Educators have been discussing traditional approaches for incorporating literacy and
language in early childhood settings and how they can support and incorporate the diverse
backgrounds of the children and the variety of digital media at educators’ disposal, moving
towards a Multiliteracy approach.
The New London Group in 1996 first argued on that the traditional view of literacy needed to
evolve and embrace digital resources in order to complement and enhance children’s
learning experiences in early childhood settings (Brooks, 2018a; Fellowes & Oakley, 2014).
This contemporary view of Multiliteracy is embedded throughout the Australian’s Early Years
Learning Framework (EYLF) (Department of Education, Employment and Workplace
Relations (DEEWR), 2009) and are used to guide educator’s daily practice with young
children.
Literacy.
Whilst literacy is fully embedded throughout Learning Outcome 5: ‘Children are effective communicators’ other learning outcomes throughout the EYLF contribute and support children becoming literate (Conner, 2011).
Scientific Literacy: The skills children develop through scientific literacy include such activities as predicting, observing, classifying, hypothesizing, experimenting, and communicating and are highlighted throughout the EYLF (DEEWR, 2009) Learning Outcome Four. This approach requires educators to support and facilite the developent of these skills by providing experiences that have children practicing and applying these skills in a variety of activities throughout the learning environment. Providing children with real life application of these skills provides an alterntive way for children to express their understanding McDermott, 2010).
Critical Literacy: Critical literacy is socially constructed, open-ended, and continuously unfolding. A social constructionist approach involves educators planning activities that encourage and promote a colloborative use of multiliteracy tools, such as IPads and digital cameras (Ewing, Callow & Rushton, 2016). This form of learning is supporting in the EYLF (DEEWR, 2009) through all of the Learning Outcomes, encouraging fostering recipricol relationships, collaboration and conversation.
Visual Literacy:
Visual Literacy encompases both visual and mental images to make meaning. Babies begin to comprehend and make meaning of the world around them visually before learning words associated to the images (Kalantzis, Cope, Chan, & Dalley-Trim, 2016). While written and spoken word represent and express thoughts, so too can images. Hill and Mulhearn (2007) (cited in McLachlan, Fleer & Edwards, 2013) argue that combining print based literacy with digital media to construct and communicate meaning effectly incorporates the multiliteracy approach into early childhood settings.
Computer Literacy:
Ewing, Callow and Rushton (2016), Marsh (2005) and Clements and Sarama (2006) agree that literacy is enhanced when educators provide meaningful and intentional methods of introducing and adding multimodal features into the learning environment. Marsh (2005) reflect that whilst pen and paper still have its place in learning environments, the relationship between literacy and computers is significant and a key aspect of early learning for today’s children. It has become a normal form of communicative practices into society and something that children will need to be able to understand and use effectively. Studies are showing that computers programs, that are specifically chosen, enhance the learning environment and assist young children in developing rereading skills (Clements & Sarama, 2006).
Teachings strategies to be implemented in the different classrooms:
Matching printed text with images builds on children’s understanding that the written words have meaning. This can involve the children and educator collaborating together, using computers and IPads to investigate interest based images. Incorporating two or more modes of communication to create meaning and promote literacy for young children (Ewing, Callow, & Rushton, 2016; Fleer, 2016).
A variety of story books and puppets will be available to allow for children to engage in their own story telling, building on children’s memory recall, vocabulary and ablity to express themselves (Conner, 2001; Fellowes and Oakley, 2012). The learning can then be scafolded and extended on by having the children video each other telling these stories. Adding paper onto an easle for children to collaboarte and create a group story board incorporates visual literacy and reseptive listening. As the educator reads a familour picture book, showing the printed text and images, children hear the story, view the images and printed text, and create mental images that are then recreated onto paper (Fellowes & Oakley, 2014). Incooperating computors, Ipads and digital camaras into an interest based project allows children to investigate and make meaning of specific topics, develop confidence in using todays advancing technology, and provides another mode for capturing and demonstrating their growing level of understanding. Educators and children collaborate and discuss and area of interest to investigate. They then conduct a hands on investigation through the use of technology. Images can be sourced, printed words that allow for educators to read off information to children and allowing children to take photos of the process present multimodile tools to embrace language and literacy in todays digital world.
