Blending play, practice and performance: children’s use of the computer at home

Abstract

In this paper I report selected results of a multi-method, multi-staged study of children’s use of computers in their homes and examine the implications of such use for educators. The study took place between 1995 and 1998, drawing evidence from 500 children with diverse socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds from urban Sydney who regularly used a computer at home.

My aim with this study is to develop knowledge and understanding about the reciprocal relationship that develops between the child and the computer within the sociocultural context of the home. I explore social discourses surrounding children’s use of home computers in ways that elucidate the relationship between discourse and affordances, and highlight the children’s conception of the computer as a playable tool. In my discussion I consider the co-agency of the relationship between the child and the computer that leads to learning through a blending of play, practice and performance. This approach to learning is contrasted to the approaches imposed within schools when children are engaged in learning, either with or without the use of computer-related technology. The significance of these findings goes beyond challenging the way we integrate computers into schooling; it challenges the assumptions that underpin current teaching and learning practices in our schools.