06. Open Learning: Media, Environments and Cultures
Paper
Deep Mediatization as a Driver of Diversity in Education? Empirical Impulses from Media Socialization Research
Katrin Potzel1, Rudolf Kammerl1, Claudia Lampert2, Paulina Domdey2
1FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany; 2Leibniz-Institut für Medienforschung │ Hans-Bredow-Institut
Presenting Author: Potzel, Katrin
Against the background of the societal meta process of deep mediatization (Hepp 2019), media practices in the private sphere are a natural part of growing up. This is because (digital) media permeate almost all social areas today. However, children's individual media habits differ greatly, whether because of their own preferences and interests or because of their media experiences in their families and peer groups (Paus-Hasebrink et al. 2019). The fact that these differences can also be explained by social diversity is widely discussed under the heading of the digital divide (Hargittai & Hsieh 2013, van Dijk 2020). While individuals with higher socio-economic capital usually have better and broader access not only to digital devices but also to corresponding software and data infrastructure, others lack these accesses to information, communication and entertainment. In addition, the benefits of media use are distributed unequally as a result of different media literacies. This trend is further reinforced by the deep mediatization which also reveals an increasing diversity in children's media repertoires, not only within an age group, but also in relation to dynamic changes in media devices, applications and topics children grow up with.
At the latest in the wake of the COVID19 pandemic, however, media use is also becoming increasingly important in the school context (Vuorikari et al. 2020). Due to the different media experiences and prerequisites of children from the private context, it seems to be easier for some of them to deal with the schools’ media ensemble and to meet the academic media literacy requirements as for others. However, these prerequisites have hardly been taken into account, e.g. in the current digital education action plan by the European Union (yet). The focus is mainly on normative categories and objectives, as well as technical competencies, while children's individual media repertoires and experiences are hardly considered.
Against the theoretical background of the communicative figuration approach (Hepp and "Communicative Figurations" research network 2017), we want to stress the relevance of a more individual approach by focusing on the following questions: What effects does mediatization have on both media ensembles of social domains and individual media repertoires of children? What patterns are emerging with regard to informal and educational media use? What conclusions can be drawn for formal education?
These questions are being answered on the basis of data from the qualitative long-term study "ConnectedKids - Socialization in a Changing Media Environment (ConKids)”. The qualitative panel study provides insights into the media-related socialization of children and focuses on familial negotiation processes. The theoretical framing is provided by the "communicative figurations" approach, which makes Norbert Elias' (1971) figuration approach fruitful for communication and media studies research (Hepp and "Communicative Figurations" research network 2017). This allows us to examine not only the specific actor constellations of social domains such as the family, but also their relevance frameworks and communicative practices. Considering the familial media ensemble (Hasebrink and Hölig 2017) as well as the dynamic power balances and valences between family members are also informative for the study of media-related socialization processes (Kammerl et al. 2021). In addition, conclusions about the social domains of peers and school can be drawn.
Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources UsedIn the course of the study, qualitative interviews were conducted in 32 families in North and South Germany, each with one child and one parent. The longitudinal data collection took place in 2018, 2019 and most recently in spring and summer 2022. An additional round of interviews is planned in the first half of 2023. The sample is divided into two cohorts: the younger children were between ten and eleven years old in the last survey 2022 and the older ones between 14 and 15 years old. The parents were asked to send in photographs of the media their child used before getting interviewed. In the third wave, the children also filled in media diaries. These diaries provide information about the role of different media in everyday life. Both sources of data were used primarily as a stimulus to identify media repertoires and to reflect on one's own media practices in the qualitative interviews. These were transcribed and evaluated using qualitative content analysis (Kuckartz 2020).
To explain differences at the end of the primary school in the individual media repertoires we focus on cases of the younger cohort (N=15). The longitudinal data from three surveys, beginning shortly after the children started school, allow us to look not only at a single moment, but also at the developments in individual media repertoires. Using contrasting cases, we want to show where deep mediatization emerges as a driver of diversity and how these diversities influence formal learning with digital media in educational contexts.
Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or FindingsThe findings of the ConKids-study provide a deep insight into the media socialization of children and also make it possible to trace longer-term and dynamic developments in media repertoires under the conditions of a changing media environment in a deep mediatized society. The usage of (digital) media brings along new challenges for individual identity development, developmental tasks and educational success. Differences emerge not only in terms of concrete media usage and topics, but also in media literacy and the informal and formal usage of media in educational contexts. This diversity of children’s media repertoires results in new challenges for educational institutions, which should take up the individual skills, proficiencies and living contexts of children.
Based on these results, impulses for individual media competence promotions in schools will be derived, based on the reality of life and educationally related media repertoires of children. In order to enable a competent use of media both in private and in educational as well as later professional contexts, we propose that school media ensembles would have to tie in more with children's individual media experiences.Furthermore, there should be a shift away from a linear thinking towards a more media ecological approach, which is aligned on the different development stages of children.
ReferencesElias, Norbert. 1971. Was ist Soziologie? [What is Sociology?]. 2nd Ed. Grundfragen der Soziologie. Weinheim: Juventa Verlag.
Hargittai, Eszter and Hsieh, Yuli Patrick. 2013. Digital Inequality. In: William H. Dutton (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Internet Studies. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199589074.013.0007.
Hasebrink, Uwe und Sascha Hölig. 2017. Deconstructing Audiences in Converging Media Environments. In: Sergio Sparviero, Corinna Peil und Gabriele Balbi (Eds.), Media Convergence and Deconvergence, 113–33. Cham: Springer.
Hepp, Andreas. 2019. Deep Mediatization. London: Routledge.
Hepp, Andreas und "Communicative Figurations" research network. 2017. Transforming Communications. Media-Related Changes in Times of Deep Mediatization. Communicative Figurations Working Paper: “Communicative Figurations” research network, ZeMKI, Centre for Media, Communication and Information Research.
Kammerl, Rudolf, Claudia Lampert, Jane Müller, Marcel Rechlitz and Katrin Potzel. 2021. Mediatisierte Sozialisationsprozesse erforschen. [Researching Mediatized Socialization Processes]. MedienPädagogik, 185–209. https://doi.org/10.21240/mpaed/jb16/2021.02.24.X.
Kuckartz, Udo. 2020. Einführung in die computergestützte Analyse qualitativer Daten. [Introduction to computer-assisted analysis of qualitative data]. 4th Ed. Wiesbaden: Springer VS.
Paus-Hasebrink, Ingrid, Jasmin Kulterer and Philip Sinner. 2019. Social Inequality, Childhood and the Media: A Longitudinal Study of the Mediatization of Socialisation. Cham: Springer. Zugriff am 29. April 2019.
van Dijk, Jan. 2020. The Digital Divide. Cambridge, Medford: Polity.
Vuorikari, Riina, Velicu, Anca, Chaudron, Stephane, Cachia, Romina and Di Gioia, Rosanna. 2020. How families handled emergency remote schooling during the Covid-19 lockdown in spring 2020 - Summary of key findings from families with children in 11 European countries. Luxemburg: Publications Office of the European Union. doi:10.2760/31977.
06. Open Learning: Media, Environments and Cultures
Paper
Digitalisation and Digitality from the Perspective of Educators: Which Impact have Personal Beliefs on the Pedagogical Work?
Ulrike M. Stadler-Altmann1, Helen Knauf2, Lina Kaminskiené3, Ona Monkevičienė3, Ilona Tandzegolskiene-Bielaglove3, Anke Lang4
1Free University of Bolzano, Italy; 2Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences; 3Vytautas Magnus University; 4Caritas Essen
Presenting Author: Stadler-Altmann, Ulrike M.;
Tandzegolskiene-Bielaglove, Ilona
Our paper explores the use of digital media as reflected in teachers' beliefs and practices in using ICT and digital AI-based toys in daily pedagogical work. The basis for this is the result of a questionnaire that was carried out in Germany, Italy, Denmark, and Lithuania within the framework of the EU project "I am not a robot. Working with AI in pedagogical practice".
Studies show consistently that educators use digital media in kindergarten only to a limited extent. This finding can be explained by the lack of integration of meaningful pedagogy. However, for the successful implementation of an AI initiative, it is important to understand the educators' motivations and behaviours in detail. Therefore, a questionnaire was developed based on a previous study on digitalisation in kindergartens (Knauf 2019). The equipment of the kindergarten, the beliefs, and attitudes of the educators towards digital media, especially towards AI-based toys, and the knowledge of the educators about AI itself are recorded. An important influencing factor are the beliefs of the educators. According to Kunter (2011), beliefs include value commitments, epistemological beliefs, subjective theories about teaching and learning and objective systems. Value commitments are aimed at the attitudes towards the activity as a pedagogical and teachers and the importance of STEM topics for early childhood education. Following within-case, country-specific, and cross-case, cross-national analyses, different foci on the value of technology were identified in the sample, leading to different goals for practice. At the same time, a European comparison of ECE in the use of digital media in the four countries involved is possible. This reveals surprising similarities, but also culturally determined differences. If we compare the situation in ECE across Europe, we find that research at the political, governmental and practical levels (Alexiadou & Stadler-Altmann, 2020) is similar with regard to current issues. At the European level, the European Framework for the Digital Competence of Educators (DigCompEdu 2017) provides a competence framework as orientation that can be used at the national level, e.g. for the design of further training and projects.
The synthesis of the results led to a description of categories that represents a relationship between beliefs and practices and expands our knowledge about the reaction of educators to the introduction of digital media in kindergarten. Therefore, the results of the comparing analysis are related to the DigCompEdu in order to be able to point out suggestions for a profitable use of digital media in pedagogical work. The results obtained correspond to the results presented by Slutsky et al (2019): Teachers who opposed technology use felt that children need more hands-on experiences and opportunities to develop socially and emotionally, which is achieved through interactions with peers during play. Others were concerned about children becoming addicted to technology and the lack of creativity when the technology carried out all the work for the child. One of the main aims of the project is to inform educators about the benefits and risks of digital media for their educational work and to take their concerns and fears seriously. This is to be achieved by providing toolboxes for pedagogical work.
In the conclusion of our presentation, we therefore also show how the results of the survey enabled the development of the toolboxes. The toolboxes provide concrete implementation possibilities on how complex technical issues, e.g. AI, can be integrated into the educational kindergarten work. To facilitate access to content for educators children's questions in the field of AI are chosen as the starting point for the development of the tool boxes. This also clarifies the children's perspective and interest (Borowski et al. 2016).
Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources UsedQuantitative research design was used to achieve the study's objective (Cohen, Manion, and Morrison, 2018). A project-related self-reported questionnaire was developed on the basis of a survey on digitalisation in kindergartens (Knauf 2019). In addition to the equipment with digital media, this questionnaire explicitly focuses on the use of digital media and the attitude of the teachers towards digital media in the kindergarten everyday life.
Five items record the equipment of the kindergarten with digital media in order to be able to compare the educators' statements on digital media with the possibilities of using digital media against this background. Four items ask about the use of digital media in documenting educational progress and for communication processes. The questionnaire focuses on the pedagogical work with the children and the use of digital media and AI-based toys (8 items). Three items are used to record which possibilities the educators have to get support in their pedagogical work. In addition, the questionnaire offers room for open answers in each topic block.
The research questionnaire was translated into the German, Italian, Lithuanian and Danish languages. The reliability analysis of the questionnaire was performed: Cronbach Alfa was 0,859 which indicates a good internal compatibility of questions. The research respondents were kindergarten teachers. The educators were sampled using the random probability sample strategy. The questionnaire was responded by 827 pedagogues from Lithuania (N=170), Germany (N=186), Italy (N=391) and Denmark (N=80).
The obtained research data was processed using IBM SPSS Statistics Version 23.0 and MS Excel programs adapted to Windows. Descriptive Statistics, including Kurtosis and Skewness, correlational analysis, K-Means Cluster Analysis were used for quantitative and percentage analysis.
Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or FindingsThe main result of the study is that educators still have a critical view on digital media in their work with children. At the same time, it is also evident that many educators recognize the benefits of digital technology and consider it necessary for young children to gain experience with it. However, the evaluation of the data also shows that educators in the different countries involved in the study have different views of digital media.
The results are comparable to the studies of Slutky et al. (2019) and describe beliefs of educators in STEM settings, which are also taken up by Kucharz et al. (2020). In contrast to these studies, the results of our survey are not used for further training courses but are used directly in the development of didactical material for the pedagogical work.
The results of the survey were directly incorporated into the development of the toolboxes in the project. In order to take the educators' reservations and fears about AI seriously, specific explanations about digital media and AI have been included. In particular, the effect of digital media on children aged two to six years was explained. In addition, the game ideas contained in the toolboxes have been explained twice: for the educators in the context of their respective national education plan and for the concrete implementation of the play idea with the children.
As the toolboxes are implemented in different European countries, different cultural aspects as well as different requirements in the respective education system have to be taken into account. The comparative analysis provides essential insights in this regard.
ReferencesAlexiadou, N.; Stadler-Altmann, U. (2020) (eds.), Early Childhood Education Research in Europe. Special Issue Education Inquiry, http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/zedu20/current
Borowski, Chr.; Diethelm, I.; Wilken, H. (2016), What children ask about computers, the internet, robots, mobiles, games etc. WiPSCE ’16, October 13-15, 2016, Münster, Germany c 2016 ACM. ISBN 978-1-4503-4223-0/16/10. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/2978249.2978259
European Union (2017), European Framework for the Digital Competence of Educators. DigCompEdu, Redecker, Christine (Author), Punie, Yves (Editor). Luyembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.
Knauf, H. (2019). Digitalisierung in Kindertageseinrichtungen. Ergebnisse einer Fragebogenerhebung zum aktuellen Stand der Nutzung digitaler Medien. Bielefeld, urn:nbn:de:0111-pedocs-179992
Kucharz, D.; Öz, L.; Schmidt, J.K.; Skorsetz, N., (2020), Professionalisierung pädagogischer Fach- und Lehrkräfte in der frühen MINT-Bildung.
Kunter, M., Baumert, J., Blum, W., Klusmann, U., Krauss, S. & Neubrand, M. (2011). Professionelle Kompetenz von Lehrkräften. Ergebnisse des Forschungsprogramms COACTIV. Münster: Waxmann.
Slutsky, R.; Kragh-Müller, G.; Rentzou, K.; Tuul, M.; Gol Guven, M.; Foerch, D.; Paz-Albo, J. (2021) A cross-cultural study on technology use in preschool classrooms: early childhood teacher’s preferences, time-use, impact and association with children’s play, Early Child Development and Care, 191:5, 713-725, DOI: 10.1080/03004430.2019.1645135
06. Open Learning: Media, Environments and Cultures
Paper
Artificial Intelligence as a Subject of Intergenerational Learning Arrangements
Friedrich Wolf, Miranda Leontowitsch
Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany
Presenting Author: Wolf, Friedrich
In the post-digital age, digital technologies are constitutive for the lifeworld of all people, independent of individual media practices. This becomes manifest primarily in the form of artificial intelligence algorithms. These algorithms are characterized by their omnipresence and at the same time relative invisibility - out of sight, in your mind. While software such as ChatGPT or debates about autonomous driving make AI appear visible, practices of automatic classification of users in the context of advertising-related microtargeting or the assessment of credit ratings point to the regulatory functions of AI, which, however, mostly remains hidden from the user. These are worldwide lines of development that are taking place in the same way on an international scale.
This socio-technical development is accompanied by demographic change in most Western countries. The proportion of people in the retirement phase in the population is rising significantly. One aspect that is highly relevant in this context is that digital software and hardware is currently characterized by a high degree of diversity, which is reflected in highly individualized media practices in all age groups. While these can also feature collective media practices, they cannot always be assigned to a specific age cohort or generation. A suitable example would be the instant messanger WhatsApp, in which intergenerational digital spaces and exchange processes are created in family or community groups.
From an education perspective, this context raises the question of the possibilities and conditions for shaping an algorithmized post-digital world for all generations. The planned contribution focuses primarily on the fostering of media competence according to Baacke in the dimensions of media critique, media knowledge, media use and creation with media as a prerequisite for a responsible and proficient handling and debate with and about digital(n) technologies such as the use of AI. In this context, the possibilities of shaping the post-digital world are not understood as a cohort-specific task, but as a joint field of learning and action for all generations.
This is where the research project "DigiGen - Generationen gestalten Digitalisierung gemeinsam" started. The aim of the DigiGen project was to bring together young adolescents and older people from Frankfurt and its surroundings, who would jointly acquire knowledge on the subject of AI over the course of a school year. The central questions that the participants explored were what AI actually is and where does AI appear as a technology in the participants' everyday lives? They also discussed how artificial neural networks work and where these technologies could or should be used in the future. The insights gained in the process were then captured in a self-produced podcast series of 15 episodes.
The project was scientifically supervised with multiple ethnographies of the lessons as well as two cohort-specific group discussions. The guiding research questions were, first, how intergenerational learning processes in the modes of mutual learning, learning from one another, and learning about one another were shaped or constituted with regard to the subject of AI and digitization. Secondly, the extent to which age or the generation membership showed itself as a central category of difference in the context of AI and digitization and where the generation membership rather faded into the background. This article aims to show the extent to which various learning arrangements are suitable for promoting media literacy as a task for the whole society and thus, in addition to user and creative skills, also to facilitate everyday life orientation in the post-digital age.
Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources UsedThe project used various qualitative survey and evaluation methods. In order to address the interactions and practices in the classroom multiple ethnographies were used in the individual school lessons. In total, 15 observation protocols from all phases of the project were created. In addition, cohort-homogeneous group discussions were conducted to explore generational approaches to and experiences of the project. Here, the focus was on the perspective on the topic of AI as well as on the intergenerational learning arrangement and the experiences with the respective other generation. These data were evaluated interpretatively with the Situational Analysis (Clarke 2018) as well as the GTM.
Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or FindingsThe guiding research questions were, first, how intergenerational learning processes in the modes of mutual learning, learning from one another, and learning about one another were shaped or constituted with regard to the subject of AI and digitization. Secondly, the extent to which age or the generation membership showed itself as a central category of difference in the context of AI and digitization and where the generation membership rather faded into the background. This article aims to show the extent to which various learning arrangements are suitable for promoting media literacy as a task for the whole society and thus, in addition to user and creative skills, also to facilitate everyday life orientation in the post-digital age. First results show that the subject artificial intelligence and the associated instructed intergenerational self-learning phases primarily evoked learning about each other. The complexity of the subject led to breaking through generation-specific attributions such as digital natives and digital immigrants and made the chronological age move into background. In addition, a sensitization to the individual needs and attitudes of the other generation was observed.
ReferencesDamberger, T. (2020). Künstliche Intelligenz und der Sinn von Pädagogik. In Resonanz und Lebensqualität. Weltbeziehungen in Zeiten der Digitalisierung. Pädagogische Perspektiven. (S. 143–171). Barbara Budrich.
Dumitru, E.-A., Ivan, L., & Loos, E. (2022). A Generational Approach to Fight Fake News: In Search of Effective Media Literacy Training and Interventions. In Q. Gao & J. Zhou (Hrsg.), Human Aspects of IT for the Aged Population. Design, Interaction and Technology Acceptance (Bd. 13330, S. 291–310). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-05581-2_22
Franz, J. (2010). Intergenerationelles Lernen ermöglichen: Orientierungen zum Lernen der Generationen in der Erwachsenenbildung. Bertelsmann.
Ferraro, E., & Wolf, F. (2022). Out of Sight, In Your Mind: Menschliche Autonomie und Künstliche Intelligenz im Film. In D. Verständig, C. Kast, J. Stricker, & A. Nürnberger (Hrsg.), Algorithmen und Autonomie (1. Aufl., S. 67–90). Verlag Barbara Budrich; JSTOR. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv2xh53x1.6
Leontowitsch, M., & Wolf, F. (2020). Alter(n) und Mündigkeit im generationalen Feld. In S. Andresen, D. Nittel, & C. Thompson (Hrsg.), Erziehung nach Auschwitz bis heute: Aufklärungsanspruch und Gesellschaftsanalyse (Bd. 22). Books on Demand.
Leontowitsch, M., Wolf, F., & Oswald, F. (2022). Digital (in)equalities and user emancipation: Examining the potential of Adorno’s maxim of Mündigkeit for critical intergenerational learning. Frontiers in Sociology, 7. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2022.983034
Rietz, C., & Völmicke, E. (2020). Künstliche Intelligenz und das deutsche Schulsystem: Warum es das Wissen um die Algorithmen braucht. In A. Ternès von Hattburg & M. Schäfer (Hrsg.), Digitalpakt – was nun? (S. 89–96). Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-25530-5_10
Verhage, M., Schuurman, B., & Lindenberg, J. (2021). How young adults view older people: Exploring the pathways of constructing a group image after participation in an intergenerational programme. Journal of Aging Studies, 56, 100912. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaging.2021.100912
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