Browsing by Author "Tukiainen, Mervi"

The aim of the study: Kids are born into a technology-rich world. Earlier research has shown that children have early access to technology in their home environment and comparatively good technology skills. In the field of education and teaching, children's everyday lives are also being saturated with information and communication technologies. This research focuses on what is happening around the technology in the preschool group. Research questions are: How is the peer-to-peer interaction built around technology? What is the peer interaction around technology like? Methods: This research carried out with qualitative methods has features of ethnographic research. The research data, collected from the preschoolers of two co-teaching classes, consists of observations and video recordings. The analysis of the research data is based on a model of progressive refinement of hypotheses, in which the research questions will be clarified by looking through the research data again and again. The Atlas.ti software-assisted data analysis method used in this study has features of qualitative content analysis. The main results: The results of the research reflect not only the good technological know-how in relation to the children's age, but also a positive attitude towards technology and good co-operation skills. The interaction of children around technology is roughly subdivided into three types of activities: discussion about ongoing activities, explorative working and problem solving, and sharing of one's own competence with others, peer learning. There are two ways of building interaction, thickening and scattering, which point to the focus of attention of children and thus the intensity of interaction. The study gives an indication of how the peer-to-peer interaction with technology is displayed freely, which can be useful in reforming teaching practices.