Emergent Digital Literacies: Ambient Learning, Play, and Inclusion

1. Introduction

The purpose of this chapter is to explore digital literacies in the context of smart cities in relation to aware people and aware technologies. As such, this work aims to shed light on the ambient concept for learning, play, and inclusion contributing to emergent requirements for urban digital literacies. The research literature for digital literacies (Adams Becker et al., 2017), ambient learning (McKenna, 2016b; Kölmel and Kicin, 2005), ambient play (Hjorth, 2015; McKenna et al., 2014), and ambient inclusion (McKenna, 2018b) is explored in this chapter in the context of smart cities, enabling identification of issues, controversies, and problems. Using an exploratory case study approach, solutions and recommendations are advanced. This chapter makes a contribution to: a) the research literature for digital literacies, ambient learning, ambient play, and ambient inclusion in smart cities; b) the evolving of urban theory for 21^st century cities; and c) ambient urbanities by formulating and operationalizing a conceptual framework for ambient learning, play, and inclusion for smart cities in support of research and practice.

• Objectives: The objective of this chapter is to explore digital literacies in terms of what it means to experience the notion of ambient learning in relation to the wicked challenges facing education, educators, and learners while re-imagining play and inclusion as social, urban, and ambient enabled by more dynamic, adaptive, and interactive infrastructures for innovating and urbanizing in the city. As such, this exploration gives rise to the key research question in this chapter – Why does learning matter for urbanity in relation to emergent digital literacies in smart cities?

2. Background And Context

The ambient learning concept is explored and developed in this chapter as part of the learning dimension of smart cities (McKenna, 2016b) while the innovating of relationships for learning (McKenna, 2016a) is addressed in bringing greater awareness to learning approaches, practices, and spaces. Aided by the work of Pendleton-Jullian (Pendleton-Jullian and Brown, 2016) on imagination and design at the intersection of culture, environment, and technology, this chapter explores creative thinking approaches to learning. A re-imagining of inclusion is developed for urban environments, as ambient inclusion, aided also by the work of Pendleton-Jullian and Brown (2016) on design and imagination. Explorations of the ambient in terms of aware people and aware technologies gives rise to the question of what it means to experience the notion of ambient learning in smart cities. The wicked challenges facing education (Adams Becker, Cummins, Davis, Freeman, Hall Giesinger, and Ananthanarayanan, 2017), educators, and learners serve to shed light on the potentials for ambient and emergent learning (McKenna, Arnone, Kaarst-Brown, McKnight, and Chauncey, 2013) while re-imagining play (McKenna, Chauncey, Arnone, Kaarst-Brown, and McKnight, 2014) and inclusion (McKenna, 2018b; McKenna, 2016b) as social, urban, and ambient enabled by more dynamic, adaptive, and interactive infrastructures for innovating and urbanizing in the city. Shedding light on education as one of many key elements of smart cities contributes to an understanding of learning as ambient and as critical to 21^st century smart urban environments and urbanities. Additionally, inclusion, social inclusion, and urban inclusion as mechanisms for addressing the digital divide (McKenna, 2018b) are explored in this chapter in the context of smart cities.