Whilst previous academic approaches to studying children and technology have assumed that children are passively affected by technology, recent research challenges these accounts. This module examines current key debates on children, young people and new media technologies and considers theoretical approaches to studying children and technology from a variety of perspectives. It adopts a critical approach to the essentialist view of childhood and the way in which much of the academic and lay writing available reflects a sentimentality about childhood that fails to recognise the diversity in children's lived experiences and their relationships with media technologies (Buckingham, 2000 and Livingstone, 2009). Whilst many children use a wide variety of technologies in their everyday lives, are reflexive in their understanding of technologies and are knowledgeable and competent in their use, other children have limited or little access to technologies and this module also considers contemporary concern over inequality and social exclusion. Children's perspectives within the contexts of their everyday lives are, therefore, central to this module and considered within a variety of topical themes.
For students working with children and young people with an up to date CRB this module additionally offers students the opportunity to undertake an up-to-date esafety training course. (Currently this training would allow students to directly deliver CEOP's| Thinkuknow programme to children and young people*.) The training will not only teach students how to deliver the safeguarding product to young people but will also take students through many of the most popular applications young people are using online and mobile environments.
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The awarding training body for the Safeguarding training may change to
EPICT
References:
Buckingham, D. (2000) After the Death of Childhood Growing Up in the Age of Electronic Media| Cambridge: Polity Press.
Livingstone, S. (2000) Children and the Internet| Cambridge: Polity Press.