“And then it’s my turn”: Negotiating participation in tablet activities in early childhood education and care

Abstract

The article explores the sociomaterial organization of preschool children’s digital literacy activities, focusing on how participant positions are enacted and distributed. The data material consists of 70 hours of video-recorded observations in early childhood education and care in Norway. Drawing on Ethnomethodology/conversation analysis (EMCA) and Science and Technology Studies (STS), we approach digital literacy practices through the following analytical concepts: participation framework, positioning, script and mutual enactment. The analysis of a twenty-minute sequence shows how tablet activities are dynamic and shifting, where the participant framework, positions and scripts are mutually enacted. Through our analysis we show how the creation of activity frames with a joint focus of attention is important for establishing and sustaining digital literacy as a collaborative activity. It is suggested that applications with weaker scripts might also be important. Here, we show how the “owner” uses a range of interactional resources to establish and sustain control and mutual involvement in literacy activity. This also involves how the technology is enacted in multiple ways.