Mind the hand: A study on children’s embodied and multimodal collaborative learning around touchscreens

Abstract

Apart from touching the screen, what is the role of the hands for children collaborating around touchscreens? Based on embodied and multimodal interaction analysis of 8- and 9-year old pairs collaborating around touchscreens, we conclude that children use their hands to constrain and control access, to construct and problem solve, and to show and imitate. The analyses show how a space emerges from the interaction between the children and the touchscreen, and how their hand movements reveal intelligence-as-action. Three situations with three different pairs were analysed to explore how children use their hands in activities around touchscreens, focusing in particular on how they collaborate. The analysis presented here is part of a research study on the use of touchscreens in children’s embodied and multimodal collaborative learning activities in their everyday classrooms. The general aim of the study is to contribute to the understanding of children’s multimodal collaborative learning activities around touchscreens.