Abstract
The main aim of this article is to answer the following research question: How can we prepare student teachers to deal with pupils who have a wide range of day-to-day experiences of the digital world? This question arises out of the understanding that today's student-teacher training is inadequately equipped to realize the potential for learning found in the way that digital technology is now an integral part of the social and cultural practices of children and young people. Based on theory and practice from research and development activities in primary and lower secondary school, the article points out some perspectives connected to the technology culture of children and young people that may have importance for the professional training of student teachers. The article concludes by summarizing some findings from a research project in general teacher education, where it is argued that student teachers can be qualified to cope with the way children and young people use technology by teaching them to adopt solutions based on personal publishing. In many ways the article deals with classical issues in the education field; how the relations between cognition, learning, technology and fellow-citizenship raise practical issues connected to teaching and learning (Dewey, 1915; 1938; 1958).
Highlights
There are many indications that today's student teachers are not sufficiently qualified to deal with the digital challenges in school
In this article I have drawn attention to the fact that there is a need for institutional learning in the digital day-to-day experiences of children and young people
Using examples from primary and lower secondary school I have shown how school has changed its assignment culture, and graphic interfaces may promote learning through re-contextualizing the digital day-today experiences children and young people have
Summary
There are many indications that today's student teachers are not sufficiently qualified to deal with the digital challenges in school. Experiences from such research as the PLUTO project show that the study processes at the teacher training institutions contribute to reproduction of traditional instruction models, lacking work forms dominated by pupil activity and the use of ICT (Hauge, 2003; Ludvigsen and Flo, 2002) This relates to the fact that the development of digital awareness in basic education has not gone as quickly as the intentions embedded in central policy documents would suggest. The convergence of audio, film, data and mobile technology is erasing the boundaries between consuming media expressions and producing cultural expressions This opens new avenues for public participation and cultureproducing activities. He points to the challenges found in developing forms of literacy that make young people active and critical participants in the media culture they are immersed in
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