Digisus - Building Sustainable Digital Practices in Kindergarten Literacy and Arts Programmes - is a Norwegian research project involving kindergartens in two municipalities, pre-service kindergarten teacher programmes and a research environment funded by the Norwegian Research Council ($6,300,000 NOK). The main objective of the project is to develop and establish a competence framework for kindergarten staff and teacher educators connected to evaluation and implementation of sustainable digital practices (SDPs) in kindergartens supporting playing and learning in literacy and arts practices. The MusEDLab facilitates content and design workshops for the DigiSus project.
International Conference 18th-20th of November 2020,
Venue: Stord Campus, West Norway University of Applied Sciences
Theme:
DIGI-ARTS in Kindergartens:
Sustainable Digital Practices in Kindergarten Literacy and Arts Practices in the age of the Anthropocene?
Framework and call
The DigiArts in Kindergartens conference takes place at West Norway University of Applied Sciences, Campus Stord November 18- 20, 2020. This conference call is initiated by the DigiSus research project, funded by the Norwegian Research Council (2016- 2020), and is an invitation for kindergarten practitioners, staff, educationalists and researchers to meet, discuss and share new knowledge about digital practices in kindergarten literacy and arts practices in the age of the Anthropocene.
For the past 3 years the DigiSus research group, in co-operation with two municipalities and New York University, US, has developed and studied characteristics of what the project refers to as ‘sustainable digital practices’ in kindergartens, and how such practices contribute to the overarching goals of kindergarten pedagogies. The DigiSus project is rooted in a belief that the concept of ‘sustainability’ must be applied to an introduction of digital practices in kindergartens. The research and innovation focus of the DigiSus project, therefore, has been to develop and study sustainable practices that balance screen based and non-screen- based technologies with a special view to supporting literacy learning, creative and expressive play, and aesthetic learning processes. In an ongoing co-operation with eight kindergartens the DigiSus project have tried out, discussed, and described practices focusing on and trying to understand “the nature of the relationship between discursive practices and material phenomena”. This research journey has inspired us as well as made us wonder about the role and importance of the “nonhuman” as well as “human” forms of agency (Barad 2003).
In an area dominated by technology and human influence on the future of our children, this event will invite to interactive sharing of research and experience and aim to open up horizons for new ideas, innovations as well as concerns and critique about digital practices in kindergartens and related educational institutions. The DigiArts in Kindergartens conference call for participants to attend in several ways:
· As kindergarten and/or early childhood staff member interested in new competence and sharing of experience about digital practices
· As an early childhood educator interested in digital innovation in teacher education
· As an early childhood researcher interested in sharing and discussing research and innovation findings relevant for digital practices in literacy learning, creative and expressive play, and aesthetic learning processes.