Abstract
This chapter explores kindergarten children's use of specific online applications such as WhatsApp and YouTube to maintain social relationships between each other and with their classroom teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. Using Vygotskian theorisation of learning through interaction with more expert people (teachers and parents) and Leontev's theory of functional organ, this study verifies that children often learned without an expert's presence, using strategies such as trial and error and discussion, and through maintaining social relationships among themselves and with their teachers. Specifically, the study involved two Italian kindergartens (42 children) and six teachers. Analysis of the children's work and of teacher interviews shows that, during the Italian lockdown, the pre-school children used applications as learning environments in the form of functional organs, and this proved useful for carrying on kindergarten activities and for maintaining social relationships.
TopIntroduction
The Internet (and its applications) are an important part of our daily lives, representing a basic tool for finding information and for social interaction consequently leading to the construction of knowledge (Frozzi & Mazzoni, 2011; Mazzoni & Benvenuti, 2019). The evolution of the Internet has been accompanied by a profound change in the type of devices used for online access: tablets, laptops, and smartphones. Integration between being online and offline is now an important part of the psychology of human beings (Turkle, 2017). In some cases, it is possible to find a balance between these two aspects of human life. The Web can be functional for work, studying and for carrying out daily activities. In this regard, the theoretical perspective of this case study assumes that the Internet is neither good nor bad; rather, in the case at hand, it represents a functional tool for pre-school children during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in Italy, both for learning and for maintaining social relationships with other children and with their schoolteachers. Indeed, this research is based on a theoretical framework whereby Web technologies and devices enable situations of functional organ.
Leontev and other researchers (Leontev, 1974; Kaptelinin & Nardi, 2006) proposed the construct of a functional organ to describe how a tool (e.g. an application such as WhatsApp) allows people to achieve better and more powerful performance that would not be attainable individually without that tool (e.g. sharing photos or documents with several people at the same time). Undeniably, the COVID-19 emergency has profoundly disrupted our lives, especially those of children who are no longer able to attend class in person (Reimers & Schleicher, 2020). This has been particularly significant for preschool children (4-6 years old) because they rely on physical contact and relationships more than older children do in order to cultivate the socio-emotional dimension. Most Italian children in this age bracket attend kindergarten on a daily basis. Here they are involved in playful activities that are useful for promoting both cognitive and socio-emotional abilities which are crucial in this phase of development (e.g. Blair et al., 2004; Garon et al., 2008; Morra et al., 2018; Panesi & Morra, 2020). For these reasons, it was essential during the lockdown phase to create the possibility for kindergarten teachers to maintain contact with children and their families so as to continue and foster stimulating activities that enhance the socio-emotional dimension.
In collectivist cultures (such as Italy’s), people define themselves as parts or aspects of a group; accordingly, social behavior is best predicted from norms and perceived duties and obligations, and social relationships are fundamental to maintain good levels of health and well-being (Triandis, 2018). This also true of digital technology use which in the digital age is now part of our daily lives. In the educational context there seems to be a strong association between students’ well-being and digital competences (Panesi et al., 2020). In this light, during the lockdown emergency it was crucial to maintain a strong classroom climate to support families and avoiding the risk of social isolation (Rucinski et al., 2018). Indeed, using devices for online learning has been considered the most appropriate (if not the only) means to keep educational systems functional in many parts of the world during this period (Hyseni et al., 2020). Moreover, it is important to underline that kindergarten attendance is not compulsory in Italy and that using online tools for distance learning is a novelty for all: for children (and their families) as well as for teachers. Thus, considering the abovementioned assumptions, the reported study pursued a fundamental research question: is it is possible to consider, in the kindergarten, the use of web applications (e.g. YouTube, WhatsApp) as functional organs to promote learning, and to maintain social contacts (and the classroom climate) during the COVID-19 emergency?
Key Terms in this Chapter
Subject: One or more people who are part of the activity system and conduct actions.
Functional Organ: Object or system useful for achieving a goal.
Learning Environment: Virtual place where people can learn new concepts.
Activity System: Set of actions guided by subjects, rules, division of labor belonging to a community that shares a common goal.
Rules: Set of rules that govern behaviors and actions within the system of activities.
Object: Objective to be achieved in the activity system.
Community: Set of people and rules that are part of the activity system.
Mediation Tool: Useful tool or object through which a specific action takes place.
Online Learning: Learning activities via the internet.