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Elementary Language Education in Digital Multimodal and Multiliteracy Contexts

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Language, Education and Technology

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Language and Education ((ELE))

Abstract

Early childhood education is intrinsically multimodal. The kindergarten discovery orientation to learning emphasizes play and embodied multisensory learning, but this is traditionally retracted as children gain control of alphabetic print in the early grades. The introduction of digital tools and networks is more recent in elementary education. Digital mediation affords a powerful lens on hands-on learning, augmenting, expanding, and complicating multimodal learning and introducing new tools, textual products, and spaces for reflection and communication. Digital multimodal literacies also challenge fundamental assumptions about the starting point of emergent literacy, which is assumed to be the ABCs.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    http://minecraftedu.com/software

  2. 2.

    http://www.edutopia.org/

  3. 3.

    Pseudonym

  4. 4.

    Scratch: https://scratch.mit.edu/

  5. 5.

    Snap!: http://snap.berkeley.edu/

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, M3J 1P3, ON, Canada

    Heather Lotherington

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  1. Heather Lotherington
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Correspondence to Heather Lotherington .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Portland, Oregon, USA

    Steven L. Thorne

  2. Faculty of Education and Social Work, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

    Stephen May

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Lotherington, H. (2017). Elementary Language Education in Digital Multimodal and Multiliteracy Contexts. In: Thorne, S., May, S. (eds) Language, Education and Technology. Encyclopedia of Language and Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02237-6_7

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