ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the possibility of connecting children's print-based literacy experiences with technology-mediated interactions. The concept of new literacies is introduced in light of the implications for young children's consumption and creation of digital texts. Four key features brought to the fore with new media – personalization, creativity, haptic feedback and interactivity – are discussed in detail, to prompt a broader outlook on the enduring key issues in early years literacy education. The chapter specifies what new media and new literacies mean in the context of early literacy and discusses the old dichotomized view of positive and negative influences of new media on children's early language and literacy development. This brings to the fore four issues accentuated through new media and emergent research on their benefits: personalization, creativity, haptic feedback and interactivity. The chapter outlines the additional work necessary to come to a better understanding of the affordances of media for children's literacy now, and in the future.
