A book is a machine: electronic storybooks in the early years curriculum

The early years curriculum has been criticised as lacking a clear strategy concerning information and communication technology (ICT) in general and children’s emergent digital literacy practices in particular (Marsh, 2007a). The most recent framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage (DfE, 2012), for instance, addresses ICT as an aspect in the specific area ‘Understanding the World’ and expresses the broad expectation that children will ‘recognise that a range of technology is used in places such as homes and schools’ and be able to ‘select and use technology for particular purposes’ (ibid, p. 9). However, the statutory framework does not explicitly address – either in the prime area of Communication and Language or in the specific area of Literacy – the issue of ICT in communication, language or literacy.