Enhancing Digital Literacy and Creativity: Makerspaces in the Early Years

Enhancing Digital Literacy and Creativity is an exploration of how young children gain digital literacies in ‘makerspaces.’ The international authors investigate how hands-on experimentation with a variety of materials - from traditional arts and crafts to contemporary digital tools like 3D printers and laser cutters - can aid children in their development of play, creativity and storytelling. From museums to libraries, nursery schools to community centres, this research shows how ‘making’ supports the development of creative skills and introduces concepts to be explored in a variety of environments and contexts.

Drawing on examples from around the globe, described by a range of international academics, Enhancing Digital Literacy and Creativity includes chapters on:

• Virtual reality
• Museum and library makerspaces
• Intergenerational making in families
• Making in schools and nursery settings
• Assessing learning in makerspaces
• Links to previous theories
• Social imagination

This book will be a valuable resource for students and researchers in the fields of education and digital literacies; early childhood teacher educators and practitioners; librarians; museum educators; and makerspace staff.

Alicia Blum-Ross is Public Policy Lead for Kids and Families at Google.

Kristiina Kumpulainen is Professor of Education at the Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of Helsinki.

Jackie Marsh is Professor of Education at the University of Sheffield.