Paper 2: The Empty Book experience: How can sustainable digital practices be developed and shaped in such a way that they contribute meaningfully to the overarching goals of kindergarten pedagogies?

Abstract: This paper discusses the context and subject specific mechanisms that may make a digital practice in kindergarten sustainable. Research shows that blending traditional and digital play situations may spark children's imagination (Edwards & Bird, 2015), but that perceived usefulness of technology may constrain its integration in kindergarten (Buchanan et al. 2013). Our framework draws on perspectives from socio-materialist theory (Orlikowsky, 2017), EC pedagogy (Aslanian, 2017), EC drawing (Hopperstad, 2008), EC literacy (Roskos & Christie, 2011), and EC drama (Sæbø, 2009). We present an analysis of interactions between staff and a group of children collectively creating stories based on digital sound impulses from an “empty book”. The research methodology is positioned in the qualitative paradigm, inspired by educational design research (McKenney & Reeves, 2012) and the video analysis was conducted through multiple collective researcher viewings, transcriptions, and coded analysis in NVivo (Tomas & Seidel 2013). All participants were informed about protection of data and signed a consent form. Findings show that digital technology may function both as a stable and unstable partner for the children and staff by its stimulation and interruption of the educational activity in progress. These mechanisms are discussed as contributions to an ecological understanding of complex interactions between human and material actants and environments. This implicates a need to discuss the role of technology stimulation and/or interruption in such activities in relation to the concept of educational sustainability, where overarching kindergarten goals as well as ideologies and didactical traditions of visual art and literacy pedagogies are important elements.