REPORT 7:
Literature Review in Informal Learning
with Technology Outside School
A Report for Futurelab
Julian Sefton-Green, WAC Performing Arts and Media College
FOREWORD
| When we think about learning, we often
tend to think about schools, universities,
colleges. If we go a little further and think
about learning outside school, we might
begin to consider museums, galleries and
science centres. What we often tend to
overlook, however, is the sort of learning
that goes on as part of our normal day-to-day activities when we don't even think
we are learning. Today, however, anyone
who has an interest in how children learn
with digital technologies needs to look
beyond institutional contexts to consider
the implications of children's use of
computers, mobile phones, digital
television and so on as part of their
informal day-to-day lives. How are
children learning when playing computer
games? What are they learning when they
create animations or websites on a
computer at home? |
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Why are they
interested and engaged in using these
technologies outside school? What can
we learn from these activities that can
help us in designing our approaches to
formal education?
This review focuses specifically on
children's informal learning with
technologies outside school. It brings
together the existing research in the field
to create a map of this digital ecology of
education, discussing what we know
about which children have access to
these technologies, what they are using
them for and the implications of this use
for learning. Most significantly, however,
it summarises the extent to which the
research in this area is beginning to
raise fundamental questions about
how children learn and, consequently,
whether we need to re-examine the
design of our formal education system.
We are keen to receive feedback on
the Futurelab reports and
welcome comments at
research@futurelab.org.uk
Keri Facer
Director of Learning Research
Futurelab |
The Futurelab reviews are designed to enable readers to identify rapidly
the key issues raised in reports and also to explore the literature in depth.
The key findings and implications of the report are presented within the Executive
Summary. The main body of the review enables readers to explore in more detail
the background to these headline issues.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thanks to James Bradburne for his insights into
learning in museums and to Clare Sumpner at the
BBC for allowing me access to their research resources.
Keri Facer’s editing at Futurelab has been
helpful, challenging and supportive.
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CONTENTS:
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
SECTION 1
INTRODUCTION: THE
CHALLENGES AND
OPPORTUNITIES OF
INFORMAL LEARNING
SECTION 2
INFORMAL LEARNING
WITH ICT
SECTION 3
MAPPING THE DIGITAL
‘ECOLOGY’ OF LEARNING
SECTION 4
CHARACTERISTICS OF
INFORMAL LEARNING
SECTION 5
CONCLUSIONS
AND IMPLICATIONS
BIBLIOGRAPHY
WEBSITES
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