed them to give shape to their project by broadening their range of action and the expressive possibilities. Using digital materials and tools and the effects they produced created a playful, immersive and narrative setting which inspired the children to interact with, play with, study, design and modify a hybrid reality which was both physical and digital at the same time.

Keywords

Art Education Digital Realm Physical Msaterials Hybrid Context Children's Play Group Learning Reggio Children Approach

Article Details

How to Cite
Di Rocco, E., Coe, J., Selleri, F., & Cavalieri, S. (2021). Moving between the boundaries of physical and digital contexts: a case study about a shared project by a group of children. Journal of E-Learning and Knowledge Society, 17(3), 146-154. https://doi.org/10.20368/1971-8829/1135557

References

  1. Edwards, S. (2013). Post-industrial Play: Understanding the Relationship between Traditional and Converged Forms of Play in the Early Years. In Burke, A., & Marsh, J. (2013). Children’s Virtual Play Worlds: Culture, Learning and Participation. Peter Lang.
  2. Flecha, R., Pulido, C., Villarejo, B., Racionero, S., Redondo, G., & Torras, E. (2020). The effects of technology use on children’s empathy and attention capacity. NESET report, Executive Summary. Publications Office of the European Union.
  3. Gray, P. (2013). Free to Learn, Why Unleashing the Instinct to Play Will Make Our Children Happier, More Self-Reliant, and Better Students for Life. Basic Books.
  4. Manera, L., Donnici, M.B., Di Rocco, E., Paoli, E.S., Selleri, F., Cavallini, I., Coe, J., & Cavalieri, S. (2021). Familiar Digital: Creating Bonds at a Distance. Innovations in Early Education: The International Reggio Emilia Exchange. NAREA.
  5. Marsh, J. (2016). Digital Play, A new Classification. Early Years, Vol. 36, Issue 3: Digital Play and Technologies in the Early Years. TACTYC.
  6. Rinaldi, C. (2004). The Relationship between Documentation and Assessment. Innovations in Early Education: The International Reggio Emilia Exchange. NAREA.
  7. Rinaldi, C. (2021). In Dialogue with Reggio Emilia, Listening, Researching and Learning. 2 ed. Routledge.
  8. Vecchi, V., Bonilauri, S., Meninno, I., & Tedeschi, M. (2018). Bordercrossing. Encounter with Living Things / Digital Landscapes. Reggio Children.
  9. Vygotsky, L. (1978). Mind in Society. Harvard University Press.
  10. Zingale, S. (2016). Interpretazione e progetto, semiotica dell’inventiva. Franco Angeli.